Conquer It
In the "Hurricane forecasting enters the drone era"opens in new window article, the author makes a claim about using Coyotes to help predict the strength of hurricanes and supports the claim with facts and information from specialists and researchers. The author identifies pros and cons of the Coyotes.
Read the “Coyotes Take the Tough Assignments” section of the article, and then complete the activity below. Think about how the author introduces pros and cons into the article as evidence to support the claim.
Coyotes Take The Tough Assignments
10 Manufactured by Sensintel of Tucson, Arizona, the Coyotes cost about $70,000 apiece. Yet two or three of them might be sent into a single storm with no expectation of seeing them again.
11 Dunion said the benefits will be worth it. He said the small plane can fly right above the ocean surface in a storm’s eye, which is far too dangerous for any aircraft with people aboard.
12 In the process, the Coyote will help scientists better understand how a tropical system feeds on heat from the ocean's surface.
13 “The thermodynamics of the ocean near a storm’s eye is not something we sample very often,” Dunion said. “It’s hard to sample.”
14 To intercept storms that could hit the U.S. coastline, NOAA this summer plans to station Coyote-carrying WP-3s in St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Complete the activity below by dragging evidence to the appropriate columns to show your understanding of how the pros and cons of using the Coyote are presented in this section of the article. Or, complete the alternative multiple choice activity. This alternate activity is provided for students using keyboard only or screen readers.
