Download Interpreting Graphs and Data - science-b

AP
Ch Environmental
3
Science
Chapter title
(APES)
Part title
Mr. Grant
(Lessons 1-5)
PowerPoint® Slides prepared by
® Slides prepared by
PowerPoint
Jay Withgott
and Heidi
Marcum
Jay Withgott and Heidi Marcum
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Lesson #1: Course Introduction
Objectives:
• Course goals, structure, and expectations.
• Hand out opening Unit Plan
• Conduct CLOZE assessment
• Can I make a difference? What keeps me a prisoner?
What do I need to change about myself?
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Course Goals:
1. Prepare you for the APES Exam in May.
a) 100 Multiple Choice
- Testing your knowledge and mastery of the material.
b) 4 “Free Response” exercises
- Analyzing and interpreting information and experimental data, including
mathematical calculations.
- How to identify and analyze environmental problems, to evaluate the
ecological and human health risks associated with these problems, and to
critically examine various solutions for resolving or preventing them.
c) Last Year’s Performance
5’s (Extremely well qualified) – 1
4’s (Well qualified) – 4
3’s (Qualified) – 5
2’s (Possibly qualified) – 6
1’s (No recommendation) – 5
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Course Goals:
2. To provide students with the scientific principles,
concepts, and methodologies required to understand the
interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and
analyze environmental problems both natural and
human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated
with these problems, and to examine alternative
solutions for resolving and/or preventing them.
- Earth Systems and Resources
- The Living World
- Population Dynamics
- Land and Water Use
- Energy Resources and Consumption
- Pollution
- Global Change
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Course Goals:
3. To ignite possibilities and a deeper sense of purpose
within students.
a)
A belief and desire to make a difference in the world.
b) Can I make a difference?… finding the greatness in yourself.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Course Structure:
• Designed as an introductory college course.
• Combination lecture, discussion, video support, and labs.
• Clearly organized in each Unit Plan.
- What and when.
• A Brisk Pace – Rarely will the course deviate from what
is scheduled in the Unit Plan.
• Textbook – Environment: The Science Behind the Stories
(3rd Ed), Withgott and Brennan
• Regular Evaluations and Grades
Quizzes
Interpreting Graphs and Data Exercises
Unit Exams
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Multiple Choice Exercises
Labs
Term & Final Exams
Course Expectations:
• Stay current with the Unit Plan.
- Plan ahead.
• Academic, Intellectual, and Personal Integrity & Excellence
- What you hand in represents your own effort and scholarship.
- Put your best foot forward.
• Be attentive and engaged.
- Counts as part of your grade.
• Take notes and have an organized notebook.
- NO Computer use for note taking.
 = Important… connected to an objective.
• Study… Learn the Material!!!... Homework vs. Studying
- Homework: tasks assigned to students by their teachers to be completed mostly
outside of class.
- Studying: the application of the mind to the acquisition of knowledge, as by reading,
investigation, or reflection.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Mr. Grant’s APES Web Site (Under Construction)
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Opening Unit Plan
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
CLOZE Assessment
• The CLOZE procedure assesses the match between a
reader and a particular text. It will provide an indication
of how much support the reader needs to comprehend the
specific text.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Name:____________________________________________ Date: ___________
Timing Greenland’s Glaciers as They Race to the Sea
Scientists have known for years that the Arctic is bearing the brunt of global warming and that the
massive ice sheet covering Greenland is melting around its edges. But data from 1993 __ __ to 2003
showed Greenland’s ice __ __ __ __ loss accounting for only 4–12% __ __ of global sea level rise, __
__ __ __ __ about 0.21 mm/yr. And as __ __ __ __ __ __ __ authors of the IPCC’s Fourth __ __ __ __
__ __ __ __ __ __ Assessment Report used results from __ __ __ __ __ __ __ climate models to
predict Greenland’s __ __ __ __ __ __ future contributions to sea-level rise, __ __ __ the models told
them to __ __ __ __ __ expect more of the same.
__ __ __ __ __ __ However, some brand-new research hadn’t __ __ __ __ made it into the
models. __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Scientists studying how ice moves __ __ __ __ were learning
that ice sheets __ __ __ can collapse more quickly than __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ expected and that
Greenland’s ice __ __ __ __ loss is accelerating. As a __ __ __ __ __ __ result, they said, the IPCC __
__ __ __ __ __ report underestimates the likely speed __ __ __ and extent of future sea __ __ __ __ __
level rise.
Greenland’s ice sheet __ __ is massive, averaging nearly a __ __ __ __ mile deep and covering as
__ __ __ __ much area as Texas, California, __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Michigan, and Minnesota
combined. If __ __ __ the entire ice sheet were __ __ to melt, global sea level __ __ __ __ __ would
rise by a whopping __ 7m (23 ft).
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
The ice sheet __ __ __ __ __ gains mass by accumulating snow __ __ __ __ __ __ during cold
weather, which becomes __ __ __ __ __ __ packed into ice over time. __ __ It loses mass as surface __
__ __ ice melts in warm weather, __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ generally at the periphery, where __ __ __
ice is thinnest or contacts __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ seawater. If melting and runoff __ __ __ __ __ __ __
outpace accumulation, then the ice __ __ __ __ __ sheet shrinks.
But researchers are __ __ __ now learning that the internal __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ physical
dynamics of how ice __ __ __ __ __ moves may be more important. __ __ __ __ __ These dynamics
can speed the __ __ __ __ flow of immense amounts of __ __ __ ice in outlet glaciers downhill __ __ __
__ __ __ toward the coast, where eroding __ __ __ ice sloughs off and melts __ __ __ __ into the sea.
The first __ __ __ __ good indication of this process __ __ __ __ came in 2002 when a team led by
Jay Zwally of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland noted that ice in outlet glaciers flows
more quickly during warm months, when pools of meltwater form on the surface. In a paper published in
the journal Science in 2002, Zwally’s group proposed that meltwater leaks down through crevasses and
vertical tunnels called moulins to the bottom of the glacier.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Due Next Class…
• Collect papers from the summer reading
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Reflection Exercise:
Journal on the following three questions…
1. Can I make a difference?
2. What keeps me a prisoner?
3. What do I need to change about myself?
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Lesson #2: An Introduction
to Ch
Environmental
Science
3
Our Island, Earth
Chapter title&
The Nature of Environmental
Part title Science
PowerPoint® Slides prepared by
® Slides prepared by
PowerPoint
Jay Withgott
and Heidi
Marcum
Jay Withgott and Heidi Marcum
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Objectives:
• Define the term environment.
• Describe natural resources and explain their importance to human
life.
• Characterize the interdisciplinary nature of environmental science.
• TED Video - For almost three decades, John Francis has been a
planetwalker, traveling the globe by foot and sail with a message of
environmental respect and responsibility (for 17 of those years
without speaking). A funny, thoughtful talk with occasional banjo.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Define Environment
• The sum total of our surroundings, including all the
living and nonliving things with which we interact.
• Humans are part of the environment and are not
separate from nature.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Environment: the total of our surroundings
• All the things around us with which we
interact:
• Living things
• Animals, plants, forests, fungi, etc.
• Nonliving things
• Continents, oceans, clouds, soil, rocks
• Our built environment
• Buildings, human-created living
centers
• Social relationships and institutions
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Humans and the world around us
• Humans change the environment, often in ways not fully
understood
• We depend completely on the environment for survival
- Increased wealth, health, mobility, leisure time
- But, natural systems have been degraded
- i.e., pollution, erosion and species extinction
- Environmental changes threaten long-term health and survival
• Environmental science is the study of:
- How the natural world works
- How the environment affects humans and vice versa
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Describe natural resources and explain their importance to human life…
Natural resources: vital to human survival
 Natural resources = substances and energy sources needed for
survival
 Renewable resources:
- Perpetually available: sunlight, wind, wave energy
- Renew themselves over short periods: timber, water, soil
- These can be destroyed
 Nonrenewable resources: can be depleted
- Oil, coal, minerals
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Describe natural resources and explain their importance to human life…
Global human population growth
• More than 6.7 billion humans
• Why so many humans?
- Agricultural revolution
- Stable food supplies
- Industrial revolution
- Urbanized society
powered by fossil fuels
- Sanitation and
medicines
- More food
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Thomas Malthus and human population
• Thomas Malthus
• Population growth must be
restricted, or it will outstrip
food production
• Starvation, war, disease
• Neo-Malthusians
• Population growth has
disastrous effects
• Paul and Anne Ehrlich, The
Population Bomb (1968)
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Garrett Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons
• Unregulated exploitation leads to resource
depletion
- Soil, air, water
• Resource users are tempted to increase use until
the resource is gone
• Solution?
- Private ownership?
- Voluntary organization to enforce responsible
use?
- Governmental regulations?
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
The “ecological footprint”
• The environmental impact of
a person or population
- Amount of biologically
productive land + water
- for raw materials and to
dispose/recycle waste
• Overshoot: humans have
surpassed the Earth’s
capacity
We are using 30% more of the planet’s resources than
are available on a sustainable basis!
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Environmental science
… can help us avoid mistakes made by past civilizations.
The lesson of Easter Island: people annihilated their culture
by destroying their environment. Can we act more wisely to
conserve our resources?
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Characterize the interdisciplinary nature of environmental science…
Environmental science: how does the
natural world work?
• Environment  impacts  Humans
• It has an applied goal: developing
solutions to environmental problems
An interdisciplinary field… employing
the approaches and insights of numerous
disciplines.
- Natural sciences: information about
the world
- Environmental Science programs
- Social sciences: values and human
behavior
- Environmental Studies programs
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
What is an “environmental problem”?
- The perception of what
constitutes a problem varies
between individuals and
societies
- Ex.: DDT, a pesticide
- In developing countries:
welcome because it kills
malaria-carrying mosquitoes
- In developed countries: not
welcome, due to health risks
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Bed Bugs and DDT
Environmental science is not environmentalism
Environmental science
• The pursuit of knowledge
about the natural world
• Scientists try to remain
objective
Environmentalism
• A social movement dedicated
to protecting the natural world
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
TED Video
John Francis walks the
Earth, carrying a message
of careful, truly sustainable
development and respect
for our planet.
“We have to leave behind the security of who we’ve
become and go to the place of who we are
becoming.”
John Francis Walks the Earth (19:28)
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Lesson #3: An Introduction
to Ch
Environmental
Science
3
The Nature of Science
Chapter title
&
Sustainability
and the Future
Part title
of Our World
PowerPoint® Slides prepared by
® Slides prepared by
PowerPoint
Jay Withgott
and Heidi
Marcum
Jay Withgott and Heidi Marcum
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Objectives:
• Define the terms abiotic factors and biotic factors.
• Understand the scientific method and how science
operates.
• Diagnose and illustrate some of the pressures on the
global environment.
• Evaluate the concepts of sustainability and sustainable
development.
• TED - Worldchanging.com founder Alex Steffen argues
that reducing humanity’s ecological footprint is
incredibly vital now, as the western consumer lifestyle
spreads to developing countries.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Define Abiotic Factor and Biotic Factor
• Abiotic Factor - A non-living chemical or physical factor
in the environment, such as soil, pH, forest fire, etc.
• Biotic Factor - A factor created by a living thing or any
living component within an environment in which the
action of the organism affects the life of another
organism, for example a predator consuming its prey.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
The nature of science
• Science:
- A systematic process for learning about the world and
testing our understanding of it
- A dynamic process of observation, testing, and
discovery
- The accumulated body of knowledge that results from
this process
• Science is essential
- To sort fact from fiction
- Develop solutions to the problems we face
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Applications of science
Policy decisions and
management practices
Technology
Energy-efficient methanolpowered fuel cell car from
DaimlerChrysler
Restoration of forest ecosystems altered
by human suppression of fire
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Understand the scientific method and how science operates…
The scientific method
A technique for testing ideas
with observations
• Assumptions:
- The universe works
according to unchanging
natural laws
- Events arise from causes,
and cause other events
- We use our senses and
reason to understand
nature’s laws
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Understand the scientific method and how science operates…
The scientific method
 A scientist makes an observation
and asks questions of some
phenomenon
 The scientist formulates a
hypothesis, a statement that attempts
to explain the scientific question.
 The hypothesis is used to generate
predictions, which are specific
statements that can be directly and
unequivocally tested.
 The test results either support or
reject the hypothesis
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Understand the scientific method and how science operates…
Experiments test the validity of a hypothesis
Manipulative experiments
yield the strongest evidence
• But, lots of things can’t be
manipulated
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Natural or correlational
tests show real-world
complexity
• Results are not so neat and
clean, so answers aren’t
simply black and white
 Understand the scientific method and how science operates…
The scientific process is part of a larger process
 The scientific process
includes peer review,
publication, and debate
 A consistently
supported hypothesis
becomes a theory, a welltested and widely
accepted explanation
 With enough data, a
paradigm shift – a
change in the dominant
view – can occur
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Diagnose and illustrate some of the pressures on the global environment…
Population & consumption
Human population growth exacerbates all environmental
problems
- The growth rate has slowed, but we still add more than
200,000 people to the planet each day
Our consumption of resources has risen even faster than
our population growth.
- Life has become more pleasant for us so far
- However, rising consumption amplifies the demands
we make on our environment.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Ecological footprints are not all equal
• The ecological footprints of
countries vary greatly
- The U.S. footprint is
almost 5 times greater
than the world’s average
- Developing countries have
much smaller footprints
than developed countries
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Diagnose and illustrate some of the pressures on the global environment…
We face challenges in agriculture
Expanded food production led to increased
population and consumption (i.e., industrial
agriculture)
• It’s one of humanity’s greatest achievements, but
at an enormous environmental cost
• Nearly half of the planet’s land surface is used
for agriculture
• Chemical fertilizers
• Pesticides
• Erosion
• Changed natural systems
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Diagnose and illustrate some of the pressures on the global environment…
We face challenges in pollution
Waste products and artificial chemicals used in
farms, industries, and households
Each year, millions of people die from pollution
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Diagnose and illustrate some of the pressures on the global environment…
We face challenges in climate
 Scientists have firmly concluded that humans are
changing the composition of the atmosphere
• The Earth’s surface is warming
• Melting glaciers
• Rising sea levels
• Impacted wildlife and crops
• Increasingly destructive weather
Since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric carbon
dioxide concentrations have risen by 37%, to the highest
level in 650,000 years
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Diagnose and illustrate some of the pressures on the global environment…
We face challenges in biodiversity
Human actions have driven many species extinct, and
biodiversity is declining dramatically
• We are at the onset of a mass extinction event
Biodiversity loss may be our biggest environmental
problem; once a species is extinct, it is gone forever
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
•
The most comprehensive scientific assessment of the
condition of the world’s ecological systems
•
Major findings:
•
Humans have drastically altered ecosystems
•
These changes have contributed to human wellbeing and economic development, but at a cost
•
Environmental degradation could get much worse
•
Degradation can be reversed, but it requires work
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Diagnose and illustrate some of the pressures on the global environment…
Our energy choices will affect our future
• The lives we live today are due to fossil fuels
• Machines
• Chemicals
• Transportation
• Products
Fossil fuels are a one-time bonanza; supplies will
certainly decline
We have used up ½ of the world’s oil supplies; how
will we handle this imminent fossil fuel shortage?
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Sustainable solutions exist
• We must develop solutions that protect both our quality
of life and the environment
• Organic agriculture
• Technology
- Reduces pollution
• Biodiversity
- Protect species
• Waste disposal
- Recycling
• Alternative fuels
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Are things getting better or worse?
• Many people think environmental conditions are better
• Cornucopians: Human ingenuity will solve any
problem
• Some think things are much worse in the world
• Cassandras: predict doom and disaster
• How can you decide who is correct?
• Are the impacts limited to humans, or are other
organisms or systems involved?
• Are the proponents thinking in the long or short term?
• Are they considering all costs and benefits?
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Evaluate the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development…
Sustainability: a goal for the future
• How can humans live within the planet’s means?
- Humans cannot exist without functioning natural
systems
Sustainability
- Leaves future generations with a rich and full Earth
- Conserves the Earth’s natural resources
- Maintains fully functioning ecological systems
Sustainable development: the use of resources to satisfy
current needs without compromising future availability of
resources
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Will we develop in a sustainable way?
• The triple bottom line:
sustainable solutions that meet
- Environmental goals
- Economic goals
- Social goals
• Requires that humans apply
knowledge from the sciences to
- Limit environmental impacts
- Maintain functioning
ecological systems
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Due Next Class…
• Chapter 1 Multiple Choice Questions Due
• Chapter 1 Quiz
• Interpreting Graphs and Data Exercise Sheet
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
TED Video
Alex Steffen is cofounder
and executive editor of
WorldChanging.com, an
online clearinghouse of
information and inspiration
on the environment.
“I think better things are on the way.”
Alex Steffen Sees A Sustainable Future (17:31)
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Lesson #4:
Ch 3 Graphs and Data
Interpreting
Chapter title
Part title
PowerPoint® Slides prepared by
® Slides prepared by
PowerPoint
Jay Withgott
and Heidi
Marcum
Jay Withgott and Heidi Marcum
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Objectives:
• Define the term sustainability.
• Review Chapter 1 Multiple Choice Questions
• In class exercise to help build quantitative and analytical
skills in reading graphs and making sense of data.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
 Define Sustainability
• A guiding principle of environmental science that
requires us to live in such a way as to maintain Earth’s
systems and natural resources for the foreseeable future.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Review Chapter 1 Multiple Choice Questions
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Interpreting Graphs and Data
Environmental scientist study phenomena that range in size from individual molecules to the entire
Earth and that occur over time periods lasting from fractions of a second to billions of years. To
simultaneously and meaningfully represent data covering so many orders of magnitude, scientist have
devised a variety of mathematical and graphical techniques, such as exponential notation and
logarithmic scales. Below are two graphical representations of the same data, representing the growth
of a hypothetical population from an initial size of 10 individuals at a rate of increase of approximately
2.3% per generation. The graph in part (a) uses a conventional linear scale for the population size; the
graph in part (b) uses a logarithmic scale.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Interpreting Graphs and Data
1) Using the graph in part (a),
what would you say was the
population size after 200
generations? After 600? After
800? After 900?
Graph (a): 0; 0; 1 billion; 10 billion
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Interpreting Graphs and Data
1) How would you answer the
same questions using the graph
in part (b)?
After 200 generations? After
600? After 800? After 900?
Graph (b): 1,000; 10,000,000; 1 billion; 10 billion.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Interpreting Graphs and Data
2) What impression does the
graph in part (a) give about
population change for the first
600 generations?
Graph (a) gives the impression that the population does not
grow at all during the first 600 generations,
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Interpreting Graphs and Data
2) What impression does the
graph in part (b) give about
population change for the first
600 generations?
Graph (b) gives the impression that the population is growing at
a constant rate.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Interpreting Graphs and Data
2) What impression does the
graph in part (a) give about
population change for the last
100 generations?
Graph (a) gives the impression that the population grows
exceedingly quickly during the last 100 generations.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Interpreting Graphs and Data
2) What impression does the
graph in part (b) give about
population change for the last
100 generations?
Graph (b) gives the impression that the population grows at a
constant rate.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Interpreting Graphs and Data
3) What advantages and
disadvantages might there be in
using a linear graph like the one
in part (a)?
A linear graph like part (a) gives an accurate idea of the relative
rate of change at one time versus another, when the rate of
change is highly variable, or when it occurs at a large scale.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Interpreting Graphs and Data
3) What advantages and
disadvantages might there be in
using a linear graph like the one
in part (b)?
A logarithmic graph like part (b) shows greater accuracy at small
scales, but obscures the acceleration in amount of change.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Lesson #5:
ChThe
3 Great
Lab:
Biodegradable Burial
Chapter title
Part title
PowerPoint® Slides prepared by
® Slides prepared by
PowerPoint
Jay Withgott
and Heidi
Marcum
Jay Withgott and Heidi Marcum
Copyright © 2006 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings
Objectives:
• Students choose materials found at school from a list,
predict how long it will take each item to decompose, and
then bury the items. Buried items will be unearthed near
the end of the course. This experiment allows students to
see how long it takes for some types of waste (especially
plastics) to decay in landfills.
Copyright © 2008 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Benjamin Cummings