#### Graphing S'COOL Data

*By Eileen Poling*

## Background

The students have been reporting data for S\'COOL for several years. The
overpass schedule is downloaded from the site and posted. The students
are responsible for determining the clouds overhead during the overpass
time, gathering the temperature, relative humidity, and barometric
pressure for the overpass time using data from the school weather
station, a HOBO temperature gauge, or on an internet weather site.
Towards the end of the first semester, this lesson would be valuable so
that the students can compare the data they have submitted and learn to
graph it to see the comparison.

As a result of this lesson, the students will:

-   Access data from the internet

-   Copy data to a spreadsheet, Microsoft Excel

-   Graph data using the spreadsheet

-   Interpret data

-   Compare different sets of data

**National Science Standards** --

**Science and Technology**

CONTENT STANDARD D:\
As a result of their activities in grades K-4, all students should
develop an understanding of changes in earth and sky.

CONTENT STANDARD E:\
As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop
abilities of technological design.

### Science as Inquiry

CONTENT STANDARD A:\
As a result of activities in grades K-4, all students should develop
abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry and understanding about
scientific inquiry.

### Science as Inquiry

CONTENT STANDARD A:\
As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop
abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry and understandings about
scientific inquiry.

### Earth and Space Science

CONTENT STANDARD D:\
As a result of their activities in grades 5-8, all students should
develop an understanding of structure of the earth system.

### Science and Technology

CONTENT STANDARD E:\
As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop
abilities of technological design.

**West Virginia Content Standards --**

**Standard 2: Science as Inquiry**

Science is a process of discovery. Students will engage in active
inquiry through investigations and hands-on activities a minimum of 50%
of the instructional time. Developing scientific literacy requires a
learning environment in which students actively participate in
meaningful hands-on activities. These investigations explore the natural
world, require critical thinking and develop process skills. Learning
activities are sequenced to shape, modify and develop students'
knowledge in order for them to become independent inquirers.

**Standard 5: Scientific Design and Application**

Scientific design and application permits the extension of senses, the
enhancement of the knowledge base, transportation of materials and
information, synthesizing of new products and the modification of the
world. Students must learn to use technology to analyze situations,
gather relevant information, generate and evaluate creative ideas, pose
tangible solutions and communicate their analyses, results and
suggestions concisely.

# Standard 3: Technology Productivity Tools (TEC.S.3)

Students will:

-   use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and
    promote creativity; and

-   use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing
    technology-enhanced models, preparing publications, and producing
    other creative works.

# Standard 5: Technology Research Tools (TEC.S.5)

Students will:

-   use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a
    variety of sources;

-   use technology tools to process data and report results; and

-   evaluate and select new information resources and technological
    innovations based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.

# Standard 3: Geometry (MA.S.3)

Students will:

● analyze characteristics and properties of two- and three-dimensional
geometric shapes and develop mathematical arguments about geometric
relationships

**Virginia Content Standards --**

-   **Sci4.1:**  The student will plan and conduct investigations in
    which f) data are displayed using bar and basic line graphs; h)
    predictions are made based on data from picture graphs, bar graphs,
    and basic line graphs.

-   **Sci4.6**: The student will investigate and understand how weather
    conditions and phenomena occur and can be predicted.

-   **Sci5.1:**  The student will plan and conduct investigations in
    which e) data are collected, recorded, and reported using the
    appropriate graphical representation (graphs, charts, diagrams).

-   **Sci6.1:**  The student will plan and conduct investigations in
    which c) precise and approximate measurements are recorded; h) data
    are collected, recorded, analyzed, and reported using appropriate
    metric measurements; and i) data are organized and communicated
    through graphical representation (graphs, charts, and diagrams).

-   **Sci6.3:**  The student will investigate and understand the role of
    solar energy in driving most natural processes within the
    atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and on the Earth\'s surface.

-   **Sci6.6:**  The student will investigate and understand the
    properties of air and the structure and dynamics of the Earth\'s
    atmosphere.

-   **LS.1:**  The student will plan and conduct investigations in
    which c) data are organized into tables showing repeated trials and
    means; h) continuous line graphs are constructed, interpreted, and
    used to make predictions; and i) interpretations from a set of data
    are evaluated an

-   **PS.1:**  The student will plan and conduct investigations in
    which b) length, mass, volume, density, temperature, weight, and
    force are accurately measured and reported using metric units
    (SI-International System of Units); h) data tables showing the
    independent and dependent variables, derived quantities, and the
    number of trials are constructed and interpreted; i)data tables for
    descriptive statistics showing specific measures of central
    tendency, the range of the data set, and the number of repeated
    trials are constructed and interpreted; j) frequency distributions,
    scattergrams, line plots, and histograms are constructed and
    interpreted; and k) valid conclusions are made after analyzing data
    defended.

-   **PS.7:**  The student will investigate and understand temperature
    scales, heat, and heat transfer. Key concepts include Celsius and
    Kelvin temperature scales and absolute zero.

**Materials:**

-   Computers with Internet access

-   Microsoft Excel

-   Printer

-   Paper

**Procedure:**

I.

Go to: [http://scool.larc.nasa.gov](http://scool.larc.nasa.gov/)

At the first cloud, select option #4, Database

Under #1, select "Search all S'COOL Observations."

Check Option #1 and select the dates:

2005/5/1 and 2005/5/3

Check Option #2 and select Aqua

Check Option #3 and select USA for the country

Go to Submit Query Request

II\.

Open Microsoft Excel

Highlight cell A1

Return to the S'COOL page

Locate all reports that show data for temperature, pressure, relative
humidity, and cloud type. (There should be at least 10 reports for these
particular dates.)

Select a temperature from one of the reports.

Click on copy

Return to the Excel sheet.

Click on Paste

Highlight cell B1

Return to the S'COOL page

Select the barometer reading from the same report.

Select copy

Return to the Excel sheet.

Click on Paste

Highlight cell C1

Return to the S'COOL page

Select the humidity reading form the same report.

Select copy

Return to the Excel sheet.

Click on Paste

Highlight cell D1

Return to the S'COOL page

Select the cloud type from the same report

Select copy

Return to the Excel sheet.

Click on Paste.

Copy all cloud types, separated by commas, into cell D1.

Move to cell A2, B2, C2, and D2.

Follow the same procedure to select data from a different report and
enter the data.

Do this for the remaining reports until all reports are entered as data
in the spreadsheet.

III\.

Highlight the data you obtained from columns A and B.

Go to the top menu and find the icon that looks like a bookshelf (right
beside the ZA and the down arrow icon).

Click on that icon and the chart wizard will appear.

Under Chart type, select XY (Scatter).

Under Chart sub-type, select the first sub-type "Scatter".

Click Next.

At the top of the chart window, click Series.

In the box for x-values, change A's to B's.

In the box for y-values, change B's to A's.

Click Next.

In the next window (Chart options window), in the chart title box, type
the title of the graph "Temperature vs Pressure".

For Value (x) axis, type "Pressure (hPa)".

For Value (Y) axis, type "Temperature (C)"

Click Next.

Save the graph either to the Excel spreadsheet or to a separate sheet.

Click Finish.

IV\.

Highlight the data in columns B and C.

Go to the top menu and click on the Chart Wizard icon, as before.

Under Chart type, select XY (Scatter).

Under Chart sub-type, select the first sub-type "Scatter".

Click Next.

On the new preview window, click Next.

In the next window (Chart option window), in the Chart title box, type
"Relative Humidity vs Pressure".

For Value (X) axis, type "Pressure (hPa)".

For Value (Y) axis, type "Relative Humidity (%)".

Click Next.

Save the graph either to the Excel spreadsheet or to a separate sheet.

Click Finish.

V.

Answer the following questions:

1\. Do you see a relationship between temperature and barometric
pressure? Explain your answer by referring to the graph for data points.

2\. Do you see a relationship between the barometric pressure and the
humidity? Explain your answer by referring to the graph for data points.

3\. Do you see a trend with these graphs of data? Explain your answer by
referring to data points.

4\. Refer to the types of clouds in column D of your Excel worksheet. By
looking at the data on the Excel spreadsheet, do you see a trend with
the types of clouds and the temperature, barometric pressure, and
humidity? Explain your answer by referring to data points and cloud
types.

VI\.

Extensions:

1.  Try to graph the temperature, barometric pressure, and humidity in
    one graph.

2.  Using the tool kit on the graph, change the colors of the graph, the
    background, and add labels to your graph.

3.  Using the chart wizard, create different types of graphs of the same
    data. Did you discover a different chart type that could be used to
    find trends in the same data of temperature, barometric pressure,
    and humidity? Save your graph. Explain your findings.

4.  From the S'COOL database, select different dates representing a
    different season or specific geographical location. Create the
    graphs as before. Compare the original graphs with the new graphs,
    answering the questions and referring to the data points for
    examples.

VII\. Teacher Notes

1\. Attached are examples of the three scatter plots which students are
asked to produce:

Temperature vs Pressure

Relative Humidity vs Pressure

Temperature and Relative Humidity vs. Pressure (Extension Activity)

2\. Alternate method for downloading S'COOL data into Excel: Follow the
procedure in the lesson through the step for submitting the query.
Rather than using the "cut and paste" method of entering the data, go to
the bottom of the data page, and click on the Download button.

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