2 September, 1999

Michele Hauschulz called from Seattle at 7:49 pm Hawaii Time. She and Anu were about to catch the next flight to Alaska and I was asked to post this to the TEA web site. This is the first installment of her second trip trip to Alaska. This note includes information and questions for the Wai'anae High School classes that are following her on this trip. So, get ready, we're off to a "flying start."

Journal Entry:

Whew. We were in school on Oahu this morning, I'm calling from Washington now, and I'll call you from Alaska in just a few hours. About 11:30 your time. I'm tired already. I'm watching the boarding as I talk to you to make sure the plane does not leave without us.

Anu and I had a chance to meet the pilot and visit the cockpit. There we learned that planes follow "highways in the sky." In order to be sure of clear airspace, the DC-10 traveled IN a "highway" 2000 feet above and below other planes. Some plane facts: maximum weight of the DC-10 is 580,000 pounds; the maximum fuel capacity is 37,800 gallons; maximum passengers carried is 288; and maximum range is 7,475 miles. Our plane's take off speed was 185 miles mph and soon reached a cruising speed of 558 mph. We traveled 2,778 miles to Seattle with 265 other people. The plane used 14,940 gallons of gas for this trip which is enough to power the average car for 15 years!

Questions:

How many empty seats were on the plane? If the plane was full of fuel when we took off, how much fuel was left when we landed? How much further could the plane have safely gone?

Use the Holt Earth Science Textbook to do the following:

Anu and I had turned our watches forward 3 hours. when we landed in Seattle.

(Look at the green area on the map, page 555.) When it was 2 pm in Seattle, what time was it in Hawaii and Alaska?

Read pages 554-555; Define: axis, rotation and period of rotation Questions: What is really happening when it looks like the sun is rising on the earth?

How long does it take sunrise to occur across North America?

Why are there time zones?

Looking at figure 19-2: Why are time zones not in straight lines?

We are going to do weather symbols soon.

Check out pages 387-388 in the Earth Science Text Book

Have fun with this stuff. I'll write more soon.

Michele