Science Inquiry Project

1. Jacob Pastorik Period 3 Science Inquiry Project

2. Background • My project is on how the temperature of water affects the likeliness of a shark attack. Will warm or cold water have more shark attack findings?

3. Hypothesis • In my experiment, I was comparing the temperature of a certain body of water, and the occurrences of shark attacks in that certain temperature. I predicted that the higher the temperature, the more likely that a shark attack will occur.

4. Data

5. Graph

6. Conclusion • The data as well as the graph support the fact that Shark attacks are more likely in warmer water, since the number of shark attacks are more frequent in the 70-79 degree water than it is in the 50-59 and 60-69 degree water.

7. Extension • There is a lot to build on this project. If I had more time, I would explore other factors that could contribute to shark attacks, such as the species of the shark, or the certain season the attack occurred. Although this project answers one question, it still leaves several others unanswered about shark attacks.

8. Resources • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal,_unprovoked_shark_attacks_in_the_United_States--shark attack list • http://www.tropicalweather.net/Florida_water_temps.htm --Florida beach water temperatures • http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/spac.html -- California beach water temperatureshttp://www.tropicalweather.net/Hawaii_water_temps.htm -- Hawaii beach water temperatures