Lesson Plans

Forest Destruction Lesson

Description :

The following lesson is one based around the use of several Fire! applets. Students will experiment with a computer model of a forest fire, and examine how much of the overall forest burns by changing an initial probability that, given one tree is on fire, the trees surrounding it will also catch fire. Students will also partake in graphing data, understanding the basic principles of probability, and taking part in the Forest Modeling Game.

Objectives :

Upon completion of this lesson, students will:

be able to use everyday activities to model a forest growth and destruction
be able to use the mean in compiling data
understand variance
practice graphing skills on a coordinate plane
design an experiment to test a hypothesis
examine the difference between linear and non-linear behavior
understand probability of 0 and 1
examine chaotic systems

Materials Needed :

Access to the Fire! Applet
Access to the Directable Fire! Applet
Access to the Simple Plot Applet
Access to the Measures Applet
2-3 students to every computer

Please, continue on through the next sections which fully describe the activity that the students will partake in.

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