SimuLab 2: Covering a Coastline
Now
let the computer help you carry out the grid method quickly and
easily. See the
1. Call up the Coastline program again.
2. From the File menu, select Open and call up the
coastline you saved earlier.
3. Under the Measure menu, choose Using Grid. The
size control allows you to adjust the size of the grid.
4. Click on the Manual Measure button, as you did previously.
5. Click on every grid square in which any part (even a very small
piece) of the coastline shows. When you are done, the resulting
set of grid squares should completely cover the coastline. Click
on Done.
6. Try another grid size. This time click on Auto Measure
and let the computer cover the coastline. Each result will be
entered into the data table automatically.
7. Let the computer cover the coastline with grids of a variety
of sizes. When you have used as many grids as you want, click
on Done Measuring.
8. Now have the computer analyze the data using a log-log plot
to find the dimension of your coastline according to the grid
method.
9. Compare the value of the dimension measured using the grid
method with the value of the dimension you obtained earlier using
the ruler method.
10. Using Save in the File menu, save your coastline
under a new name. You will need this file later.
11. Summarize this part of the project by entering values of dimension for
both coastlines in a copy of Table 2.3.
| Measurement method | Dimension | Dimension |
| of actual coastline | of computer coastline | |
| Ruler/Caliper | ||
| Grid/Box |