OpenSciEd 6.5, Lesson 2: Connecting Earthquakes and Tsunamis Data Task
Task
This Data Task is designed to support OpenSciEd Unit 6.5, Lesson 2, Part 7: Examine Tsunamis More Closely. Tuva has digitized the paper handouts for this part, including the Connecting Earthquakes and Tsunamis handout and the Tuva Graphing Instructions handout. Use the OpenSciEd Teacher Edition alongside of Tuva to facilitate the lesson in its entirety. How it Fits into the Storyline During Parts 1–6 of this lesson, students have been working to explain why some earthquakes generate tsunamis while others do not. During this part of the lesson, students will analyze real earthquake and tsunami data to look for patterns between earthquake characteristics and tsunami frequency. When to Use Tuva When you are ready to begin Part 7, have students open the Data Task on their computers. Students will use Tuva Tools to create and analyze graphs that explore relationships among earthquake magnitude, earthquake depth, and tsunami frequency. They will share their graphs with partners, discuss patterns they observe, and use evidence from the data to refine their ideas about the kinds of earthquakes that are most likely to generate tsunamis. What Happens Next Immediately following this Data Task, students will participate in a class discussion to build consensus about how earthquake magnitude and depth influence tsunami formation. Finish all other portions of the lesson outside of Tuva. Teacher Tips: The following graph types and Tuva Tools will be especially useful: Dot Plots Drag :ta["Earthquake Magnitude"] or :ta["Earthquake Depth"] onto the x-axis. Select :ti[stats] and choose measures of center to display from the drop-down. Guide students to use the median rather than the mean. The median is more helpful when data is clustered to one side of the graph (skewed). Box Plots Box plots are first introduced in 6th-grade math. Remind students that the middle 50% of the data is inside the box. The middle line is the median value. The whiskers go out to the smallest and largest values. Drag :ta["Earthquake Magnitude"] or :ta["Earthquake Depth"] onto the x-axis. Select :ti[box-and-dot-plot] from the toolbar. Hover over the box to show the range and median. Histograms Histograms are introduced in 6th-grade math. Remind students that, in a histogram, each bar shows earthquakes that occurred within the range of magnitudes or depths that the bar spans on the x-axis. Drag :ta["Earthquake Magnitude"] or :ta["Earthquake Depth"] onto the x-axis. Select :ti[relative-frequency-histogram]. Since the number of earthquakes in the two datasets we use is not equal, using percentages rather than frequencies will help students more easily compare the two datasets Adjust the range each bar (or "bin") includes by clicking the + or - button near the x-axis label. Color-Coding Click once on an attribute in the Case Card to color-code data points. Students may color-code by attributes such as earthquake region, tsunami occurrence, or other available categories to look for additional patterns. Filtering Data Select :ti[ti-edit-attribute] next to an attribute name in the Case Card. For categorical data, check only the categories that you want shown on the graph. For numerical data, adjust the range of data that you want shown on the graph. Close the Attribute Settings Card.
On Day 1, you analyzed maps of historical tsunamis and earthquakes. You looked for patterns in where tsunamis occur. You used evidence to construct explanations for why some earthquakes generate tsunamis while others do not. Today, you will explore more historical tsunami and earthquake data. You will create data visualizations to look for patterns. These patterns may help explain why some earthquakes trigger tsunamis while others do not.
Topics and standards: Earth Science, MS-ESS3-2, MS-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-1, OpenSciEd, 3.3.6-8.L