Forecasting storms and earthquakes, and how warnings keep people safe
Grade 6 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
Forecast cone reaching the coast near Esme's town at day four. The forecast shows a hurricane may reach Esme's coast in about four days. What is the best plan now?
- Wait until the warning is issued, then start a plan
- Ignore it if it is a low category
- Watch just the center line of the cone
- Check the kit and evacuation plan while it is calm
School map with the inside hallway on the lowest floor marked SAFE AREA. The forecast says a tornado watch is likely this afternoon. What should Jun's class do this morning?
- Do nothing until someone actually sees a tornado nearby
- Close the school for the next seven days
- Sit in the safe area for the whole day
- Review where the safe area is and how to get there
"Can you predict earthquakes?" (USGS question page). Luz's friend says scientists predicted the exact day of a big earthquake. Which response is best?
- Agree: seismometers show the date ahead
- Disagree: earthquakes are forecast days ahead, like hurricanes
- Disagree: USGS says no one has predicted a major earthquake
- Agree: animals usually act strangely about a day before
A post says a town outside the hurricane cone will get no wind or rain. Milo checks it. Which response is best?
- Disagree: it is towns inside the cone that stay calm and safe instead
- Agree: the cone is the edge of the storm
- Agree: weather follows just the center line
- Disagree: the cone tracks the center; effects reach outside it
TORNADO WATCH and TORNADO WARNING. Noah's cousin says a tornado watch means a tornado has already been seen. Which response is best?
- Agree: a watch means a tornado has already been spotted somewhere nearby
- Disagree: a watch means conditions are right; a warning means act now
- Agree: a watch and a warning mean exactly the same
- Disagree: a watch means the danger has passed
Read this first
Table (NHC, Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale), with columns Category and Sustained wind
Category 1, 74–95 mph; Category 2, 96–110 mph; Category 3, 111–129 mph; Category 4, 130–156 mph; Category 5, 157 mph or higher.
A storm's sustained winds are 65 mph on Monday, 80 mph on Tuesday and 105 mph on Wednesday. Using the NHC scale, what change does Ren report?
- It stayed a tropical storm for the whole time, without a category
- It weakened from Category 3 to Category 1
- It became a hurricane Tuesday and reached Category 2 Wednesday
- It reached Category 5 by Wednesday
Week 1, 5, ground steady; week 2, 20, ground steady; week 3, 60, ground swelling. Small earthquakes under a volcano rise from 5 a week to 20, then 60, and the ground starts to swell. What should USGS likely do, by Tala's reasoning?
- Wait until lava appears before saying anything
- Raise the alert level and tell nearby people to be ready
- Announce the exact day of the eruption
- Lower the alert level, since small earthquakes are normal
Why can hurricanes be forecast days ahead while earthquakes cannot, as Zee explains?
- Hurricanes can be seen and tracked; faults give no reliable sign of when they will slip
- Both can be forecast days ahead
- Earthquakes are rarer, so no scientist ever tries to forecast them
- Hurricanes are smaller than earthquakes
Why does a flash flood often give less warning than a slow river flood, by Ari's reasoning?
- Very heavy rain can fill small streams within hours
- Flash floods are forecast weeks ahead
- Flash floods come from earthquakes shaking the riverbanks loose
- River floods give no warning of any kind
Tsunami warning centers watch earthquakes and ocean gauges. Why do people near the shore still move to high ground after strong shaking, without waiting, as Bo learns?
- Strong shaking means the tsunami has already passed by
- A nearby tsunami can arrive before an official warning
- It is better to wait and see the wave first
- Warning centers do not exist