The Sequel

In this lesson, learners use WebImage, a Web-based customized version of ImageJ, to investigate changes in snow cover and sea ice in the Northern Hemisphere over a period of 24 years. The images are obtained from satellite measurements of visible and microwave radiation. The lesson follows from Snow and Ice: A Hemispherical View. 

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Relevant standard(s)

NSES Standard: Science as Inquiry, Grades 5-8, Content Standard A
• USE APPROPRIATE TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES TO GATHER, ANALYZE, AND INTERPRET DATA: The use of tools and techniques, including mathematics, will be guided by the question asked and the investigations students design. The use of computers for the collection, summary, and display of evidence is part of this standard. Students should be able to access, gather, store, retrieve, and organize data, using hardware and software designed for these purposes.

NSES Standard: Earth and Space Science, Grades 5-8, Content Standard D
• Global climate is determined by energy transfer from the sun at and near the earth's surface. This energy transfer is influenced by dynamic processes such as cloud cover and the earth's rotation, and static conditions such as the position of mountain ranges and oceans.

NSES Standard: Science and Technology in Society, Grades 5-8, Content Standard E
• Science and technology are reciprocal. Science helps drive technology, as it addresses questions that demand more sophisticated instruments and provides principles for better instrumentation and technique. Technology is essential to science, because it provides instruments and techniques that enable observations of objects and phenomena that are otherwise unobservable due to factors such as quantity, distance, location, size, and speed. Technology also provides tools for investigations, inquiry, and analysis.

NCTM Standard: Measurement (6-8)
• understand, select, and use units of appropriate size and type to measure angles, perimeter, area, surface area, and volume.
• select and apply techniques and tools to accurately find length, area,
volume, and angle measures to appropriate levels of precision;

NCTM Standard: Data Analysis and Probability (6-8)
• use observations about differences between two or more samples to make
conjectures about the populations from which the samples were taken;
• make conjectures about possible relationships between two characteristics;
• select, create, and use appropriate graphical representations of data, including histograms, box plots, and scatterplots.

NCTM Standard: Number and Operations (6-8)
• work flexibly with fractions, decimals, and percents to solve problems.

NETS Standard: Grades 6-8
• Use content-specific tools, software, and simulations (e.g., environmental probes, graphing calculators, exploratory environments, Web tools) to support learning and research.