Storm Event on the Wax Lake Delta

Focus on Inquiry

The student will make observations based on interpretation of data taken as storm events cross the Wax Lake Delta.

Lesson Content Overview

This activity asks students to analyze meteorological and water data presented as graphs as storm events cross the Wax Lake Delta in the Atchafalaya Bay on the coast of Louisiana. 

Lesson Information

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. The student will individually examine graphs of MIKE3 sensor data (condition) to correctly (standard) interpret information that the graphs show (task).

2.  The student will work as part of a team of four students (condition) to identify at least one (standard) similar data pattern across/between the graphs of MIKE3 sensor data (task).

3. Based on the data they have examined (condition), students will correctly (standard) identify the approximate day/time that the storm event affected the Wax Lake Delta and support this conclusion based on at least three lines of evidence (task).

4.  Students will be able to correctly (standard) state how the MIKE3 Observation Platform uses energy to send information (task) based on the information they learned through this activity (condition).

LOUISIANA SCIENCE STANDARDS – middle School

Grade 7, MS-ESS2-5. Collect data to provide evidence for how the motions and complex interactions of air masses results in changes in weather conditions.

Grade 8, MS-ESS2-2. Construct an explanation based on evidence for how geoscience processes have changed Earth’s surface at varying time and spatial scales.

Grade 8, MS-ESS3-2. Analyze and interpret data on natural hazards to forecast future catastrophic events and inform the development of technologies to mitigate their effects.

LOUISIANA SCIENCE STANDARDS – EARTH SCIENCE

HS-ESS2-2. Analyze geoscience data to make the claim that one change to Earth’s surface can create feedbacks that cause changes to other Earth’s systems.

NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS – PRACTICES OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING

NGSS Practice 4. Analyzing and interpreting data

NGSS Practice 8. Obtaining, evaluating and communicating information

NEXT GENERATION SCIENCE STANDARDS – CONTENT STANDARDS, CROSSCUTTING CONCEPTS

PS4.A

Wave Properties: A simple wave has a repeating pattern with a specific wavelength, frequency, and amplitude. (MS-PS4-1)

Patterns (Crosscutting Concept): Graphs and charts can be used to identify patterns in data. (MS-PS4-1)

PS4.C    

Information Technologies and Instrumentation (Physical Science): Digitized signals (sent as wave pulses) are a more reliable way to encode and transmit information. (MS-PS4-3)

Influence of Science, Engineering and Technology on Society and the Natural World (Crosscutting Concept): Technologies extend the measurement, exploration, modeling, and computational capacity of scientific investigations (MS-PS4-3)

ESS2.A    

Earth’s Materials and Systems (Earth Science): The planet’s systems interact over scales that range from microscopic to global in size, and they operate over fractions of a second to billions of years. These interactions have shaped Earth’s history and will determine its future. (MS-ESS2-2)