Integrating Mathematical Modelling into Problem Based Research: An Evaporation Activity

Abstract

Climate change put most species’ survival in danger because it substantially affects the climate in which the species live, the quality of the water they drink, as well as the temperature of the air or water. When climate change increases the temperature of the climate, excessive evaporation occurs in lands, lakes, seas, and oceans. Our purpose in this paper is to introduce a mathematical modelling activity embedded in Problem Based Learning (PBL) that allows students to investigate factors related to evaporation. Mathematical modelling is a popular technique of teaching mathematic concepts and skills and a method of inquiry about scientific phenomena that interests scientists. In the present activity, students use secondary data from trusted websites to test their hypotheses. Students are engaged in analyzing and interpreting data, generating and testing models, and discussing and presenting findings with their peers. The activity allows students the opportunity to examine the relationship between variables and predict one variable using the other. The activity has the potential to foster students’ computational and higher-order thinking skills.