Monday, November 29, 2010

Flood Disaster Belgium - Summary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1ZMljjEjlo


Thanks Frank the Tank

Caribbean Warning System Debate

Caribbean Warning System Debate

Directions: You are to go to the following site and answer the factual questions. These questions are meant to give you a background on the debate. Look over the questions then read the article. Afterwards, go back and fill in the answers. Anything on the article is fair game for the debate. It may be in your best interest to print the article. (This means printing the article is a good idea but not a must) Each team is expected to address the Critical Thinking issues and bring their own thoughts. Good Luck!

The sites are:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunami_warning_system

Factual questions

1. What are the two types of tsunami warning systems?
2. T/F Animals cannot since tsunamis.
3. When was the last major tsunami for the Caribbean?
4. How many people died in the last major tsunami that hit the Caribbean?
5. T/F there was a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean before the 2004 tsunami.
6. Why was the Hokkaido 1993 tsunami not detected?
7. How soon did the tsunami arrive after the 1993 Hokkaido quake?
8. What is one example of a tsunami warning?
9. How fast can tsunamis travel?
10. How fast do seismic waves travel?
Critical thinking
1. Who will pay for the system to be built?
2. How will it be maintained?
3. What types of faults lie near the Caribbean?
4. What are the possible consequences if it is not built?
5. What are some of the burdens of the system?
6. How efficient is the system?

Tsunami warning system

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsunami_warning_system

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

NFD is on FB

We recently made a facebook group for our class so we can stay better connected. We'll get a class list together and invite everyone. On the group page, we'll have the link to the main site so you can "brb" your friends and finish your hw. ttyl. ROFLcopter!



          ROFL:ROFL:ROFL:ROFL
                            _ ^____
     L              __ /         []  \
  LOL=====  _                   \
     L                 \__________]
                       ___I____I___/

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Does this layout make me look fat?

As you can see, NFD has a new layout and background. We've got a search bar on the right, and a cool slideshow on the left.
Enjoy!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

KEEP COMING BACK TO NFD!

The Natural Freakin' Disasters website will soon be featuring in-class photos and videos. Stay tuned for more science-related fun!

Midterm Grades Online!

The grades for the midterm are online.
To view your grade, click the link below.

https://zangleweb.resa.net/LivoniaSchools/StudentConnect/

Use your student ID number and your usual password for the school computers.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Answers and Questions from the Jeopardy Review

Here is the review we did today in class.

good luck

Natural Freakin’ Disasters Jeopardy

Hurricanes:

Tropical storms that exceed 74 mi/hr and circulate counter- clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere
Answer: hurricane

This indicates that a hurricane is possible in the area within the next 36 hours
Answer: hurricane watch

 This indicates that a hurricane is expected to occur in the area within the next 24 hours or less
 Answer: hurricane warning

A high flood of water caused by wind and low pressure
Answer: storm surge

The three stages of a hurricane’s development
Answer: tropical depression, tropical storm, hurricane
 
Floods:

These types of floods cause the most deaths/damage
Answer: flash floods

An area of relatively flat land alongside a river
Answer: floodplain

This is why wetlands are important to flood control
Answer: They can absorb large amounts of water

The three main causes of floods
Answer: flat land, located near a body of water, rain

Some reasons that floodwater may be more dangerous than it looks
Answer: floodwaters can hide broken glass, snakes, and debris. It causes waste disposal systems to break 
down, an contaminates drinking water
 
Meteorites/Solar storms:

This is what protects Earth from being hit by more asteroids and comets
Answer: the earth’s atmosphere

Where the asteroid belt is located in our solar system
Answer: between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

What un-melted meteorites are made of
Answer: glass, metal, and rock

The sub-categories of melted meteorites
Answer: rocky, stony-iron, iron

What would happen to land on Earth if it were hit by a meteorite
Answer: There would be a blast wave (shock wave), particles launched into the atmosphere, and atomspheric dust would block out sunlight
 
Tornadoes:

Where Tornado Alley is located
Answer: the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, eastern South Dakota, and the Colorado Eastern Plains

The scale used to determine the destruction of a tornado
Answer: the Fujita scale

The four main stages of tornadoes
Answer: beginning stage, early stage, mature stage, decay stage

Highly organized storms that have updrafts which can reach 100 mph. Can produce strong tornadoes
Answer: Supercells

Downbursts from thunderstorms consisting of narrow columns of cool air. Damage is similar to weak tornadoes
Answer: microbursts
 
Lightning:

The two most common types of lightning
Answer: cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground

The approximate temperature of lightning
Answer: 54,000° F (about 5 times hotter than the sun)

How often lightning strikes the earth
Answer: 100 times/second

When this series of negative charges meets this climbing surge of positive charges, electricity is transferred as lightning.
Answer: stepped leader, streamer

Why hiding underneath a tree during a lightning storm is unsafe
Answer: lightning's extreme heat vaporizes the water inside a tree, which may blow the tree apart 
 
Final Jeopardy:

Was 5th in college football and now is 18th since they lost to Iowa last weekend
Answer: Michigan State