STORM STUMPERS (Challenge Questions)

   Challenge Questions have been part of P2K projects since the first LIVE FROM ANTARCTICA broadcast when students were asked: "Mike Castellini's outhouse was painted black and shaped like a triangle. Why black? Why triangular?" (Do you now the answer? It's to do with reflectivity but also with mathematics and construction principles!)

   CQ's--this time we're calling them "STORM STUMPERS"--are brainteasers that ask students to think logically and creatively, and to do a little "out of the box" research to answer the question. But you must be careful--the P2K team likes to set little traps that are fun to get around. Sometimes the answer is not as obvious as you think.

   LIVE FROM THE STORM will publish weekly CQ's in UPDATES-STORM from February to April. The research can be done as a class, assigned as homework, or given as an extra credit assignment. The entire class can send in one answer or, if they cannot agree on one answer, you can send in several answers. Teachers have found that there were times when one student didn't agree with the rest of the class and they were correct!!! Homeschoolers and individual students are invited to submit answers.

• Storm Stumper #1 (OK, students, in this case "Climate Conundrum" would be better!)
  "Which Founding Father is regarded as the discoverer of the Gulf Stream, and how did he use 'You've just got mail!' (no, AOL Time Warner actually did not exist in the 18th C.) in his analysis of the data?"
  
  
• Storm Stumper #2
  "Who said Mark Twain's famous quotation--'Everybody talks about the weather, but no-one does anything about it'?"
  
  
• Storm Stumper #3
  "What are the most dangerous weather and climate events in the United States? (Hurricanes, tornadoes, winter storms, thunderstorms, floods, fire, etc.) Provide current statistics to back up your answer!"