Hong Kong Data Challenge

There will be some cross-curricular learning through maths activities involving larger numbers with a wow factor. The questions are related to the topic of last lesson, and reinforce the learning related to the human-induced and natural environmental challenges facing Hong Kong such as overfishing, pollution and flooding.

Key Questions

What are the major challenges facing Hong Kong? Are they man-made problems?

Can you solve the data challenges related to the challenges facing Hong Kong?

Key Ideas

Hong Kong faces a range of challenges, including extreme weather, air pollution, sea water pollution, and waste management.
The government and non-governmental organisations use data to assess the challenges facing a place. They use this information to prioritise the most serious challenges and introduce actions and policies to overcome them. 

Additional resources

• Calculators

• Squared paper/ Maths books

• Interactive Whiteboard/ blackboard/ flipchart

Web links

To watch a short video showing Hong Kong’s torrential rainfall episodes go to YouTube

To watch a second video showing the rainfall go to YouTube

Learning Objective

To answer questions using geographical data related to the human-induced and natural challenges facing Hong Kong.

Starter

Review the main challenges facing Hong Kong, covered in the previous lesson by asking pupils to brainstorm and record these on the interactive whiteboard, sorting in to human-induced challenges and naturally-caused challenges.

Main Activity

Explain to the pupils that the government and non-governmental organisations assess the risk that different challenges pose to the people and environment through research and data collection.

Use the PowerPoint presentation images and key questions to explore the actions taken by the government to mitigate the challenges facing Hong Kong including the ban on fishing trawlers and building barriers to protect the hilly areas from landslides during heavy rainfall.

Play the video showing Hong Kong’s extreme rainfall, go to YouTube

• Ask pupils to note the risks that storms such as this can pose to people and places and then feedback their ideas. 
  Pupils should come up with a range of ideas such: damage to market stalls and buildings, flooding in the street etc. 

• Ask pupils to think of how people can protect themselves, local buildings and homes from storms.

Explain to pupils that the key challenges facing Hong Kong that will be explored through maths questions in this lesson are:

• Temperature

• Rainfall

• Pollution and litter

• Over-fishing

• Waste management

Pupils work through a series of data challenges on the Hong Kong data challenge activity sheet (see downloadable resources). These questions are differentiated by stepped challenge. Pupils can use a calculator for some of the sums which involve larger numbers. 

Extension
Pupils who complete the activity early pair up and create data challenge questions for their partner to answer that are related to the challenges facing Hong Kong.

Plenary

Pose the questions to initiate as a concluding discussion:

• Which challenge facing Hong Kong concerns you the most?

• Does the United Kingdom face any similar challenges to Hong Kong?

Further study

Pupils can go to the WWF website to learn more about endangered species of the seas and oceans that surround Hong Kong