Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hi! For my science project, it says that we need to collect data for hurricanes. It also says that we have to graph them. My question is, can we collect data for tropical storms? If so, how would I graph it? When I make my graphs, it only graphs numbers, not letters. So, if I put TS (Tropical Storm), it does not include it in the graph. (I use Google Sheets). Is there a way to fix this? Or, is there anything I can do?

My Science Project is....
Do Warmer Seas Make Stronger Hurricanes?
Link: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #procedure

Thanks,
JDPlays65

Hi,

Sure, you can use any storm for which you can get water temperature and wind speed data. Tropical storms turn into hurricanes because they are 'fueled' by the warm ocean water over which they travel so plotting this data is useful.

I haven't used the Google graphing program. Maybe one of the other experts can help answer your question about labeling. You could print the graph of wind speed vs temperature, add a label by hand and scan it or photograph it. If you have the Windows program Excel, you can use that to graph your data and it gives you the option of adding labels and using a different symbol for each storm. Isn't there an option to add labels on a chart in the Google spreadsheet program?

Post again if you have more questions.

Sybee