geography year 9 home learning bookletgeography year 9 home learning booklet hurricanes and...

Geography

Year 9 Home Learning Booklet

Hurricanes and Hurricane Katrina

Name

Tutor

Group

Teacher

Given out Monday 8 February Hand in Monday 22 February

Parent/Carer Comment

Staff Comment

Target

Your home learning booklet this week is all about hurricanes. You will discover

where they form in the world, how they form and look at a case study of

Hurricane Katrina which hit the USA in 2005 and was the most deadly storm

in recorded history.

Task 1: How a Hurricane Forms (10 minutes)

Look at the two pictures below and write down 5 questions you could ask

about how a hurricane forms.

A hypothesis is a sentence you write to make a guess about something.

Write a hypothesis about how you think hurricanes might form. Use the

sentence starters to help you.

My hypothesis is that hurricanes form____________________________

________________________________________________________

I think this because ________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

1 _________________________________________________

2_________________________________________________

3_________________________________________________

4_________________________________________________

5_________________________________________________

All to

complete

Task 2: How to make a hurricane (10 minutes)

This is a picture of what a hurricane would look like if you chopped it in half. Look

at the labels. Each label has a number. Number your diagram to show where each

label belongs.

2) Warm moist air rises and condenses

forming clouds.

1) Hurricanes form over warm seas of at

least 27oC

3) As the air rises it spirals, cools and

condenses – releasing huge amounts of

heat energy which powers the storm.

5) The eye of the storm is right in the

centre where warm air spirals upwards

and cool air sinks.

4) Thick clouds

produce heavy rain

6) The low pressure at the centre of the

hurricane means that the sea surface is

pulled up, creating a bulge of sea water called

a storm surge.

4) The very large temperature difference

between the eye of the storm which is very

warm and the edges of the storm which are

much cooler cause the extreme strong winds.

All to

complete

Task 3: Formation of a Hurricane (15 minutes)

Hurricanes need three conditions to form:

Low air pressure.

Warm temperatures.

Moist ocean air.

Hurricanes form in the tropics, over warm ocean water (over 27ºC). They

affect areas around the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Equator

Tropic of Cancer

Tropic of Capricorn

A hurricane goes through many stages as it develops.

Write out the stages of hurricane development in your own words and/or

using diagrams on the next page using the keywords and speeds as clues:

When the cyclonic winds have continuous speeds from 39 to 73 miles per

hour, it is called a tropical storm (storms are given names at this stage).

It starts as a tropical wave, a westward-moving area of low air pressure.

As the warm, moist air over the ocean rises in the low air pressure area, cold

air from above replaces it. This produces strong gusty winds, heavy rain and

thunderclouds. This is called a tropical disturbance.

As the air pressure drops and there are sustained winds up to 38 miles per

hour, it is called a tropical depression.

The storm becomes a hurricane when there are sustained winds of over 73

miles per hour.

Stages of a Hurricane

1) ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

2) ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

3) ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

4) ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

5) ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

All to

complete

Task 4: Tracking Hurricane Katrina (45 minutes)

All to complete

1) Use the coordinates of Latitude and Longitude to plot the track of Hurricane

Katrina onto your map. It is the same as if you were doing coordinates in Maths!

Date Time Latitude

Degrees

North

Longitude

Degrees

West

Scale

1 24th Aug 2005 0000 23 76 Depression

2 24th Aug 2005 1200 24 77 Tropical Storm



5 26th Aug 2005 0000 26 80 1

6 26th Aug 2005 1200 25 82 1

7 27th Aug 2005 0000 25 83 2

8 27th Aug 2005 1200 24 85 3

9 28th Aug 2005 0000 25 86 3

10 28th Aug 2005 0006 25 87 4

11 28th Aug 2005 1200 26 88 5

12 28th Aug 2005 1800 26 89 5

13 29th Aug 2005 0000 27 89 5

14 29th Aug 2005 0006 28 90 4

15 29th Aug 2005 1200 30 90 3

16 30th Aug 2005 0000 37 89 3

2) What were the wind speeds on August 28th?

_____________________________________

Hurricanes are measured on the Saffir Simpson Scale

Scale Damage Wind Speeds Storm Surge

1 Minimal 74 - 95 mph 1-2 metres

2 Moderate 96 – 110 mph 2-3 metres

3 Extensive 111 – 130 mph 3-4 metres

4 Extreme 131 – 155 mph 4-6 metres

5 Catastrophic 156+ mph 6 metres +

3) Suggest why the hurricane may have dropped from a category 5 to a

category 4 strength on 29th August. If you are not sure look back over what

hurricanes need to form.

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________

Tracking Hurricane Katrina: Plot your coordinates onto here

95

o

90

o

85

o

80

o

75

o

70

o

65

o

60

o

55

o

50

o

45

o

Silver

Gold

Task 5: Hurricane Katrina – What happened? (20 minutes)

Read through this information carefully. Use a highlighter or underline

anything you think is important information about why Katrina was such a

bad disaster.

Hurricane Katrina occurred at the end of August 2005 and lasted for several

days. It began in the Gulf of Mexico and moved north to affect the states of

Alabama and Louisiana in the USA. New Orleans was particularly badly hit.

Hurricane Katrina’s scale (the storm was 500km across) and magnitude (wind

speeds as high as 155mph) meant that even though it veered away from New

Orleans at the last minute it still had a huge impact on the city as well as

devastating the Alabama coast.

The magnitude and scale of Katrina was a key factor. Hurricane Katrina was so

big that the flood defences were not good enough to stand up to her. Unusually

high sea temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico (possibly an effect of global

warming) helped build Katrina into a category five storm when flood defences

were only built to withstand a category three hurricane.

Much of the US coastline from Louisiana to Alabama was devastated by

Hurricane Katrina. It arrived as a category 4 storm with winds of over 40 mph

and a storm surge of 6 metres. New Orleans lies in a bowl-shaped valley that is 3

to 5 metres below sea level. The system of levees (dams to stop the sea from

flooding the city) and sea walls that were constructed to protect New Orleans

broke leading to large parts of the city being very badly flooded when the water

poured into the valley and then couldn’t drain away.

Use the information you have just read to fill in the boxes on ‘Location’,

‘Time and Date’ and ‘What happened’ on the Case Study sheet on the next

page. Use bullet points to collect the information.

All to

complete

Case study – Hurricane Katrina

Location:

place and

country

Time and

date

What

happened to

cause the

event?

Effects (things that happen)

Responses – what was done to help?

Task 6: Hurricane Katrina – Effects (15 minutes)

Read through this information carefully. Use a highlighter or underline

anything you think is important information about what happened during the

storm.

A very high tide and 6 metre waves broke the levees (dams) and flood defences

causing severe flooding. 75% of the city ended up underwater. 1200+ people

drowned and over a million were left homeless. Fires broke out in places where

gas mains were broken and many dead bodies were left floating in the water.

Many other people were trapped in their homes. Many people who were left in

the city were told to take shelter in the city’s sports stadium called the

Superbowl where they were trapped during the storm without food or water.

Because of this many people started to take whatever they could to survive and

people began stealing other people’s things and looting from shops. Fights broke

out and the armed forces were called in to help. People who couldn’t shelter in

the Superbowl were left to sleep out on the streets.

Use the information you have just read, plus anything you can see in the

pictures to fill in the box on ‘Effects’ on the Case Study sheet. Use bullet

points to collect the information.

All to

complete

Task 7: Hurricane Katrina – Responses (20 minutes)

The next bits of information are quotes on what people said about the

situation in New Orleans during the disaster. This is what real people said

during the real thing. Some of their opinions are very strong because they

are upset by what is happening. Read through them carefully and highlight

or underline any information you think might be important about how people

were helped or not helped.

“I hate the way they portray us in the media, if you see

a black family it says they’re looting, if you see a

white family it says they’re looking for food and you

know that it’s been 5 days because most of the people

are black..The way America is set up is to help the poor,

the black people, the less well off as slow as possible.

Red Cross is doing everything they can but everyone that

could help is fighting the war and they have given permission for them to go

down there and shoot us…George Bush doesn’t care about black people”

American Rap Artist Kanye West

“The thing that is most obvious in all of this is that the conditions continue to

get worse for the victims in all of this and the efforts to do something about it

are nowhere in sight… A better leader would have flown straight to the site of

the disaster zone and announced the immediate call-up of every available

help…The President showed up a day later than he was needed…and appeared

casual to the point of carelessness…The government was not ready and shifted

its attention from natural disasters to fighting the war on terror…No one

believes the government is doing a good job in handling one of the most

atrocious, embarrassing, far-reaching and calamitous things that has come along

in this country in my life time. Im 62…I have never ever seen as badly bungled

and poorly handled as this situation in New Orleans. Where the hell is the water

for these people? Why can’t sandwiches be dropped to those people that are

trapped in the Superdome down there? I mean what is going on?! This is

Thursday, this storm happened 5 days ago! It’s a disgrace.” CNN News Reporter

Use the information you have just read to fill in the box on ‘Responses’ on

the Case Study sheet. Use bullet points to collect the information. There

was very little response from the American government so try to name the

things that they didn’t do.

Trun

Silver

Gold

Task 8: To what extent was Hurricane Katrina a natural disaster? (1 hour)

Use the information you have collected on how hurricanes form and what

happened during Hurricane Katrina to answer the essay question:

To what extent was Hurricane Katrina a natural disaster?

This is an extended piece of writing and you should aim to use as much

information from your case study sheet and this booklet to answer the question

as fully as possible, using Point Evidence Explain paragraphs. It should be 1

page of A4 and consist of three paragraphs. Use the sentence starters below to

help you structure your essay but write up or type out your answer in full.

Paragraph1: Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster because…

(Give at least 3 reasons about how hurricanes form and the location of New

Orleans. Explain them fully.)

Paragraph 2: Hurricane Katrina was made worse by humans because…

(Give at least 3 reasons about what happened to the levees and what the

American government did. Explain them fully.)

Paragraph 3: In my opinion Hurricane Katrina….

(Give your opinion on whether you think Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster

or man- made or a bit of both. Explain why you hold this opinion).

Turn to the next page for space to write your answer.

Extension Task: Rewrite the song! On the next three pages are three sets of lyrics from three well known

songs. Choose one of the songs and rewrite the words to tell the story of

Hurricane Katrina. There is a blank page allocated for this. If you are not

sure what the songs sound like you can look them up on the internet or come

and ask me. Alternatively, complete the acrostic poem for the word

‘hurricane’.

Rain on your Parade by Duffy

I wish you well, I hope you survive

I hope you live, oh baby, so I can watch you cry

'Cause I know in time you'll see what you did to me

And you'll come running back

I'm gonna rain on your parade, no, I won't take it again

And I'll keep raining, raining, raining over you



I pity the fools who bathe in you

'Cause I know someday now they'll see your colours too

And if you see a smile besides my face, no, I'm doing good now

Since you've been erased

'Cause I know in time you'll see what you did to me

And you'll come running back





Umbrella by Rihanna

You had my heart, and we'll never be worlds apart

Maybe in magazines, but you'll still be my star

Baby 'cause in the dark, you can't see shiny cars

And that's when you need me there

With you, I'll always share

Because when the sun shines, we'll shine together

Told you I'll be here forever

Said I'll always be your friend

Took an oath, I'ma stick it out to the end

Now that it's raining more than ever

Know that we'll still have each other

You can stand under my umbrella

You can stand under my umbrella (Ella ella, ay ay ay)

Under my umbrella (Ella ella, ay ay ay)


Under my umbrella (Ella ella, ay ay ay ay, ay ay)

These fancy things will never come in between

You're part of my entity, here for infinity

When the war has took its part

When the world has dealt its cards

If the hand is hard, together we'll mend your heart

Because when the sun shines, we'll shine together

Told you I'll be here forever

Said I'll always be your friend

Took an oath, I'ma stick it out to the end

Now that it's raining more than ever

Know that we'll still have each other

You can stand under my umbrella

You can stand under my umbrella (Ella ella, ay ay ay)



Under my umbrella (Ella ella, ay ay ay ay, ay ay)

Raindrops keep falling on my head by B.J Thomas

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head

And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed

Nothin' seems to fit

Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'

So I just did me some talkin' to the sun

And I said I didn't like the way he got things done

Sleepin' on the job

Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'

But there's one thing I know

The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me

It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me


But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red

Cryin's not for me

'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'

Because I'm free

Nothin's worryin' me

It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me


But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red

Cryin's not for me

'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'

Because I'm free

Nothin's worryin' me

Your Hurricane Katrina Song

Acrostic Poem

If you do not want to rewrite the song lyrics, complete the acrostic poem by

thinking of one word or sentence about hurricanes and Hurricane Katrina for

each letter of the word ‘hurricane’.

Self Evaluation of my Homework

I am a R____________________ learner. I know this because: ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

I believe that my effort and attitude to learning for this booklet is a:

1 2 3 4

I know this because: ______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Well done for completing your Home Learning Booklet for Geography.

Mrs Perryman.

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