The Web is a wonderful resource for gathering information on Antarctica, especially if you want information that is up to date! For this portion of your research, you will investigate the Global Position System—find out what it is and how it works by conducting research on the Web.
Before GPS, the thick cloud cover and treacherous conditions of Antarctica made a complete map of the continent impossible!
To conduct your investigation, work as scientists do—predict what you may discover, make observations, and record what you see. Look for patterns. Afterwards, offer hypotheses to explain those patterns. Don't worry if your hypotheses are sketchy right now; any testable hypothesis is a valid starting point. When scientists test their hypothesis and discover that their observations and data do not match their hypothesis, they redefine their investigation by improving the test and gathering more data, or refining the original hypothesis based on the new data before testing again. In your investigation, you can return to the computer if you need to observe more details. Then revise your hypothesis or develop a new one based on each new round of observations.
Bring your journal to the computer and go to:
http://www.trimble.com/gps/howgps/gpsfram1.htm
GPS technology was originally developed by the U.S. government; now it is used by many private companies. Trimble is a private company with a Web site that offers an excellent overview of GPS, including some neat animations. Explore the GPS tutorial on the Trimble Web site. Use "Questions to Guide Your Study" to structure your investigation and your journal notes.
Check out more information on GPS at the University of Colorado Web site. You'll find basic information, lots of images, and lots of in-depth, technical information about GPS.
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/gps/gps_f.html
After you have become familiar with GPS using the Trimble site and the University of Colorado site, try this joke about GPS! On the University of Colorado site listed above, scroll down to the bottom, to "related Web sites." Click on Sam Wormley's Web page and you'll find a little GPS comic strip there. How is the boy able to find the classroom?
If you're working in a team, discuss your observations with your teammates. Remember to record in your own journal your observations about GPS. Include drawings in your notes, and use the questions below to guide your investigation.
- What is GPS? Why is it an improvement upon previous navigation tools?
- How does GPS work?
- How does GPS help scientists? Ships at sea? How is it being used now in cars and even cell phones? Why would GPS be particularly helpful in Antarctica?
- What questions do you have about GPS?