FACTivity – Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire
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Results from “Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire” showed that specific climate conditions were linked to very large wildland fires. The link was most clear when analyzing biophysical observations. These biophysical observations are representations of environmental conditions, such as seasonal drought or fire danger, and are calculated using weather data. One of the biophysical observations was the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI).
In this FACTivity, you will answer the question: Are there patterns that show a relationship between PDSI and very large wildland fires in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge?
Materials:
- Pencils
- Computer/internet (optional)
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Where There's Smoke, There's Fire: Is Climate Connected to Very Large Wildland Fires?
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Standards addressed in this Activity:
The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are a set of K-12 science education standards emphasizing inquiry-based learning, real-world applications, and integrating engineering practices, aiming to deepen understanding of science while promoting critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
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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.
The Common Core Standards are educational benchmarks in the United States that outline clear expectations for what students should know and be able to do in English language arts and mathematics from kindergarten through 12th grade, aiming to ensure consistency and coherence in education nationwide.
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Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts.
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By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
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Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks.
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Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 texts and topics.
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Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table).
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Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.
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Understand that a set of data collected to answer a statistical question has a distribution which can be described by its center, spread, and overall shape.
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Display numerical data in plots on a number line, including dot plots, histograms, and box plots.
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Explain what a point (x, y) on the graph of a proportional relationship means in terms of the situation, with special attention to the points (0, 0) and (1, r) where r is the unit rate.
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Understand that statistics can be used to gain information about a population by examining a sample of the population; generalizations about a population from a sample are valid only if the sample is representative of that population. Understand that random sampling tends to produce representative samples and support valid inferences.
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Use data from a random sample to draw inferences about a population with an unknown characteristic of interest. Generate multiple samples (or simulated samples) of the same size to gauge the variation in estimates or predictions. For example, estimate the mean word length in a book by randomly sampling words from the book; predict the winner of a school election based on randomly sampled survey data. Gauge how far off the estimate or prediction might be.
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Informally assess the degree of visual overlap of two numerical data distributions with similar variabilities, measuring the difference between the centers by expressing it as a multiple of a measure of variability. For example, the mean height of players on the basketball team is 10 cm greater than the mean height of players on the soccer team, about twice the variability (mean absolute deviation) on either team; on a dot plot, the separation between the two distributions of heights is noticeable.
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Use measures of center and measures of variability for numerical data from random samples to draw informal comparative inferences about two populations. For example, decide whether the words in a chapter of a seventh-grade science book are generally longer than the words in a chapter of a fourth-grade science book.
Social Studies Standards are educational guidelines outlining the essential knowledge, skills, and concepts students should learn in subjects such as history, geography, civics, and economics, aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding of societal structures, historical events, and global perspectives.
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People, Places, and Environments
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Science, Technology, and Society