These two
pictures from the monarch sanctuaries held many clues about the climate
there. Students from Florida, Vermont, and New Hampshire answered this
challenge. You'll find all of their full answers below.
Here are a few of their observations as well as the inferences*
they made.
Photo
#1 |
|
January
10
4 pm |
Observation |
Inference |
girl
is not wearing a jacket |
it’s
fairly warm |
still
green leaves on the trees |
it
didn't get so cold that the leaves would drop |
Now
you try....What else do you see? |
What
could it mean? |
Photo
#2 |
|
January 11
9 am |
Observation |
Inference |
jackets,
hats and gloves |
a
cold morning;
temperature must go down at night |
butterflies
not moving |
too
cold for them to flap their wings or move |
Now
you try....What else do you see? |
What
could it mean? |
Photos
Copyright Dr. Lincoln Brower and Dr. Linda Fink, Sweet Briar College |
An
inference is... |
An
interpretation of an observation based on past experiences. |
From
Florida
This answer is a combination of the answers from Mrs. Weaver’s
4 Agriscience classes: In the first picture we can see that
the afternoon is warm because of the butterflies flying, which means
the temperature is warm enough for them to move. In this same picture
the person does not have a jacket on and is only wearng shirts. It is
also sunny and clear with very few clouds in the sky. In the second
picture it must be very cool because the two people are wearing jackets,
hats and gloves. The butterflies on the board are not moving so it must
be too cold for them to flap their wings or move. It does not seem to
be as bright in the picture so the sun is not warmed the earth very
much at this time of day.
From
Vermont
Mrs. Thurber's Grade Four students at Ferrisburgh Central School:
We can assume from the pictures that it is cool, but not cold in the
habitat. We didn't see any signs of snow or ice. We also know it is
not too hot, because the scientists are wearing long sleeves and jackets.
There are still green leaves on the trees. It didn't get so cold that
the leaves would drop. We could assume that there is adequate rainfall
because the trees all look green and healthy. Since it is warm enough
for the butterflies to move, they will need food. We didn't see any
flowers, and there are so many butterflies that we think they will have
to travel to find food.
From
New Hampshire
Mrs. Nunnally's second grade class at Peter Woodbury School
in Bedford, NH thinks that the climate in picture 1 shows a
sunny afternoon that is fairly warm. The girl is not wearing a jacket.
She is up in the mountains. The monarchs are flying in the warm weather
and surrounding the girl. There are trees for the butterflies to roost
in. In picture 2 it is a cold morning. The temperature must go down
at night. The people are wearing jackets, hats and mittens because it
is cold. The butterflies are not flying. Maybe they are too cold to
fly. If it is really cold, maybe some of the monarchs died.