HouseDesigning a Green House

 Science 8, Unit 1 

Created by KCrossley 10/14/11 

You will be designing a green home somewhere in the world.  You will investigate your location and include features in your home addressing wind patterns, precipitation, local geographic conditions, temperature, sunlight and severe weather threats. 

You will create a bibliography in NoodleTools using at least three sources. 

There are some alternative place names that might be helpful to you. Try: 

  • Antananarivo, Madagascar 
  • Nassau, Bahamas 
  • Mt. Everest: Lukla, Nepal or Kathmandu 
  • Amazon: Manaus, Brazil 
  •  Death Valley: If you can’t find Death Valley, try Beatty, NV 
  • Greenwich, England: if you can’t find Greenwich, try London, England 

 Online Databases 

Britannica Online School Edition - An encyclopedia is always a good place to begin
your research.  Use the search box to find your country/city.  The introduction and the land and climate section will be most helpful for this project.  You can also look at the “Web’s Best Sites” on right under “Expand Your Research.”  If you use a website, cite it as a website because it is not part of Britannica.  You can find maps in articles or under “Images and Media.” 

NoodleTools:  Encyclopedias are considered a reference source – not duplicated from a printed work.  Do NOT provide a URL. 

Living Green (World Book) – Look under “Green Buildings” to read about factors to consider in building a green home.
NoodleTools:  Cite as a Reference Source – Encyclopedia.  No, this is a reference database.  Database is Living Green, publisher/sponsor is World Book. 

Websites 

NetTrekker - This is a search engine for finding relevant websites instead of using Google.  Search for websites about your country or city here.
NoodleTools:  Cite pages you find here as websites.  Do NOT cite NetTrekker.  DO provide a URL for the website you use. 

Find Your Location 

  1. Worldatlas:  Latitude and Longitude Finder – To find latitude and longitude for locations. 

Weather 

  1. BBC Weather – Look up your country to find out about weather there. 
  2. Weatherbase – Type in the name or your city or country to find information about the monthly high temperatures, rainfall and other weather statistics. 
  3. The Weather Network: Statistics – Click on the letter for your country, and then find your city below. This will give you average statistics for precipitation and sometimes other weather info. 
  4. World Weather and Climate Information – Click on your country and then look for your city on that country page for precipitation, average temperatures, and average amount of sunshine/month. 
  5. World Climate Index – Find your country and click on it, then click on your city to find out about temperature, precipitation and daylight. Santorini 
  6. World Climate Maps – Here are climate maps of the world, which includes wind speed and direction. 
  7. CloudsRUs.com – Here is information about wind circulation and the global wind pattern. 
  8. WindFinder.com – Select your spot using the boxes on the left side.  Then look for information about wind statistics (instead of just current wind info). 
  9. Weather Underground: Solar Calculator - Enter your city/country, scroll to the bottom to "submit" to see how much energy you can generate from the sun.
  10. Gaisma - Find sunrise, sunset, dawn and dusk times around the world here.
  11. Built It Solar - Here are links to many tools that give sun position, climatic data for solar design, and radiation on a solar collector.
  12. Lonely Planet – Use the search box to look up your country or city.  The most helpful section is called “When to go and Weather.” 

Volcanoes 

  1. Volcanoes of the World – Click on your region on the map, then look for your subregion on the left side of the page to find out volcanoes near your location.  

Mountain Ranges/Elevation 

  1. Veloroutes.org – Enter the name of the city or location in the search box.  It will find the elevation of your city, and the latitude and longitude.  You can also click on the Google Map to see the land features (terrain) or an actual satellite image of the city.   

Ocean Currents 

  1. Ocean Motion – Here is a map showing wind-driven surface currents.  You can also click on the left to look at more information about ocean currents. 

Severe Weather Threats 

Hurricanes 

  1. Hurricane Features – Click on arrows at bottom of page to look at more info. 

Earthquakes 

  1. US Geological Survey – You can click on the map to find your country.  You can also click on the left under Info by Country/Region, and then look under “Maps” or “Recent Earthquakes” to find info on your city/country. 

Tornadoes 

  1. Windows on the World – Here is a world map showing tornadoes. 

 Home Design Ideas 

  1. Green Home/Green Living: Building Green Home - Read about building a green home. If you're going to watch the video at school, get headphones.
  2.  Green Home/Green Living: Green Home Design - Read about designing a green home.
  3. WebEcoist: Sustainable Style - See designs for 12 contemporary green homes here.
  4.  Home Design and Architecture - Read about this water cooled house in Singapore. You can also click on house images on the right side to see other homes with green design.
  5. Shelter Online - Here are typical houses in some parts of the world.
  6. Houses Around the World - See photos and descriptions of homes in many parts of the world

 
 
This page is maintained by Molly Rehbehn and Karen Crossley.
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