SCIENTIFIC INFORMATION SKILLS
ASSIGNMENT 4 – TRENDS
Download the Excel file linked to Assignment 4 from the subject assignment webpage. Rename the
file SIS4_yourname. It contains historical global temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration data
on which you are required to carry out the following.
It is up to you to decide the most appropriate locations & formatting for the calculations, graphs
and answers to questions, and also their formatting. Part of the assessment will be on the organisation
& presentation (in other words, how easy it is to find your answers).
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1.
Calculate the average annual temperature for all years.
2.
Plot the average annual temperature vs year. Find the trendline type (for Polynomial, don’t go
beyond order =2) that gives the best R2 value.
3.
Calculate the three-point running average for the average annual temperatures.
4.
Plot the smoothed and original temperature data on a single graph (smoothed as line, original
as points).
5.
Calculate the average temperature for each decade, using the monthly data, starting at 1870
(i.e. 1870-79, 1880-89, etc).
6.
Plot a graph (your choice of type) of average decade temperature vs decade.
7.
Calculate the change in annual average temperature in successive years for the entire period
(e.g. the difference between the average for 1868 and 1867, 1869 & 1868 etc).
8.
Using a COUNTIF function, determine how many of the differences in 7 are negative (i.e. the
following year is cooler) and how many are positive.
9.
Calculate the average annual CO2 level for all years.
10.
Plot the average annual CO2 vs year. Find the trendline type (for Polynomial, don’t go beyond
order =2) that gives the best R2 value.
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11.
Construct a data table which compares average annual temperature to CO2 level for the years
where data is available for both.
12.
Plot a scatter graph of the Q11 data with CO2 on the x-axis and temperature on the y-axis.
Determine the line of best fit value (linear: slope and R2).
13.
Describe the general appearance of the graphs in 2 & 10 above.
14.
Use the Forecast/Forward function in Trendline for graphs 2 & 10 to estimate the average
temperature and CO2 in 2100.
15.
Based on graph 12, comment on the connection between temperature and CO2.
16.
What is the %increase in temperature:
a. across the period of the data
b. from 1867 to 1907
c. from 1965 to 2005
17.
What % of monthly temperatures exceeded 14 in the years:
a. 1867 to 1907
b. 1965 to 2005