FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT US AT connect@space.rice.edu Funded by NASA as part of the Earth Science Information Partners   Activity 11: Ocean Ups and Downs Level: Grade 7-8, but easily adaptable for older (Algebra 1 or Science) students Learning Objective: Students will take ocean wave height data from a map and ocean sea surface height data from the same location on a different map. They will plot the ocean wave height data versus the ocean sea surface height data and learn whether waves are largest where the sea height is high versus where it is low. Specific Science Content Standards Changes in earth and sky Motions and Forces Structure and evolution of an earth system's history Geography: Using maps to acquire and process data Specific Mathematics Content Standards Variables and data Plotting and graphing Linear equations Earth Update: Hydrosphere Introducing the activity: Tell students that measurements from space can tell us the overall sea level height, and also the heights of the waves. They can choose as data points any point at that approximate latitude (note that the temperature is not uniform for a certain latitude - some areas are hotter and some are cooler. Note that this activity is a good followon to Activity 2: Is the Sea Level? , which has the student explore whether the sea level is higher in warm areas of earth or cold areas of earth. This activity uses a linear equation to quantify the relationship between wave height and sea level. (Note that the two maps use different units - the top map is measured in meters and the lower map in cm). Activity 11: Ocean Ups and Downs You will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this activity. To download, click on the link below. http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html

Last Update: February 18, 2003