1. Vacation! How Long and How Far? A Geological Circuit of National Parks of the Colorado Plateau A trip-planning activity to estimate travel distance, duration and expense. Prepared for SSAC by Judy Harden – University of South Florida © The Washington Center for Improving the Quality of Undergraduate Education. All rights reserved. 2006 SSAC2006.G155.JAH1.1 1 Hyperlinks allow you to explore the geology of each park. Core Quantitative Issue Estimation Supporting Quantitative Issues Data collectionUnit conversion Percent increase Weighted average

2. 2 Slides 3 states the problem. Slides 4 gives details of the beginning of the trip and spreadsheet set up. Slides 5 presents a unit conversion problem. Slides 6-12 provide trip details for planning the budget and photos and links to the geology of the featured parks. Slide 13 calculates a weighted average. Slide 14 provides final trip details and help with budget totals. Slide 15 consists of some questions that constitute your homework assignment. Slides 16-18 are endnotes for elaboration and reference. Overview of Module This module presents data to prepare a budget and time line for an excursion to some national parks in the Colorado Plateau area.

3. 3 Problem You are planning a self-guided field trip to visit some of the geology you learned about in your introductory geology course. You intend to visit 13 national parks and one Navajo park in the Colorado Plateau in Arizona and Utah. You will fly into Phoenix, AZ, get a car and start the trip on June 1. You won’t spend much time at any of the parks, but you will see the main geologic features at each of them. To plan your schedule, you will use odometer readings from a log written by a friend who made the trip previously. The Colorado Plateau is a very arid area of the US. Take plenty of water! Before working through the module, make an educated GUESS of how much a trip like this may cost and how much vacation time you need. Write your guess down on a piece of paper. Now, ESTIMATE how much the trip will cost and the amount of vacation time you need. Click here to look at a map of the area. Then think about how much you would be willing to pay for camping fees, food, gas, car rental, and airplane tickets. here A guess is a prediction with little or no information. An estimate is a rough calculation using simplified methods with approximations and assumptions. How close is your estimate to your guess?

4. 4 The ultimate goal of this exercise is to collect data from the background slides that will be useful in determining the duration of the trip, the distance traveled, and the money you will spend. To keep track of your data for the trip, create the “budget” spreadsheet shown below. Background Insert new rows here as needed. You have guessed and estimated. Now you will collect data from each of the slides to calculate the cost and duration of the trip. As you work through the slides, record the distance driven, the entrance fees, camping fees, and how much time you spend driving and sightseeing. This is a low-budget trip, so you will be camping, renting a fuel efficient car, and eating mostly from a cooler. The first odometer reading from your friend’s log is 00020 miles, at Phoenix airport. (Wow, your friend had a new car!) You will also create other spreadsheets to make calculations along the way. Enter the values you estimated from the previous slide here.

5. 5 If the geologist in the photo is 62 inches tall, and the saguaro is ~4.5 times her size, how many feet, centimeters, and meters tall is the cactus? On the way to Montezuma’s Castle NM* 12 inches = 1 foot 2.54 cm = 1 inch 100 cm = 1 m You plan to leave the Phoenix airport at 11:00am and drive north to Montezuma’s Castle. Along the way you will see many saguaro cacti and wonder how tall they are. Saguaro National Park is in southern Arizona. Unfortunately, you won’t have time to visit there on this trip. = cell with a number in it = cell with a formula in it saguaro cacti Click here for help with unit conversions.here Photo by M. Harden Recreate this spreadsheet. * National Monument

6. 6 Recreate this spreadsheet. You will add to it and use it throughout the module. At Sunset Crater Volcano, the odometer reading was 00195. You should average 60 mph from the previous stop. The entrance fee is $5.00. Two hours is not much time to hike the trails, but you do get to see many volcanic features.Sunset Crater Volcano Stops 1 &2: Montezuma’s Castle NM and Sunset Crater Volcano NM The Sinagua Indians built this “high-rise” apartment building 600 years ago into a natural limestone recess. It was erroneously named after Montezuma who was never in this area. The odometer reading at Montezuma's Castle was 00120. The entrance fee is $5.00. It’s a small park, and you stay only one hour.Montezuma's Castle Sunset Crater Volcano is a cinder cone volcano formed from a series of eruptions between 1040 to 1100AD. The fire fountain that created it was ~850 feet tall. The flora within a 5 mile radius was destroyed, and an ash plume ascended 2.5 miles into the atmosphere. If you average 60 mph from Phoenix, how long will it take you to get to Montezuma’s Castle? Add these values to your “budget” spreadsheet. Be sure to do this for each of the following slides. Photo by J. Harden

7. 7 At the Grand Canyon, the odometer reading was 00290. You should average 45 mph from Wupatki. The entrance fee is $25.00. This is a park where you could spend weeks. Settle for two nights of camping at $18.00 per night and plan on being in the park for 36 hours.Grand Canyon If your car’s thermometer reads 40 o C, what is the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit? Stops 3 & 4: Wupatki NM and Grand Canyon NP* Click here for help with temperature conversionshere At Wupatki, the odometer reading was 00213. You should average 55 mph from Sunset Crater. The entrance fee is $5.00 and you walk through the pueblo for one hour.Wupatki If you heard on the news that the temperature is 95 o F, what is the temperature in degrees Celsius? Photo by J. Harden Recreate this spreadsheet. * National Park

8. 8 You pay a $25.00 entrance fee. You will want to camp for two nights at $16.00 per night and stay in the park for 42.5 hours. Stop 5: Zion National Park Visitation in 1920 was 3.6 thousand, and in 1996, it was 2.6 million. So, you see, this is a very busy park. To ease traffic congestion and to lower pollution levels, the park service provides a shuttle to the main features of the park. AT Zion, the odometer reading was 00544. You should average 55 mph from the Grand Canyon. This is another park where you could spend weeks. You’ll just have to come back when you have more time!Zion The Virgin River has cut a gorge through a portion of Zion canyon that is 16 miles long, 2000 feet deep, and only 20-30 feet wide in places. Click the link to the left to see what’s involved on a hike through this canyon. Zion Narrows Checkerboard Mesa Kolob Canyon Photos by J. Harden Recreate this spreadsheet to calculate the percent increase in park visitation. Click here for help with percent increase.here Over 72,000 % increase in visitation!

9. 9 At Bryce Canyon, the odometer reading was 00679. You should average 40 mph from Cedar Breaks. The entrance fee is $20.00, and camping is $10/night. Camp here, and stay for 24 hours.Bryce Canyon Stops 6 & 7: Cedar Breaks NM and Bryce Canyon NP Note the similarity of these two parks. Both canyons have formed due to the erosion of the Claron rock formation, yielding similar coloration and weathering. The spire-type pattern of the eroded rocks is better developed in Bryce Canyon. These features are known as hoodoos! At Cedar Breaks the odometer reading was 00616. You should average 50 mph from Zion. The entrance fee is $4.00, and you stay for two hours. This park is lesser known than Bryce Canyon, but it’s a must see!Cedar Breaks Photo by J. Harden Interested in photography? The picture of Cedar Breaks was taken in the late afternoon. The colors are vivid and shadows accentuate the features of the canyon. The picture at Bryce Canyon was taken mid-day when the sun was at its brightest. The colors are rather dull. For really great pictures, timing is everything!

10. 10 At Canyonlands, the odometer reading was 00952, and you should average 50 mph from Capitol Reef. The entrance fee is $10.00, and you stay for 7 hours.Canyonlands Stops 8 & 9: Capitol Reef NP and Canyonlands NP Canyonlands has two roads into the park. The northern entrance allows you to drive on top of the plateau and the southern road allows you to drive through the formations within the canyon. Take time to drive both roads. At Capitol Reef, the odometer reading was 00803, and you should average 40 mph from Bryce Canyon. The entrance fee including camping is $5.00. So spend the night & stay for 17 hrs.Capitol Reef Photo by J. Harden Photos by J. Harden Monitor & Merrimack Mesas

11. 11 At Natural Bridges, the odometer reading was 01088. You should average 55 mph from Arches. The entrance fee is $6. Plan to stay just one hour.Natural Bridges Stops 10 & 11: Arches NP and Natural Bridges NM Click here to learn about the similarities and differences of natural arches and natural bridges.here At Arches, the odometer reading was 00961. You should average 35 mph from Canyonlands. The entrance fee is $10. Camp for two nights at $15/night and stay for 36.5 hours.Arches Photos by J. Harden Delicate Arch

12. 12 At Painted Desert, the odometer reading was 01334. You should average 50 mph from Monument Valley. The entrance fee is $10. Stay for 1.5 hours.Painted Desert Stops 12, 13 & 14: Monument Valley, Painted Dessert, and Petrified Forest NP Click here to learn about how logs are petrified.here At Monument Valley, the odometer reading was 01149. You should average 40 mph from Natural Bridges. This is actually a Navajo Tribal park and not a national park. It is really worth driving through this area and stopping for 15 minutes to take a few pictures.Monument Valley Photos by J. Harden At Petrified Forest, the odometer reading was 01337. You should average 35 mph Painted Desert. The entrance fee is included in the fee you paid for the Painted Desert. Stay for 2 hours. There is no camping here, so you will need to stay in a private campground nearby ($20/night) for 10 hrs. (Use a duration of 12 hours for this park.)Petrified Forest

13. 13 Distance and duration Use the “sumproduct” function in this cell to calculate the correct average speed. Begin your drive back to Phoenix at 6:00 am. The final odometer reading in your friends log was 01603 at the Phoenix airport. You should average 65 mph from the petrified forest. Now that your distance and duration spreadsheet is complete, what was your average speed for the trip? You might be tempted to sum the “ave. speed” column and then divide by the number of entries (15). This method would give an incorrect answer of 49 mph. The correct answer is a weighted average and depends on the travel time (duration) at each average speed. Click here for help with weighted averages.here

14. 14 If your airfare is $365, your economy car (35mpg) rental is $34/day, gas prices are $2.49/gal, and you spend $20/day on food, what is the total price of your trip? Budget Use the “sumproduct” function in this cell. Be sure that your “budget” spreadsheet is filled out correctly. It’s time to total! You can save some money if you buy a National Park Pass for $50. It is good for a full year and for all family members! Airfare can vary greatly depending on the city of origin. With planning well in advance, this same ticket could have been purchased for $200.

15. 15 1.What is the total estimated cost of your trip? 2.What is the earliest possible date and time to schedule your return flight? 3.How many days would it take simply to drive a circuit that connects the 14 parks? (Allow 10 hrs per day, and no stopping at the parks – in other words, what is the driving time, in days)? 4.Sunset Crater Volcano is 984 ft high. How tall is that in meters? In units of 5’2” geologists? 5.If the temperature outside is 18 o F, what is the temperature in degrees Celsius? 6.If your average speed for the first three legs and the last leg of the trip increased to 75 mph, what would your average speed for the trip be? 7.If you found an airfare for the trip on-line for $210 but didn’t buy it, and you later purchased the ticket at $365, what is the percent increase in the higher ticket price? 8.You convince your sibling to take the trip with you and share the cost. You also decide to buy the national park pass (valid for all family members). How much will your share of the trip cost? (Note, some costs will be doubled, and others will not.) 9.Click the link for Sunset Crater Volcano National Park on Slide 6 to go on the virtual field trip. Describe how sunset crater formed and why it is so colorful.Slide 6 10.Click the link for Grand Canyon on Slide 7 and read through the information. How much geologic time is recorded in the rock layers of the Grand Canyon? How much time is missing? (unconformities)Slide 7 End of Module Assignment

16. 16 You will be flying into Phoenix and driving north. The parks you will visit are marked with red stars. Use the scale bar at the bottom of the map to estimate the distance you will travel. Distance estimation Knowing the approximate distance you will travel should enable you to estimate the amount of time you will need. Back

17. 17 Type the formula for temperature into your spreadsheet as follows: =(A2-32)*(5/9) Now remove the first set of parentheses and see how your answer changes. Order of operations! Understanding Unit Conversions Below are examples to help you understand how to convert units. To convert 32 inches to km, set up the equation in this manner making sure the units cancel so that you end with the units you need: To convert 95 o F to Celsius: m km cm m inch cm inches 1000 1 100 1 1 54.2 32                   Missing parentheses:Correct use of parentheses: Back WRONG! km E 4 13.8 

18. 18 Recreate the spreadsheet below. Understanding Weighted Averages Your GPA is a weighted average of the grades you have earned for the total credit hours that you have taken. An A in a 4 credit course carries more importance (weight) than an A in a one credit course. The following values are given to letter grades: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0. The great thing about earning straight A’s is that you never have to calculate your GPA. It is 4.0. But if you have earned less than an A in some of your classes, you can use this spreadsheet to calculate your GPA. To calculate your GPA on a calculator, you would need to input the following: The information below is from the Microsoft Excel help link regarding “weighted average”. Back =((4*3)+(4*3)+(4*1)+(3*3)+(2*1)+(4*4)+(2*4)+(0*3))/(3+3+1+3+1+4+4+3)