Climate Graph Project - LSA Sciencelsahendricks.weebly.com/.../climategraphminiunit.pdfA climate graph is created using basic graphing skills, except for one main exception. The months

Climate Graph Project

by Paul J. Creek

St. Louis, Missouri

Standards: Social ScienceSocial ScienceSocial ScienceSocial Science:::: 5. Knowledge of major elements of geographical study and analysis (such as location, place, movement, regions) and their relationship to changes in society and the environment 7. Knowledge of the use of tools of social science inquiry (such as surveys, statistics, maps and documents)

ScienceScienceScienceScience:::: Strand 5: 1. Earth’s systems (geosphere, atmosphere, and hydro-sphere) have common components and unique structures Strand 7: 1. Science understanding is developed through the use of science process skills, scientific knowledge, scientific investigation, reasoning, and critical thinking Strand 8: 3. Science and technology affect, and are affected by, so-ciety

MathematicsMathematicsMathematicsMathematics:::: Algebraic Relationships: 3. Use mathematical models to represent and understand quantitative relationships Geometric and Spatial Relationships: 4. Use visualization, spatial reasoning and geometric modeling to solve problems Measurement: 2. Apply appropriate techniques, tools and formulas to determine measurements Data and Probability: 1. Formulate questions that can be addressed with data and collect, organize and display relevant data to answer them

Introduction:

When you travel to a new location, one of the first things that you want to know about the place is the weather. Will the weather be nice? Will it be warm or cool? Rainy or clear? Climate graphs provide people with information about the average weather condi-tions of a location. A climate graph (also called a “climograph”) is a graph that shows the average monthly temperatures and precipitation for a given location. Usually, temperature is represented as a line graph. Sometimes average high and low temperatures are shown as two separate lines. Precipitation is represented using a bar graph. A climate graph is created using basic graphing skills, except for one main exception. The months of the year are located on the x-axis of a climate graph. A climate graph has two different y-axes, and this is what makes them interesting from a graphing perspec-tive. Temperature (in ºC or ºF) is located on one y-axis, and precipi-tation (in centimeters or inches) is located on the other y-axis. To construct the temperature line graph, one uses the temperature y-axis, and the construct the precipitation bar graph, one uses the pre-cipitation y-axis.

1111. The type of biome associated with the place.

2222. The place where the temperature and precipitation were measured.

3333. A scale used to indicate inches of precipitation.

4444. The months of the year. The letters J, F, M, etc., stand for January, February, March, etc.

5555. The temperature scale in degrees Fahrenheit.

6666. A bar graph showing the average precipitation for each month. In this example, the average to-tal precipitation is about 1 inch in January and nearly 4 inches in August. (Note: Values for this

graph are found on the left-hand scale.)

7777. A line graph showing monthly temperature during the year. In this example, the lowest tem-perature is about -5°F in January and the highest is about 45°F in July. (Note: Values for this

graph are found on the right-hand scale.)

Climate Graph

Weather vs. Climate The difference between weather and climate is a measure of time. Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere "behaves" over relatively long periods of time. When we talk about climate change, we talk about changes in long-term aver-ages of daily weather. Today, children always hear stories from their parents and grandparents about how snow was always piled up to their waists as they trudged off to school. Children today in most areas of the country haven't experienced those kinds of dreadful snow-packed winters, except for the Northeastern U.S. in January 2005. The change in recent winter snows indicate that the climate has changed since their parents were young. If summers seem hotter lately, then the recent climate may have changed. In various parts of the world, some people have even noticed that springtime comes earlier now than it did 30 years ago. An earlier springtime is indicative of a possible change in the climate. There are really a lot of components to weather. Weather includes sunshine, rain, cloud cover, winds, hail, snow, sleet, freezing rain, flooding, blizzards, ice storms, thunderstorms, steady rains from a cold front or warm front, excessive heat, heat waves and more. In short, climate is the description of the long-term pattern of weather in a particular area. Some scientists define climate as the average weather for a par-ticular region and time period, usually taken over 30-years. It's really an average pattern of weather for a particular region. When scientists talk about climate, they're looking at averages of precipita-tion, temperature, humidity, sunshine, wind velocity, phenomena such as fog, frost, and hail storms, and other measures of the weather that occur over a long period in a particular place. For example, after looking at rain gauge data, lake and reservoir levels, and satellite data, scientists can tell if during a summer, an area was drier than average. If it continues to be drier than normal over the course of many summers, than it would likely indicate a change in the climate.

Source: NASA http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/climate/climate_weather.html

Average Temperature

World Climate Zones

Climate Zones

PolarPolarPolarPolar

MountainMountainMountainMountain

Climate Zones

AridAridAridArid

TropicalTropicalTropicalTropical

Climate Zones

Temperate Temperate Temperate Temperate ———— CoastalCoastalCoastalCoastal

Temperate Temperate Temperate Temperate ———— ContinentalContinentalContinentalContinental

Climate Zones

MediterraneanMediterraneanMediterraneanMediterranean

TundraTundraTundraTundra

Create a Climate Graph

Choose a data table of a city from around the world. Using the infor-mation from your city’s data table, construct a climate graph for your city. After you have created your climate graph, answer the following analysis questions on a separate sheet of paper. FORMULASFORMULASFORMULASFORMULAS: : : :

ºF = (9/5) ºC + 32 ºC = (5/9) x (ºF - 32) 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters 1 cm = 0.39 inches ANALYSIS QUESTIONSANALYSIS QUESTIONSANALYSIS QUESTIONSANALYSIS QUESTIONS:::: 1. What is the name of your city? 2. In what country andandandand on what continent is your city located? 3. Find the approximate latitude and longitude coordinates for your city. 4. In what hemispheres is your city located? 5. In what climate zone is your city located? 6. What would you expect the climate to be like in this climate zone? 7. What is the hottest month in your city? The coolest month? 8. What month gets the most precipitation? The least precipitation? 9. What is your city’s average yearly high temperature? What is the average yearly low temperature? 10. Make a new data table for your city using degrees Celsius and centimeters. Convert the numbers using the given formulas.

Activity:

It’s a cold and snowy January in St. Louis, Mis-souri, and Christopher is tired of his job. It’s time for a vacation. When Christopher got home from work, he googled “cheap vacations” and went to the first web-site from the search results. The site was called Too Good To Be True Travel. After searching TGTBTT for a few minutes, Christo-pher found several potential trips. Using climate data tables and climate graphs, determine the best climate best climate best climate best climate choicechoicechoicechoice and the worst climate choice worst climate choice worst climate choice worst climate choice for Christopher’s vacation destination. Explain your choices using rele-vant information form the data tables and/or climate graphs. Option #1: Fargo, North Dakota Option #2: Destin, Florida Option #3: Hilo, Hawaii Option #4: New York, New York Option #5: Seattle, Washington

Internet References

http://drought.unl.edu/whatis/climographsdomesticenglish.htm

http://www.climate-charts.com

http://www.noaa.gov/climate.html

http://www.rssweather.com/climate/

http://www.weather.com For climate graphs — search “average weather for (city name)”

Climate Graph Data • Alamosa, Colorado, U.S.A.

• Antananarivo, Madagascar

• Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.

• Beijing, China

• Brussels, Belgium

• Bangalore, India

• Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

• Death Valley, California, U.S.A.

• Destin, Florida, U.S.A.

• Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.A.

• Gakona, Alaska, U.S.A.

• Hilo, Hawaii, U.S.A.

• Jerusalem, Israel

• Lagos, Nigeria

• Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.

• Monterey, California, U.S.A.

• New York, New York, U.S.A.

• Reykjavik, Iceland

• Rome, Italy

• St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.

• San Juan, Puerto Rico

• Sao Paulo, Brazil

• Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

• Sydney, Australia

Alamosa, Colorado, U.S.A.

Month Temperature (ºF)

Precipitation (in.) Average High Average Low

Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec.

33 40 50 59 68 78 82 79 73 62 46 35

-4 5 16 23 32 40 46 45 37 24 11 -1

0.3 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.7 0.6 1.0 1.2 0.9 0.7 0.5 0.3

Antananarivo, Madagascar




78 77 77 75 72 68 67 68 73 77 78 77

64 64 63 61 57 53 51 52 54 58 61 63

11.3 10.3 7.6 2.3 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.6 2.4 6.0 11.4

Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.




50 55 63 71 78 84 88 86 81 72 62 53

29 32 38 45 54 62 67 66 60 47 39 32

5.3 4.8 5.5 4.0 4.6 3.7 4.2 4.3 3.9 3.6 3.2 4.2

Beijing, China




34 39 52 67 79 86 87 85 78 66 50 37

15 19 30 45 55 64 70 68 57 45 31 19

0.1 0.2 0.4 1.0 1.1 2.8 6.9 7.2 1.9 0.7 0.2 0.1

Brussels, Belgium




41 43 48 54 63 67 71 71 66 57 48 42

31 32 35 40 46 51 54 54 50 45 37 33

2.6 2.1 2.9 2.3 2.8 3.1 3.0 2.5 2.3 2.8 3.1 3.0

Bangalore, India




81 86 90 93 91 84 82 81 82 82 80 79

59 62 67 71 70 68 67 67 67 66 63 60

0 0.3 0.6 1.3 4.1 3.1 4.2 4.7 9.6 5.0 2.1 0.8

Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.




36 39 46 56 67 77 82 80 73 62 52 42

22 24 31 41 50 59 65 64 57 46 38 28

3.9 3.3 3.9 3.6 3.2 3.2 3.1 3.4 3.5 3.8 4.0 3.2

Death Valley, California, U.S.A.




66 73 80 89 99 109 115 113 105 92 76 65

39 46 54 62 71 80 86 84 75 61 47 37

0.4 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.2

Destin, Florida, U.S.A.




61 65 71 78 84 90 91 91 88 80 72 64

37 40 46 51 60 68 71 71 66 54 46 39

5.8 5.4 6.5 4.3 4.3 6.1 9.4 7.0 6.7 4.5 4.7 4.6

Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.A.




16 23 35 55 70 77 82 81 70 56 35 21

-2 6 19 32 45 55 59 57 46 34 19 4

0.8 0.6 1.2 1.4 2.6 3.5 2.9 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.1 0.6

Gakona, Alaska, U.S.A.




-2 8 23 39 53 63 66 62 50 29 9 2

-13 -8 1 15 30 39 42 39 28 13 -5 -9

0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.8 2.8 2.7 1.7 1.0 0.6 0.5 0.4

Hilo, Hawaii, U.S.A.




79 79 79 79 81 82 82 83 83 83 81 79

64 64 65 66 67 68 69 69 69 69 67 65

9.7 8.9 14.4 12.5 8.1 7.4 10.7 9.8 9.1 9.6 15.6 10.5

Jerusalem, Israel




53 56 61 70 77 82 84 84 82 77 66 57

39 40 43 49 54 59 63 63 61 57 49 42

5.6 4.5 3.9 1.2 0.1 0 0 0 0 0.9 2.7 4.3

Lagos, Nigeria




90 91 91 90 87 84 82 82 84 86 88 89

72 74 75 74 73 71 72 71 71 72 73 72

0.5 1.6 3.3 5.8 8.0 8.8 9.6 4.8 6.3 4.9 1.6 0.6

Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.




57 63 69 78 88 99 104 102 94 81 66 57

37 41 47 54 63 72 78 77 69 57 44 37

0.6 0.7 0.6 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.4

Monterey, California, U.S.A.




60 61 62 64 65 67 68 70 71 70 64 60

43 45 46 47 48 50 52 53 53 51 47 43

4.2 3.8 3.5 1.5 0.5 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.3 1.1 2.4 2.7

New York, New York, U.S.A.




38 41 50 61 71 79 84 82 75 64 53 43

26 28 35 44 54 63 69 68 60 50 41 32

4.1 3.2 4.4 4.3 4.7 3.8 4.6 4.2 4.2 3.9 4.4 4.0

Reykjavik, Iceland




35 37 37 41 47 52 55 54 49 44 38 36

27 29 29 33 39 44 47 46 41 36 31 28

3.4 2.9 3.0 2.2 1.7 1.8 2.0 2.4 2.8 3.5 3.3 3.3

Rome, Italy




53 56 61 66 74 81 88 87 81 72 62 55

35 37 40 44 51 57 62 62 57 50 43 37

3.3 3.0 2.7 2.7 1.9 1.6 0.9 1.4 3.0 4.2 4.7 3.6

St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.




38 44 55 67 76 85 90 88 80 68 54 42

21 27 36 47 57 66 71 69 60 48 37 26

2.1 2.3 3.6 3.7 4.1 3.8 3.9 3.0 3.0 2.8 3.7 2.9

San Juan, Puerto Rico




82 83 83 85 86 88 87 88 88 88 85 83

71 71 72 73 75 77 77 77 77 76 74 72

3.0 2.3 2.1 3.7 5.3 3.5 4.2 5.2 5.6 5.1 6.2 4.6

Sao Paulo, Brazil




81 82 81 77 73 71 71 73 75 76 78 79

65 65 64 61 56 54 53 55 57 59 61 63

9.4 8.6 6.3 3.0 2.9 2.2 1.7 1.5 3.2 4.9 5.7 7.9

Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.




47 51 55 59 65 70 75 75 70 60 52 47

36 37 39 43 48 53 56 57 53 46 40 36

5.2 4.1 4.0 3.9 2.8 1.6 0.9 1.2 1.6 3.2 5.7 6.1

Sydney, Australia




78 79 77 73 68 63 62 64 68 72 74 77

66 66 64 59 53 49 47 48 52 57 60 64

5.1 5.0 6.4 5.2 4.0 5.5 2.2 3.9 2.5 3.5 4.6 3.3

Documents

Climate Graph Project - LSA Sciencelsahendricks.weebly.com/.../climategraphminiunit.pdfA climate graph is created using basic graphing skills, except for one main exception. The months