Why Is Alaska So Cool?
(. . . with all that daylight?)

Goals and Objectives

Goals

• Introduce students to Computational Science and modeling tools.
• Facilitate students making connections between math and science.

Objectives

• Students will be able to describe that sunlight intensity at a location is dependent upon solar angle at that location and that the solar angle is dependent upon latitude.
• Students will recognize that models involve simplifying assumptions. In particular, a model of temperature at a location involves additional factors such as cloud amount, surface albedo, clear sky insolation clearness index, and top of atmosphere insolation.
• Students will discover and model math relationships namely linear, quadratic, inverse squared and sinusoidal.
• Students will be able to develop a mathematical model to represent the data collected.
• Students will be able to use modeling tools (Excel and TI-83).
• Students will be able to use the CBL unit and light sensor to collect data.