Biology HL
Collaborative Urban-Heat Planning
- 1.
A hypothetical team asks whether tree cover reduces heat exposure in a school courtyard. Biology members propose canopy and leaf measurements; physics members propose radiation and temperature measurements. Design four linked features of a plan that tests a shared question rather than producing disconnected subject reports.
[4 marks] · no calculator - 2.
In hypothetical pilot data, one team member records 42 C using an infrared sensor aimed at paving; another records 29 C using a shaded air-temperature probe at head height. Explain why neither result necessarily invalidates the other and propose three decisions needed for a fair comparison of shaded and unshaded sites.
[4 marks] · no calculator - 3.
A hypothetical team has funds for either more courtyard sites or repeated measurements at existing sites. Initial data show large day-to-day variation and only two courtyard sites. Explain the value of each option, propose a justified compromise and state how the team should communicate the remaining uncertainty.
[4 marks] · no calculator - 4.
For a hypothetical biology-physics rehearsal, each of two courtyard plots receives 600 W m^-2 solar input and reflects 150 W m^-2. A simplified agreed model assigns 300 W m^-2 to evaporation/transpiration in the vegetated plot and 50 W m^-2 in the bare plot. Neglect other fluxes for this arithmetic. Calculate the residual power available for other warming in each plot and their difference. Explain the biological link to latent heat and why these residuals alone cannot predict an air-temperature difference.
[4 marks] - 5.
In a hypothetical urban-heat project, shaded-site loggers recorded all ten scheduled afternoons, but exposed-site loggers failed on the four hottest afternoons according to an independent school weather record. A draft compares the ten shaded observations with the six exposed observations and claims an unbiased shade effect. Explain the missing-data risk, propose a defensible immediate comparison and a targeted collection repair, and specify how the two subject teams should document the remaining limitation.
[4 marks] · no calculator