Understanding Hurricanes
and the ER-2
Author: Robin A. Ward, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
(Thanks to
NASA's On-Line Educational Activities Page for providing the ideas for this activity.)
Audience: Grades 5-10
Mathematical Topics:
number sense, connecting math and science
Rationale:
According to the NCTM Standards 2000,students in grades 6-8 should:
develop an understanding of large numbers, including the use of benchmarks to comprehend magnitude (p. 216);
recognize, use, and learn about mathematics in contexts outside of mathematics (p. 258).
Also, the NCTM Standards 2000 advocate that mathematical instructional programs for students in grades 9-12 should foster the development of number sense (p. 275) and that connections be made between mathematics and the outside world.
In this activity, students will gain an understanding of hurricanes; in particular, what they look like, how they are formed, how they are categorized, how they are named, and how they are tracked. Thus, the goal of this activity is for students to understand the science of hurricanes as well as the mathematics of hurricanes. For example, scientists use mathematics to track hurricanes, as they use latitude and longitude coordinates to develop track maps. Also, scientists measure wind speeds to categorize hurricanes. Additionally, serving as the backdrop to this activity, students will learn about a particular NASA Dryden aircraft namely, the ER-2, which is used to collect data about hurricanes.
Materials:
picture of the ER-2
pictures of hurricanes
Background:
NASA Dryden is currently using an aircraft known as the
ER-2 to collect information about our atmosphere and environment. The aircraft, based at the
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, CA, collects information about our surroundings, including Earth resources, celestial observations, atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, and oceanic processes. The ER-2 has been flown in conjunction with scheduled storm flights of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the "Hurricane Hunters" - the U.S. Air Force's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron from Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. The Air Force's Hurricane Hunters and NOAA routinely fly into tropical storms and hurricanes to determine the location, motion, strength and size of the storm. The information that the two organizations gather is used to predict the potential strength and size of the storm as well as landfall.
Read more about how NASA Dryden's ER-2 and DC-8 are taking to the skies - collecting high-altitude information about Atlantic hurricanes and tropical storms.
Learn some
facts about the ER-2.
View several
photos of the ER-2.
View a
movie clip of the ER-2.
The Activity:
Begin the lesson by showing a
picture of the ER-2. Or, students might use computers to access a
variety of pictures
located in NASA Dryden's photo gallery. It is important to mention some of the characteristics of the ER-2. For instance, you might want to mention how the plane is used by scientists to gather weather data about hurricanes and storms as well as ozone depletion and insect infestations. Learn more about the ER-2 by reading an
ER-2 facts sheet.
Describe to students that, in this activity, they will be learning about the mathematics and science of hurricanes. In particular, students will gain an understanding of hurricanes; in particular, what they look like, how they are formed, how they are categorized, how they are named, and how they are tracked. Additionally, they will learn about the ER-2, a NASA Dryden aircraft, which collects hurricane data.
Let students begin by viewing pictures of hurricanes.
See pictures of hurricanes from space
See pictures of hurricanes from space (another cool site!)
Allow students to share with their partner and/or write in their journals what they notice about hurricanes. They might describe hurricanes as having a spiral shape, or appearing as concentrated cloud formations. Encourage creative descriptions and the use of analogy.
Next, allow students to learn about the science of hurricanes by reading about:
How hurricanes are formed
How hurricanes are formed (another cool site!)
After linking to the above sites, challenge students to explain to a partner, in their own words, how hurricanes are formed. Encourage them to use their own and their newly learned terminology about hurricanes as, such as typhoon, the eye, sustained winds, converging winds, organized area, tropical disturbance, tropical depression, or tropical storm.
Students can now learn about the mathematics of hurricanes by understanding how wind speeds are used to categorize hurricanes. Students can view the
Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, which is used to measure the intensity of storms. Also, let students read about the various
hurricane conditions and categories. Ask students: Has anyone ever experienced a hurricane? How about a strong rainstorm? Can they relate wind speeds on a blustery day to wind speeds of the various categories of hurricanes?
What causes the wind to blow?
Click here
to find out!
In 1805, Sir Francis Beaufort, a British Admiral, devised an observational scale
for measuring winds at sea. The scale is aptly named, "Beaufort's Scale".
This scale classifies wind speed on a force scale from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane), using observations of the winds' effects on trees and other objects.
Beaufort's scale is still in use today by many weather stations and has been adapted for use on land. Shown below is a graphic of what you might see given various Beaufort Scale ratings.
From watching the news or reading the newspaper, students are probably familiar with the fact that hurricanes have male and female names associated with them. Do they recall any "famous" hurricanes? Let students read about
how hurricanes are named and then let them decide on names for the next season's hurricanes. Ask them to generate this list in their journals and then share their responses with a classmate or a group of classmates. Who had the most creative naming scheming? After a discussion, let students view the hurricane names for 2001-2006.
To learn more about the mathematics of hurricanes, let students view a
hurricane tracking chart. Provide students with the latitude and longitude coordinates of Hurricane Mitch's track which traveled the Atlantic in 1998 (listed below). Allow for students to track the actual path of the hurricane by marking each position with a dot on his/her chart. Then, just like scientists, connect the dots with straight lines to track the storm.
Begin by placing a dot at: 75 West Longitude 12 North Latitude. Continue marking each location below, moving to the left on your map. Be alert-hurricanes can change directions without warning!
77 W 12 N
77 W 15 N
82 W 17 N
86 W 15 N
90 W 15 N
93 W 17 N
94 W 19 N
90 W 20 N
85 W 25 N
75 W 30 N
68 W 35 N
58 W 40 N
40 W 45 N
After mapping all of the points, ask students: Did the hurricane make landfall in the United States? What state(s) was hardest hit? What other countries or islands, if any were also struck by Mitch?
Enrichment Activities:
Link to this nifty
Drag & Drop Puzzle where students can drop and drag pieces one by one to make a picture of Hurricane Opal.
Link to an
activity that explains how wind speeds affect the takeoff, flight, and landing of NASA Dryden's ERAST Pathfinder.
Link to other
activities that center around NASA Dryden's ERAST Pathfinder program.
Read more about NASA Dryden's
ERAST Pathfinder program.
Return or go to:
Math Activities for Grades K - 4
Math Activities for Grades 5 - 8
Math Activities for Grades 9 -12
Algebra Activities
Environmental Research Aircraft and Sensor Technology (ERAST) Program Activities
Airborne Sciences Program Activities
Math Activities Home Page
Funded by the
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
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