Biology webquest due 12/07/07

http://www.lifestreamcenter.net/DrB/Lessons/wind/index.htm

Exteme Weather due date 12/07/07

Introduction
Today you will engage in a whirlwind of adventure. You are going to become a meteorologist to study Weather (including rain cold fronts) and the occurrences of wacky events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and monsoons that affect different parts of the United States. You might have had experiences with some of these types of weather yourselves. If so, you should use these experiences when performing this study.

These natural weather occurrences can have many different characteristics and consequences. As a meteorologist you will be researching each to prepare a power point presentation and or a series of television reports on these characteristics and consequences.

Remember that your job as a meteorologist may depend on how well these reports are prepared and the accuracy of the facts presented. Now it's time to get to work. Good luck!

Tasks
1. Study of the atmosphere and the conditions existing on each of its layers and how they impact life on Earth. On this you should try to present a working model of the water cycle, study the different kind of clouds and how they can be used to predict the kind of weaher that will occur. What other clues used meteorologist when they did not have satellites to help them predict the weather as toda. Study the effect that pressure, temperature and humidity have on the prediction of weather.

2. Hurricanes You will need to research and find some evidence of what kind of financial damage the effects of a hurricane can have on a community. Search the web to locate data on the financial and ecological damage.

Ready to get blown away by the hurricane season? In order to get started, it is necessary to understand what a hurricane is. Write down everything that you know about hurricanes.
a. What do you know about hurricanes?
b. Six characteristics of a hurricane are...
c. States likely to be hit by a hurricane include...
d. What are some names of hurricanes that have affected your city?
e. How fast do the winds blow? (in miles per hour)
f. Neat things about hurricane names...
g. What is mean, median, and mode?
h. Financial information about hurricanes...
i. Other facts...
Now, blow on over to http://www.fema.gov/kids/hurr.htm to find out more about hurricanes by clicking on "The Disaster Area" and then "Hurricanes". Also you may use http://www.fema.gov/kids/hurr.htm http://www.town-usa.com/states.html.In order to ensure that your report is accurate, it is now your job to write down at least six characteristics of a hurricane on your guide sheet. Now you need to know where a hurricane is likely to hit in the United States. Whirl over to http://www.town-usa.com/states.html and make sure to write down all the states that are likely to feel the surge of a hurricane. Are there other places not in the United States that a hurricane can hit? List these in the bonus area on your guide sheet if you think you know!Now that you know what a hurricane is and where it is likely to hit, let's focus on how people are informed that a hurricane is on the way!

A Hurricane WATCH means that a hurricane is possible within the next 36 hours. The storm is tracked by meteorologists as they attempt to predict where it may hit land.

A Hurricane WARNING means that a hurricane is expected within 24 hours. Leaving the town is encouraged as people find a safe place away from the storm.There are many different types of hurricanes! Each of them receives a different name, and each has a variety of wind speeds. What are some names of hurricanes that you know? How fast do you think the winds blow? Jot down your ideas on your guide sheet now.There is a scale, the Saffir-Simpson scale that measures the intensity of hurricanes. Blow on over to http://www.fema.gov/kids/intense.htm to study the scale and learn more.Each hurricane is also given a name in order to help track it as it creates its path. Find out all the neat things about hurricane names at http://www.fema.gov/kids/hunames.htm Now it's time to get to work on solving some problems! Do you know what mean, median, and mode is? Write it down on your guide sheet now.Here is a list of five hurricanes. Check it out and then help answer the questions below!
Hurricane Alex - 74 mph
Hurricane Bonnie - 125 mph
Hurricane Charley - 156 mph
Hurricane Danielle - 92 mph
Hurricane Earl - 102 mph

What is the average (mean) wind speed for all five hurricanes? What is the median wind speed for all five hurricanes?What is the mode for these wind speeds?You know that many hurricanes have many different wind speeds. It's now up to you to create a line graph of hurricane wind speeds. You will start by using the wind speeds below and having the vertical axis represent wind speed while the horizontal axis has a mark for each separate wind speed. Let's get started!

The various wind speeds of several hurricanes are:74 mph, 76 mph, 79 mph, 82 mph, 82 mph, 89 mph, 90 mph, 92 mph, 96 mph, 96 mph, 102 mph, 103 mph, 112 mph, 115 mph, 122 mph, 130 mph, 133 mph, 142 mph, 156 mph, 169 mph.

Hurricane Resources:
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/EDTEC572/f96projects/final/disasters/Hur/HurricanesDayOne.htmlIncludes general information about how and where hurricanes occur.
http://library.thinkquest.org/C003603/english/hurricanes/causesofhurricanes.shtmlIncludes information about the causes of hurricanes.
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/hurrbro.htm Includes information on the three types of tropical storms, describes the Saffir-Simpson scale, and gives information about what to do in a hurricane.
http://library.thinkquest.org/16132/html/hurricane.html?tqskip=1 Includes information about the causes of hurricanes, the hurricane scale, and the worst hurricanes in history.
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/stormcenter/front.htm Includes pictures of hurricane destruction.

3. Tornadoes are classified based on factors like their wind-speed. You will study this classification of tornadoes and work on being able to identify what classification each tornado is. You will also research the amount of human lives lost due to tornadoes. Search the web to locate the classification and data on the human lives lost. To start working on this task

Your mission today, as a meterologist, is to be able to use the fujita scale to determine what size the tornado was(f0-f5) on the F-Scale. You will also be expected to make 2 graphs about tornadoes. With these graphs, you will be given a data sheet on Iowa Tornadoes that has the year, number of tornadoes, deaths, injuries, and the cost from each. You will need to graph starting from 1950 to 1995. Graph every 5 years. Graph the average number of tornadoes and the average number of deaths from tornadoes. Tremendous Tornado Scale: To start off this activity you will need to study the Fujita Scale below. You will be given several pieces of data that you will use such as the wind speed and damage from the tornado, to determine what size the tornado was. You will then fill in the information on a separate piece of paper.
1. 97 miles per hour 1. Devastating damage
2. 289 miles per hour 2. Large trees snapped or uprooted
3. 210 miles per hour 3. Peel surface off roofs
4. 162 miles per hour 4. damage to sign boards
5. 67 miles per hour 5. Cars thrown and large missiles generated
6. 145 miles per hour 6. Trees debarked
For the tornadoes we are going to use the State of Iowa: http://www.disastercenter.com/iowa/tornado.html For this activity you will need to take out a blank piece of paper. You will then navigate to the link for Iowa Tornadoes. While there, you will need to look up information dealing with the amount of deaths occurring within the years of 1950-2000. You will bar graph this information on your sheet of paper, by averaging(mean) every five years. (ex: 1950-1955's average) The second thing you will need to do is to bar graph the number of tornadoes that happened during the years 1950-1955, by the average (mean) every five years.

Tornado Resources:
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/basics/twist0.htmIncludes a definition and the causes of tornadoes.
http://www.naturalhazards.org/investigate/tornadoes/index.htmlIncludes the definition of tornadoes, what causes them, and where and when they occur.
http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/edu/tornado/Includes safety procedures, damage that tornadoes can cause, where they occur, and more.
http://quake.ualr.edu/HazardMitigation/armitig-plan/Tornadoes.htmIncludes definition and cause of tornadoes, where they occur, damages that result from them, and the F-scale.
http://www.co.barron.wi.us/forms/weather.pdfIncludes indications that a tornado is approaching.
http://www.tornadoproject.com/fscale/fscale.htmIncludes information about the F-Scale.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/pah/1925/ss_frame.htmlThese give information about the deadliest tornado in human history.
http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/storms/Includes information about the worst tornado outbreak in U.S. history.Simon, S. (1999). Tornadoes. New York: Morrow Junior Books.National Geographic. (2001). Student Atlas of the World. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society.

4. Floods http://www.uni.edu/schneidj/webquests/fall04/weather/monsoongraph.html Search the web to locate data on the average rainfall as well the effects on the environment. To start working on this task. http://www.fema.gov/news/disasters

For this report, you will be taking a look at the home of a teenager named Justin. Justin lives in a small town next to a river and has a problem with his home flooding regularly. Your task is to examine the height of the river and the amount of rain that has fallen to see if his house will get flooded again. Then you will look at the financial cost of flooding in the past few months by visiting a website and examining the data.
You will start by examining the height of the river and the amount of rain that the town has gotten. Below is a chart for you that shows the height of the river and the amount of rainfall that the town got each day.
Rainfall (inches) Height of river
Sunday 0 27' 06"
Monday 7 28' 10"
Tuesday 9 28' 10"
Wednesday 11 29' 09"
Thursday 15 31'
Friday 8 31' 08"
Saturday 7 32' 02"
Sunday 5 32' 07"

If the river floods when it reaches a height of 33 feet, how much rain would the town have to get on the next day for the river to flood?Make a bar graph to display the height of the river each day. You should include a line on your graph that represents the height at which the river will flood.If the town gets another 6 inches of rain tomorrow, what would be the average amount of rain that would fall per day?
Now we will look at how much damage a flood can do to a home. Visit the website http://www.fema.gov/ and look at the cost of flood damage for the months of June and July. What was the total cost of floods for those two months? What was the average cost due to flooding for those months?
You should now have some good information to use for your story about flooding. Hold on to the information as we will use it later.

http://www.uni.edu/schneidj/webquests/fall04/weather/monsoongraph.html
Monsoon Resources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsoon Gives an overview of monsoons, what they are, where they occur, and what causes them.
http://users.erols.com/vikki.french/vf-defs.html Gives a definition of a monsoon, and a general definition of what causes it.
http://www.kpho.com/Global/story.asp?S=358235&nav=23Kv9wXd This is website is from one of the local news channels, it gives information on what is needed for a monsoon to develop.
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/wtsm5.htm Describes how monsoons are formed, and provides a table of the average monthly rainfall for Phoenix, AZ
http://geography.asu.edu/aztc/monsoon.html Gives information specific to the Arizona Monsoon, including when, why, and how
http://phoenix.about.com/cs/weather/a/monsoon01.htm Gives safety tips to follow during a the monsoons thunderstorms
http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/relatedarticles/33868.php It has an article from one of the local newspapers in Arizona that talks about how businesses work around monsoons.

Evaluation

A. Task
Calculate averages, using mean, median, and mode.
1. Exemplary
No errors when calculating mean, median and mode.
2. Satisfactory
One to three errors when calculating mean, median and mode.
3. Needs improvement
Four or more errors when calculating mean, median and mode.

B. Task
Be able to read plots and graphs.
1. Exemplary
No errors found in calculations or interpretation of data from plots and graphs.
2. Satisfactory
One to three errors found in calculations or interpretations of data from plots and graphs.
3. Needs improvement
Four or more errors found in calculations or interpretations of data from plots and graphs.

C. Task
Be able to use data and statistical measurement.
1. Exemplary
Able to use data and measurement in at least three different ways using mean, median, and mode.
2. Satisfactory
Able to use data and measurement in at least two different ways using mean, median, mode.
3. Needs improvement
Able to use data and measurement in at least one way using either mean, median, or mode.

D. Task
Compile and organize information and be able to present it in a logical fashion.
1. Exemplary
Final product contains accurate science or math information.
2. Satisfactory
Final product contains one to two errors with accuracy of science or math information.
3. Needs improvement
Final product contains three or more errors with accuracy of science or math information.

E. Task
Be able to create a bar graph.
1. Exemplary
Able to create an x and y axis, create units of measurement for the graph label units, and create neat, accurate visual representations of number data.
2. Satisfactory
Able to create an x and y axis, create units of measurement for the graph and label units.
3. Needs improvement
Able to create an x or y axis and fill in bars to represent number data.

F. Task
Be able to create a line graph.
1. Exemplary
Able to create an x and y axis, create units of measurement for the graph and label units, and create neat, accurate representations of number data.
2. Satisfactory
Able to create an x and y axis, create units of measurement for the graph and label units.
3. Needs improvement
Able to create an x or y axis, and connect dots to create lines which represent number data.

G. Task
Be able to work together in a team to find and organize information related to natural disasters.
1. Exemplary
Each group member completes at least two activities and finds two sources of outside information related to natural disasters/weather.
2. Satisfactory
Each group member completes at least one activity and finds one source of outside information related to natural disasters/weather.
3. Needs improvement
Group members do not complete an activity and do not find any sources of outside information related to natural disasters/weather.

H. Task
Power point presentation or video
1. Exemplary
All group members participate during the presentation and are able to show good knowledge and maintain the audience attention during the presentation.
2. Satisfactory
All group members participate during the presentation and are able to show acceptable knowledge and maintain the audience attention during most of the presentation.
All group members do not participate during the presentation and/or are unable to show good knowledge and/or are unable to maintain the audience attention during the presentation.
References:
Extraordinary weather web quest by Emily Hanson, Samantha Buckman and Kelli Nolta downloasded from: http://www.uni.edu/schneidj/webquests/fall04/weather/index.html

Wacky Weather web quest by Joe Dobler, Brock Holman and Crystal Roth downloaded from http://www.uni.edu/schneidj/webquests/fall04/wackyweather/index.html