Computer Science – Learning
Scientific paper
Dec 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007agufmed51c..06r&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2007, abstract #ED51C-06
Computer Science
Learning
0350 Pressure, Density, And Temperature, 0750 Sea Ice (4540), 0805 Elementary And Secondary Education, 0825 Teaching Methods, 0845 Instructional Tools
Scientific paper
We will describe and demonstrate elements of two activities (available on the Windows to the Universe web site, www.windows.ucar.edu) that help students learn about Earth science topics by working with actual data. The two activities are titled "Virtual Ballooning" and "Graphing Sea Ice Extent". In the sea ice extent graphing activity, students first predict (and sketch in their prediction) the variation of sea ice extent in the Arctic on a monthly basis over a three-year period. Next, students plot actual data and compare their predictions with reality. This opening exercise reinforces the notion of seasonal variation, time lags (maximum sea ice extent is not in January as some students predict) associated with the "thermal inertia" of ocean water, and critical thinking skills associated with making predictions. Next, students predict and then graph actual monthly variations in sea ice extent in the Antarctic for the same three-year span. This portion of the activity is especially useful in reinforcing the fact that the seasons are opposite in the Northern vs. Southern Hemisphere. Finally, students graph the annual values of maximum and minimum sea ice extent in each hemisphere at five- year intervals over a 25-year span. They study these trends to learn about interannual variation in sea ice and long-term trends associated with global climate change. After student complete the prediction and graphing portions of the activity, they can view animated maps of sea ice extent in each polar region that graphically and dynamically present the same data they just investigated numerically. They can also access an interactive map viewer that allows them to compare, side-by-side, two maps of sea ice extent in different months or years. Finally, the activity write-up invites students to extend their investigations by seeking out further data (for example, values for more recent time periods later than the date on which the activity was written) online. In the "virtual ballooning" activity, students explore basic features of the atmosphere by "launching" a virtual weather balloon in a web-based interactive animation. Students choose the instruments to attach to their balloons (such as temperature and pressure sensors), decide at what altitude to begin collecting data, and determine the sampling frequency for data collection. Students then launch their balloons, which report and graph the data they collect as they rise through Earth's atmosphere. In this fashion students discover for themselves key atmospheric features, such as the exponential decrease in pressure with altitude or the existence of the tropopause via the peculiar change in the temperature vs. altitude trend at that height. After learning about the "standard atmosphere" via a series of virtual balloon launches, students can explore a number of other scenarios. They can choose between daytime and nighttime atmospheric profiles, data for a range of latitudes between the equator and the poles, and even special cases such as inversions.
Bergman J. J.
Gardiner L.
Genyuk J.
Johnson Mark R.
Lagrave M.
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