How risky is life?
In the winter of 2016, the year 8 expedition was Natural Disasters.
The learning targets were :
- I can explain how tectonic plate movement leads to tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanoes
- I can decide an appropriate value for the probability of a given event
- I can use experimental and theoretical probability to calculate risk
- I can explain that the effects and response to a natural hazard vary between areas of contrasting wealth
The students began the expedition by looking at two of the most devastating disasters of the last 20 years. During the exploration of the Indonesian Tsunami, the expert Richard Kerman led us through his experience of disaster relief and recovery.
The students looked at the probability of incidents occurring, and discussed the difference between media coverage and the actual numbers. It was discovered that terrorism and murder had very low probability for the 11-14 age group, whilst accidents in the home was the largest killer.
The students looked finally at a case study comparing two areas of different wealth and a similar disaster. They produced a scientific article looking at the human and physical factors
The expedition culminated with the students designing and testing earthquake proof buildings.
