Why is the weather man wrong so often? Young climatologists discover how chaos rules both weather and climate through a math-based activity. Using an iterative equation, the class examines how small day-to-day weather events total up to big changes in Earth's climate.

Concepts

climates, weather, mathematical reasoning, making inferences, the earth's atmosphere

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Have individuals make up their own description of the relationship between weather, climate, and chaos
• Use the activity as a lead-in to a climate research project

Classroom Considerations

• Pair pupils to shorten the activity
• Consider arranging time in the computer lab to have the class complete the calculations using a spreadsheet

Pros

• The activity is a great tool for exploring the Cross-Cutting Concept of Patterns as they relate to weather and climate
• Instructions are clearly written and easy to follow, even for learners with little experience in iterative equations

Cons

• None