Name: ___________________________________________________________________ Date:_________ Period:_____
Biology: Unit 2 - Ecology & Human Impact
Unit Notes
Version A: Brainstorm and Graph Practice:
Plastic Waste and Climate Change Pre-Lab
Essential Question: What is the big deal about plastic?
Part 1: Think About It
A. In the space below create a concept map brainstorming what you think about when you hear the word “climate”.
CLIMATE
B. When you think about climate, you might think of dramatic headlines: “Hurricane Katrina Floods New Orleans!” or “Drought
parches the South East!” But big storms and seasonal droughts are better described as weather rather than climate. So, what is
climate, and how does it differ from weather? Complete the graphic organizer below to illustrate what you believe the
similarities and differences are between these terms.
Compare and Contrast
Weather
Both
Climate
Part 2: Weather vs. Climate
Weather and climate both involve variations in temperature, precipitation, and other environmental factors. Weather is the
day-to-day conditions of Earth’s atmosphere. Climate, on the other hand, is defined by year-after-year patterns of
temperature and precipitation. Climate can vary within a region. Below is a table showing Chicago’s average monthly
temperature over course of a year from data collected between 1871 and 2008.
Average Monthly Temperature in Chicago, IL. From
Data Collected between 1871-2008
Time (Month)
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Average Temperature (°F)
29
34
46
57
70
79
84
81
72
63
57
32
Directions:
Today you will graph the data above.
Part A: Graphing Month vs. Average Rainfall
1. Title your x-axis with the independent variable and your y-axis with the dependent variable. Include your units in
parentheses.
2. Scale your x-axis
a. In this case since your x-axis is categorical (aka based on months) and not numerical (based on numbers), find
the scale of the x-axis with the equation below.
i. Scale = (# of Boxes) / (# of categories)
 Round your answer down to determine how many boxes each category should have.
3. Scale your y-axis
a. Since your dependent variable data is numerical use the following equation to determine your y-scale.
i. Scale = (max – min)/(# boxes – 1)
 Always round your answer up to determine how much each box is worth
4. Once you’ve determined your scale, start the first line of each axis with your minimum data point and then use your
scale that you calculated to finish scaling your axis.
5. Show a jump in data from the origin with a squiggle, if your scale is violated (meaning it goes up more or less than the
scale you calculated).
6. Plot your data.
7. Include a key to your graph that helps readers identify which data goes with which scale.
8. Include a title that summarizes what the graph is depicting.
Name: ___________________________________________________________________ Date:_________ Period:_____
Biology: Unit 2 - Ecology & Human Impact
Unit Notes
Version B: Brainstorm and Graph Practice:
Plastic Waste and Climate Change Pre-Lab
Essential Question: What is the big deal about plastic?
Part 1: Think About It
A. In the space below create a concept map brainstorming what you think about when you hear the word “climate”.
CLIMATE
B. When you think about climate, you might think of dramatic headlines: “Hurricane Katrina Floods New Orleans!” or “Drought
parches the South East!” But big storms and seasonal droughts are better described as weather rather than climate. So, what is
climate, and how does it differ from weather? Complete the graphic organizer below to illustrate what you believe the
similarities and differences are between these terms.
Compare and Contrast
Weather
Both
Climate
Part 2: Weather vs. Climate
Weather and climate both involve variations in temperature, precipitation, and other environmental factors. Weather is the
day-to-day conditions of Earth’s atmosphere. Climate, on the other hand, is defined by year-after-year patterns of
temperature and precipitation. Climate can vary within a region. Below is a table showing Chicago’s average monthly rainfall
from data collected between 1871 and 2008.
Average Monthly Rainfall in Chicago, IL. From Data
Collected between 1871-2008
Time (Month)
Average Rainfall (in)
January
1.9
February
1.8
March
2.7
April
3.2
May
3.5
June
3.6
July
3.5
August
3.6
September
3.2
October
2.7
November
2.5
December
2.2
Directions:
Today you will graph the data above.
Part A: Graphing Month vs. Average Rainfall
9. Title your x-axis with the independent variable and your y-axis with the dependent variable. Include your units in
parentheses.
10. Scale your x-axis
a. In this case since your x-axis is categorical (aka based on months) and not numerical (based on numbers), find
the scale of the x-axis with the equation below.
i. Scale = (# of Boxes) / (# of categories)
 Round your answer down to determine how many boxes each category should have.
11. Scale your y-axis
a. Since your dependent variable data is numerical use the following equation to determine your y-scale.
i. Scale = (max – min)/(# boxes – 1)
 Always round your answer up to determine how much each box is worth
12. Once you’ve determined your scale, start the first line of each axis with your minimum data point and then use your
scale that you calculated to finish scaling your axis.
13. Show a jump in data from the origin with a squiggle, if your scale is violated (meaning it goes up more or less than the
scale you calculated).
14. Plot your data.
15. Include a key to your graph that helps readers identify which data goes with which scale.
16. Include a title that summarizes what the graph is depicting.