Name _______________
Class _______________
Date ________________

Big Lips Sink Ships

Define the following terms in your own words:

  1. potential source of error in an experiment: something that may cause the data to be different if the experiment was replicated__________________________________
  2. cross-sectional opening: the way the opening of a container looks when you look down on it from above________________________________________________________
  3. the lip of a container: the edge of the opening of a container_______________________
  4. area of a circle: the amount of space inside a circle; calculated with the formula πr2
    (pi times r squared) where π=3.14 and r=radius of the circle
    ______________________________________
  5. Jack and Jill were meteorologists for the Navy. Jack designed a new rain gauge with a cross-sectional opening pictured in the diagram below. Jill liked her old rain gauge, also pictured below.
  6. Whose rain gauge has a bigger lip? ___________________________





  7. What is the total surface area that rain will hit on each gauge? You will have to actually measure the radius of the correct circles to calculate this. Show your work!


    8. Jack's total surface area _______________ Jill's total surface area _______________


  8. What is the actual surface area that rain falling straight down should hit to give the most accurate picture of a column of rain? Measure a different radius. Show your work!


    9. Jack's actual rainfall area _______________ Jill's actual rainfall area _______________
    A major storm was brewing, and as it passed over Jack and Jill's weather station on the hill, both scientists collected rainfall data and recorded their results in the chart below.




    The storm was headed out to sea, where it was expected to hit the Admiral's armada (a bunch of boats) in less than 3 hours. The Admiral wanted to know if they should sail off course to miss the storm, or if they could ride it out and stay on course. Jack and Jill both agree that if there is more than 4" of rain per hour that the Admiral should veer off course. However, they are arguing about whose data to believe, so they don't know what to tell the Admiral.

  9. Whose rain gauge will give the most accurate data? Why?


  10. What should Jack and Jill tell the Admiral to do? Why?