Area of Impact: Sciene and the Environment questions

5. a.) One way that data collection can be transferred to the weather database is by sending the data wirelessly to the weather station in real time so that the database is updated frequently. Another way is to store the data collected onto a portable storage device and upload it from the device into the database.

b.) One difference is that a computer model uses mathematical models to represent something and predict its possible results, but a simulation does this by displaying moving images that represent what is being recreated by the model. Another difference is that simulations can be interactive by adding variables as timme in the simulation progresses, whereas a model merely takes the data and calculates the most likely outcome.

c.) One reason is that not every hurricane behaves the same. Each has its unique size, speed, and strength, giving it unique qualities that cause each one to behave differently. Another reason is that there are many factors that effect hurricane movement, such as the wind speed in a certain area, the air pressure, and humidity. The variations in these in a certain environment cannot all be predicted and be simulated to represent enough areas to account for every possible situation that a hurricane may encounter, because there are so many factors that affect weather it is very difficult to predict how anything that meteorologists see every day behave, let alone a unique instance such as hurricane, which can't be studied as much because there aren't as many.

d.) The use of a weather simulation to predict how a disaster such as a hurricane will behave and act on a system or environment could provide architects with better information about how buildings could be built in order to guard against the forces of a hurricane. Also, a simulation could predict what would happen to a food supply if it was struck by a natural disaster, and knowing what would happen could help people decide how to protect their food. This way, people will know what could be harmful to their food supplies and how they could protect them. A simulation could also predict what the environment would look like after the storm hit. This way, the people could be prepared for what their homes would be like and the people in charge could better decide how to solve the problems that follow a natural disaster.