THE WEATHER UNIT SCIENCE CYCLE 3 PREDICTING · PDF fileDifferences in air pressure are shown...
Transcript of THE WEATHER UNIT SCIENCE CYCLE 3 PREDICTING · PDF fileDifferences in air pressure are shown...
THE WEATHER UNIT
PREDICTING WEATHER
Name_______________
Teacher: D. Strina
SCIENCE CYCLE 3
Climate refers to the conditions in the atmosphere in a place over
a long period of time.
The major factor in determining the climate of an area is its
latitude. Other factors include how close a place is to land and/or
water masses, its altitude (how high it is above sea level), the
topography of the land, ocean currents, wind and storm patterns.
Latitude is the distance north and south of the equator. Since the
equator gets the most direct rays of the sun, the climates there
are warm. The places further from the equator get less direct rays
of the sun and thus their climate is cooler.
The areas above the Arctic Circle and below the Antarctic Circle
have polar climates. This means that the climate is cold year
round. The areas between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic of
Cancer and the Antarctic Circle and the Tropic of Capricorn have
temperate climates marked by warm summers and cold winters.
The areas around the equator have warm climates the year
round.
CLIMATE
Review questions-
1
Temperature is the measure of heat in the air in a given place.
The earth is heated from the sun's energy, also referred to as
solar energy. This solar energy not only affects how hot or cold
the air is, but is a major factor in the water cycle and in the
formation of winds.
The latitude of a particular place is the major factor in
determining what sort of temperature that place tends to have.
Other factors include the season of the year, altitude,
topography, ocean currents, and in our modern age, industrial
output.
Temperature is measured with thermometers. There are two
kinds of thermometers used for weather measures - those that
measure in Fahrenheit and those that measure in Celsius. The
freezing point on the Fahrenheit thermometer is 32 degrees and
is 0 degrees on the Celsius thermometer.
TEMPERATURE
Review questions..
2
_______Fill in the blanks with the best word.
____
________
_______
__________
3
Humidity is moisture in the air. There are several
measures of humidity. One is absolute humidity which is
the greatest amount of water vapor the air could hold at
a certain temperature.
Relative humidity is how much actual water vapor is in
the air at a certain temperature. Thus humidity is
expressed in terms of percents.
Humidity is measured with a hygrometer.
The rate of evaporation goes down as the humidity in
the air increases - there is not enough room in the air to
take more water vapor through the process of
evaporation.
HUMIDITY-
Re ie questions….
4
Fill in the blank with the correct word.
WORD BANK---
________
humidity
______
warm
________.
high
______
ocean
________
low
______
humid
5
6
Fill in the missing words.
Name the four kinds of air masses.
________________________ _________________________
________________________ _________________________
Answer True or False.
Answer the questions.
7
Although they are invisible, the air is filled with tiny molecules.
We feel these molecules press against us at times - this is air
pressure. Since the molecules in the air are so tiny and are
very active and spread out, we do not see them. However,
they do play a significant role in weather as well as many other
parts of our lives.
As the air is heated on a warm day, the molecules in the air
move faster and further apart. When the molecules are cooled
down, they move slower and move closer together.
Differences in air pressure help cause winds and affect air
masses. They are also factors in the formation of storms such
as thunderstorms, tornadoes and hurricanes.
Differences in air pressure are shown on a weather map with
lines called isobars. The map below from NASA illustrates
isobars marking areas of high and low pressure.
High pressure areas generally have dry, good weather and
areas of low pressure have precipitation.
Air pressure is measured with a barometer.
AIR PRESSURE
8
9
AIR PRESSURE Fill in the blanks with the correct word.
WORD BANK---------
air pressure
__________
temperature
___________.
_______
heavier
_____,
rises
low
____.
________.
high
_____.
wind
__________.
barometer
10
Fill in the missing word.
Answer True or False.
Answer the questions.
11
12
13
14
15
Weather is the condition of the atmosphere in a place over a short period
of time. Meteorology is the study of the atmosphere, including weather
over such time. Because weather affects so many aspects of our life,
meteorology is an increasingly important science.
The first people to study weather were in ancient times with crude
instruments. Rapid communications in the middle of t he nineteenth
century truly changed weather predicting into more of a science with the
ability to get data to make predictions.
The instruments used to measure and predict the weather include
thermometers to measure heat, barometers to measure air pressure,
hygrometers to measure humidity, anemometers to measure wind speed,
wind vanes to measure wind direction as well as weather satellites,
rockets, radar.
Once data is received from the many stations around the country and fed
into computers, weather maps are drawn up. These have many isobars -
lines that separate areas of high pressure (anticyclones) and low pressure
(cyclones).
Weather fronts show the beginnings of different air masses - high and dry,
high and wet, low and dry and low and wet air masses.
Areas of precipitation and cloud cover are indicated as well. Based on the
data, weather forecasts are made.
Closeness to bodies of water and the topography of the land where a
station is located can also be factors in determining what the weather will
be like.
PREDICTING WEATHER
16
________ __________
__________
___________ __________
Predicting Weather Quiz
Do you know your....?
17
18
Tracking the weather
Answer TRUE or FALSE.
19
Make your own THERMOMETER……
Make your own ANEMOMETER 1- with cups
Make your own WEATHER VANE
Make your own BAROMETER
Make your own CLOUD WHEEL 1 & CLOUD CHART
Make your own CLOUD WHEEL 2
Make your own ANEMOMETER 2- with protractor
and Styrofoam ball & Beaufort Scale & Wind Chart
Make your own RAIN GAUGE
Make your own WHIRL HYGROMETER and Chart
Team Members:________________________________
_____________________________________________
GROUP________
4
2
3
1
5
6
7
9
8
20
Materials
An empty container with a wide top (e.g. empty can of beans or tuna, a big
cup, pickle jar, plastic, peanut butter jar..etc.)
A big balloon
Something straight, long, and light (e.g. a chopstick, straw, etc.)
Glue or tape
A couple rubber bands
A piece of cardboard
Tools
Scissors
Marker or pen
Time
Less than 30 minutes
Steps
Cut the bottom off the balloon.
Wrap the top of the balloon over the empty container and secure it with
your rubber bands.
Glue or tape your straight, long, and light pointer to the center of the
stretched balloon. If you find that the container can't hold up the pointer,
pour a little water in to add some weight.
Make a little stand out of your cardboard, and draw your barometer levels.
Line up your pointer to your cardboard gauge, and let the fun begin.
Low pressure typically indicates bad weather, while the high pressure
means more stable conditions
Cloud Watchers
Weather Forecasting Chart
Cumulus
Stratus Cirrus
If the cloud
is:
The weather
could be:
If the cloud
is:
The weather
could be:
If the cloud
is:
The weather
could be:
Low Sunny Low A little rain
Medium Thunderstorms Medium Rain
High Getting colder High Rain or snow
High Sunny, dry
Our Cloud Observations for ___________ (date)
Observation #1 Time:
Drawing Shape Level Color Temp. Rain?
Cumulus
Stratus
Cirrus
Low
Medium
High
White
Light
Gray
Dark Gray
Yes
No
Observation #2 Time:
Drawing Shape Level Color Temp. Rain?
Cumulus
Stratus
Cirrus
Low
Medium
High
White
Light
Gray
Dark Gray
Yes
No
Observation #3 Time:
Drawing Shape Level Color Temp. Rain?
Cumulus
Stratus
Cirrus
Low
Medium
High
White
Light
Gray
Dark Gray
Yes
No
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N
ational Weather Service
CloudSpotterNational Weather Service
for Safety, for Work, for Fun - FOR LIFE
Cutout
Cutout
Lesson plan: Head in the clouds. Cut along dotted lines and make a small hole in the center of both wheels. Attach
wheels together using a brass fastener. Record cloud observations onto a cloud observation form. Complete lesson
plan and PDF versions of wheels/forms are located at...
http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream/synoptic/ll_clouds1.htm
There are over 35 lesson plans in the National Weather Service education website
JetStream - An Online School for Weather, a free resource at www.srh.noaa.gov.
JetStreamJetStreamAn Online School for Weather
High Clouds
16,000 - 50,000 feet
Middle Clouds
6,500 - 23,000 feet
Low Clouds
Up to 6,500 feet
Str
ato
cu
mu
lus
Pre
dom
inantly s
tratifo
rm in
the form
of re
latively
low
gra
y a
nd/o
r w
hitis
h
layer, s
heet or
patc
h
show
ing little v
ert
ical
develo
pm
ent.
Str
ato
cum
ulu
sele
ments
are
often
arr
anged in
bands o
r ro
lls.
Cirrostratus
Transparent or semitrans-
parent, whitish cloud veil
with hairlike or smooth
appearance, totally or
partially covering
the sky, and often
producing a
partial or
complete
halo.Nim
bostratus
Dark gray cloud that
produces steady rain.
Results from thickening
Altostratus. The cloud
base lowers as rain
increases
eventually
reaching the
‘low’ cloud
region.
Cumulo
nimbus
The thunders
torm
cloud
that c
an gro
w to o
ver 1
0
mile
s high. M
ature
clouds a
re id
entified
by the fla
t anvil
-
shaped to
p.This
flatte
ning
indicate
s the
height of t
hetro
po-pause
.
Cirro
cu
mu
lus
Thin
, white
patc
h o
r layer
of c
loud w
ithout s
hadin
g.
Com
posed o
f very
sm
all e
lem
ents
in
the fo
rm o
f gra
ins
or rip
ple
s. M
ost
ele
ments
appear le
ss
than th
e
wid
th o
f
one
finger.
AltocumulusComposed of mainly water
they appear as white or
gray colored roll-like
elements, bands or
individual puffs.
Tend to occur in
sheets or
patches with
wavy,
rounded
masses
or rolls.
Cu
mu
lus
Has v
ert
ical develo
pm
ent
that is
noticeable
. Looks
like w
hite flu
ffy b
alls
of
cotton w
ool. T
he fla
t
clo
ud b
ase, and its
ele
vation w
ill
depend u
pon the
hum
idity.
The
more
hum
id
the a
ir, th
e
low
er
the
clo
ud
base.
Stratu
s
Flat featu
reless
clouds t
hat
are lo
w to th
e gro
und.
These cl
ouds vary
in
color f
rom
gra
y to
white. U
sually
cove
ring th
e whole
sky.
Stratu
s
clouds a
lso
appear in
fragm
ents
during
periods
of
rain.
Alto
stra
tus
Gra
yis
h o
r blu
ish c
olo
r,
never w
hite
, and th
e
gre
ate
r part is
alw
ays
translu
cent e
nough to
reveal th
e s
un (o
r
moon). O
bje
cts
on
the g
round d
o
not c
ast
shadow
s a
nd
halo
s a
re
never
seen.
CirrusAppears as detached
clouds in the form of
white, delicate
filaments, or white, or
mostly white
patches or narrow
bands. These
clouds have a
hair-like
appearance,
or a silky
sheen,
or
both.
There are over 35 lesson plans in the National Weather Service education website
JetStream - An Online School for Weather, a free resource at www.srh.noaa.gov.
Identifying clouds is a terrific way for students to put their skills of obser-
vation and classification to work, as well as to launch them into weather
prediction. Clouds are only one of the many factors—including fronts, winds,
pressure systems, etc.—that contribute to predicting weather, but they are
one that students can easily observe. Note: Identifying clouds can be difficult
at first. Encourage students to make their best guesses based on the dominant
kind of clouds they see, or to list more than one type.
Direct ions
1Make a copy of the reproducible for each student. Show students how to make
the Cloud Key by cutting out both circles on pages 45 and 46, cutting out and
discarding the two shaded areas on page 45, and fastening the wheels togeth-
er. Page 45 goes on top.
2Show students how to use the key. Move the wheel until the
cloud you want appears, then read the name and weather
information in the box.
3Have students make a chart with these five headings:
“Date/Time,” “Cloud Type,” “A.M. Weather,” “P.M. Predicted
Weather,” “Actual P.M. Weather/Time.” (See the sample
shown here.) Invite students to fill in the chart every morn-
ing for a week, comparing their predictions to the actual
weather in the afternoon.
39
A C T I V I T Y
Cloud Key C L O U D S
Materials
(for each student)
reproducible pages 45 and 46
brass paper fastener
scissors
Th
e W
ow
’s an
d W
hy’s o
f Weath
er
Sch
ola
stic
Pro
fessio
nal B
oo
ks
Cloud Fin
der
46
Altocumulus
Thick b
lue-g
ray blanket-like
clouds m
ade o
f ice and
water a
t middle h
eights.
Rain or sn
ow likely
,
or a
t least
cloudy skies.
Strato
cumu
lus
Dark, heavy w
ater-d
roplet
clouds at lo
w or low
er-
middle heigh
ts. Ra
in
or sno
w very likely.
Cumulonimbus
Giant thunderhead clouds that
tower to high heights.
Thunderstorm
s with
heavy rain, hail,
winds, and
lightning
are on the
way.
Stratu
s
Flat la
yer of lo
w clouds. Light
rain, drizzle, or flu
rries
likely, overca
st skies
at be
st.
Cumulus
Fluffy lower clouds that often
“grow” during sunny days.
Usually mean fair weather
unless they grow tall
late in the day.
Cirrus
High wispy ice clouds.
Often seen in clear skies
and mean good weather,
but can mean a
change in the
weather!
The Wow’s and Why’s of Weather Scholastic Professional Books
45
Cloud Key
Cut out the wheel.
Cut out the two shaded areas inside the wheel.
This is the top wheel of your cloud key.