Students will collect data on leaf color changes in Washington to determine when peak color occurs in different locations and under various conditions. They will record the town, date of peak color, elevation, and any weather events. After analyzing the compiled class data, students will develop a hypothesis about factors influencing color change and email a summary. Finally, they will design an experiment to test their hypothesis in future years.

1. Group Project #1When, Where, and Why do leaves change color in the fall?

2. Which Date Will The Fall Leaves Hit Their Peak in Washington?

3. Data to CollectWhat Town Are You Observing From?Which Date does the colors hit their peak?What Elevation Are You At?Was their a weather event that triggered it (first frost, really warm, too dry?)Is there a certain tree species that has more color than the others?

4. Stage 1 – Oct 9thuntil Nov 1stPost your response in the Group ThreadEmail your response to me as well, so I can track and record your credit.

5. Stage 2 – Nov 1stOnce the data is collected, I will email all of you the final data results (pre-organized for your convenience) of the whole class and a map of where the observations took place.You analyze the results yourself to come to conclusions.

6. Stage 2 – Nov 1stGo back into the thread and offer your hypothesis about what factors affect color change including elevation, latitude, longitude, temperature, daylight hours, weather, or whatever else that has been noticed.Email me your final data analysis and a summary of how you developed your hypothesis.

7. Stage 3 – Nov 1st-10thDevelop an experiment or data collection method that could test your hypothesis the following autumn to see if it is true.Email it to me.

8. 100 Points PossibleStage 1 – Data Collection = 30 ptsStage 2 – Data Analysis and Hypothesis = 40 ptsStage 3 – Hypothesis Testing Plan = 30 pts