Download Density and Weather - Climate Forecasts Decision Making

4
Student Packet
Weatherman’s Backpack
[Key Science Knowledge Module]
Use contents of this packet as you feel appropriate. You are free to copy and use any of the material in
this lesson plan.
Packet Contents
Becoming an Expert on Weather Topics
Air masses
Fronts
Precipitation
Air pressure
Heat transfer
Earth-atmosphere energy
Cloud formulation
Wind
Jetstreams
Questions are based on JETSTREAM An Online Weather School
http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream. The JETSTREAM material is also provided
in separate files.
Weatherman’s Backpack
The Weatherman’s Backpack contains pages for the same topics as Becoming an Expert.
Probability Activity - Understanding the Difficulty in Forecasting the Future
Hot/Cold Water Experiment
Temperature around Town - Impact of Concrete and Asphalt Experiment
Drawing a Weather Map
Making Inferences from a Weather Map
Becoming an Expert on Air Masses
To become an expert on air masses, read the
information on air masses and complete the
questions. Your textbook is also a good source
of information on weather.
4. What are the four principal air mass
classifications that influence the U.S.
according to their source region?
Questions are based on the material presented in
JETSTREAM An Online Weather School
http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream/synopt
ic/airmass.htm
1. What is an air mass?
5. Do air masses always maintain their original
characteristics? Explain why or why not.
2. What is a source region?
6. A cold dry artic (polar) air mass may pick
up what characteristics as it passes over an
ocean?
3. Why is the U.S. not a favorable source
region?
7. How long can air masses control the weather
over a given area?
8. Where do most changes in weather occur?
Becoming a Expert on Fronts
To become an expert on fronts, read the
information on fronts and complete the
questions. Your textbook is also a good source
of information on weather.
Questions are based on the material presented in
JETSTREAM An Online Weather School
http://www.srh.weather.gov/srh/jetstream/synopt
ic/airmass.htm
7. What is an occluded front?
8. Draw the symbols and color for each type of
front, cold, warm, and stationary.
1. What is a front?
2. How are fronts classified?
9. How are weather patterns different between
warm and cold fronts?
3. What are the four types of fronts?
4. What is a cold front?
10. Which type of front usually moves faster?
5. What is a warm front?
11. State three ways fronts are detectable at the
earth’s surface.
6. What is a stationary front?
Becoming a Expert on Precipitation
To become an expert on precipitation, read the
information on precipitation and complete the
questions. Your textbook is also a good source
of information on weather.
Questions are based on the material presented in
JETSTREAM An Online Weather School
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/synoptic/
precip.htm.
4. How is the moisture transported from the
source to inland areas?
5. What is the most effective way for clouds to
form? Provide two ways clouds form.
Know / review the following before reading
JETSTREAM.
Drought - a long period of very low rainfall that
can have affects on growing or living
conditions.
1. List at least three common forms of
precipitation.
6. How do the water drops in a cloud grow
large enough to fall as precipitation?
2. What four components are necessary for
precipitation to form? (Hint: see the next
four questions to help you with your
answer.)
7. What often determines the type of
precipitation (rain, snow, sleet) during the
winter?
3. What are the three primary sources of
moisture for precipitation in the U.S.?
8. What is a temperature inversion?
9. Draw the vertical distribution
temperatures for snow.
of
air
11. Draw the vertical distribution
temperatures for freezing rain.
Increasing
Elevation
of
air
Increasing
Elevation
Surface
10. Draw the vertical distribution
temperatures for sleet.
of
air
Surface
12. What causes the freezing rain to form
instead of sleet?
Increasing
Elevation
Surface
13. What is drought?
Becoming an Expert on Air Pressure
To become an expert on air pressure, read the
information on air pressure and complete the
questions. Your textbook is also a good source
of information on weather.
Questions are based on the material presented in
JETSTREAM, An Online Weather School
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/atmos/pre
ssure.htm
an
additional
source
is
http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/air_pressure/ .
3. What is air pressure?
4. How is air pressure associated with air
molecules?
Know / review the following before reading
JETSTREAM
Because air has mass it has the property of
pressure. Air pressure is result of weight of air
pushing down on an area or surface. In
meteorology, two terms are commonly used to
indicate the air pressure in a system, high or low.
The symbol for a high-pressure system is a
capital “H.” The symbol for a low- pressure
system is a capital “L.” Rising or high air
pressure generally brings fair weather, whereas
decreasing or low air pressure generally brings
bad (rain and wind) weather. The differences in
pressure cause winds. Winds move from highpressure to low-pressure areas. Differences in
pressure on the earth are caused by unequal
heating of the earth’s surface.
5. Why does the air pressure decrease the
higher a person goes up into the
atmosphere?
1. What makes up the atmosphere or the air we
breath?
6. What is a millibar?
2. Describe
7. If you were on a mountain, would the
weight of the air above you (air pressure) be
greater than or less than it is now?
how
we
feel
air
pressure.
8. Do you think winds are related to air
pressure? How?
10. What is the symbol for a low-pressure
system?
9. What is the symbol for a high-pressure
system?
11. What type of weather is usually associated
with rising or high-pressure areas?
12. What type of weather is usually associated
with decreasing or low-pressure areas?
Becoming an Expert on Heat Transfer
To become an expert on heat transfer, read the
information on heat transfer and complete the
questions. Your textbook is also a good source
of information on weather.
Questions are based on the material presented in
JETSTREAM An Online Weather School
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/atmos/he
at.htm.
5. What is radiation?
6.
What happens to most of the solar energy
that reaches the earth’s surface?
Know / review the following before reading
JetStream.
Heat - a form of energy associated with motions
of atoms or molecules that can be transmitted
through solid, fluid, or empty space, by
convection, conduction, or radiation, the degree
of hotness.
7. Give an example of conduction heating.
Solar energy that reaches the earth is radiated
back into the atmosphere to become heat energy.
1. Where does most of energy that keeps Earth
warm come?
8. What is conduction?
2. What is heat?
9. Give an example of convection heating.
3. What are the three ways heats is transferred,
into the atmosphere?
10. What is convection?
4. Give an example of radiation heating.
11. Describe the process in which a warm
bubble of air is formed by heat energy.
12. What type of heat causes most of the heating
of the layer of the atmosphere closest to the
earth’s surface (troposphere)?
13. How can heat transfer in the atmosphere
cause wind?
Becoming an Expert on Earth-Atmosphere Energy
To become an expert on Earth-Atmosphere
Energy Balance Expert, read the information on
earth-atmosphere energy balance and complete
the questions. Your textbook is also a good
source of information on weather.
Questions are based on the material presented in
JETSTREAM An Online Weather School
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/atmos/energy
.htm.
6. What effect causes the earth to have a higher
average temperature than the moon?
7. What is the greenhouse effect?
1. The earth-atmosphere energy balance refers
to the balance of energy coming from what
and leaving from what?
8. Why is the average surface temperature of
the moon only 0○ F, while the average
surface temperature on the earth is 59○ F?
2. Energy from the sun is emitted in what two
main forms?
3. What three things happen to the energy from
the sun when it reaches the earth?
4. Name one way one can see energy radiating
(leaving) the earth’s surface.
5. How does the earth maintain a stable
average temperature and climate?
9. Explain why, everything else being equal,
the temperature on a cloudy night will be
higher than the temperature on a clear night.
Draw a picture of what happens on a cloudy
and a clear night.
Becoming an Expert on Cloud Formulation
To become a n expert on clouds, read the
information on clouds and complete the
questions. Your textbook is also a good source
of information on weather.
3. From question 2 you learned rising air cools,
why does this cooling cause condensation?
Hint: explain in relation to water vapor.
Questions are based on the material presented in
JETSTREAM An Online Weather School
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/synoptic/
clouds.htm.
Know / review the following terms before
reading JetStream.
4. Why do clouds tend to evaporate as air
sinks?
Dew point:
the temperature at which water
condensation begins.
Condensation: is the process whereby water
vapor in the atmosphere is returned to its liquid
state. In the atmosphere condensation may
appear as clouds, fog, mist, dew, or frost,
depending on the physical conditions of the
atmosphere.
Saturation:
condition in which air at a
specific temperature contains all the water vapor
it can hold, which is at 100% relative humidity.
1. What two things can cause clouds to form?
2. Why does rising air cool?
5. What are the four basic cloud categories
(forms)?
6. Describe cirro clouds? What type of
weather are cirro clouds usually associated
with?
7. Describe nimbo clouds? What type of
weather are nimbo clouds usually associated
with?
8. Describe cumulo clouds? What type of
weather are cumulo clouds usually
associated with?
9. Describe strato clouds? What type of
weather are strato clouds usually associated
with?
.
Becoming an Expert on Wind
To become an expert on wind, read the
information on wind and complete the questions.
Your textbook is also a good source of
information on weather.
Questions are based on the material presented in
JETSTREAM An Online Weather School
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/srh/jetstream/synoptic/
wind.htm.
5. What is meant by vertical wind and why are
these winds important?
6. Why does rising air often lead to clouds and
precipitation?
Read up to Coriolis force.
1. What is wind?
7. Why does sinking air result in fair weather?
2. In what direction, horizontal or vertical are
we usually taking about we discuss wind?
3. What does a forecast of east winds of 30 to
40 mile per hour (mph) mean?
8. Besides temperature, which causes air to rise
(increase in temperature) and sink (decrease
in temperature), what is the other main
factor that causes wind?
4. What can you observe that will indicate if
the wind is blowing?
9. What is the wind direction around a highpressure system?
10. What is the wind direction around a lowpressure system?
11. As the gradient (differences) in pressure
between a high and low-pressure system
increases, what happens to the wind speed?
12. Does warm or cool air hold more water
vapor?
Becoming an Expert on Jetstreams
To become a n expert on jetstreams, read the
information on jetgstreams and complete the
questions. Your textbook is also a good source
of information on weather.
6. Draw a figure that shows where polar and
subtropical jet streams are generally located
on the earth.
Questions are based on the material presented in
JETSTREAM An Online Weather School
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/jet.ht
m.
1.
What are jetstreams?
2.
What general direction does the wind
blow in a jetstream?
3.
Besides the direction mentioned in
question 2, what other direction can
jetstreams flow?
4.
What do jetstreams follow?
5. Why are jetstreams most pronounced during
the winter?
7. How fast can the winds be in a jetstream?
8. What variables are responsible for the actual
appearance of jetsreams?
9. In the spring, how does the jetstream help
bring warmer air to the U.S.?
10. In the autumn, how does the jetstream help
bring cooler air to the U.S.?
11. When are jet streams the strongest?
Weatherman’s Backpack
Name: _____________________________
Class: _____________________________
Date: _____________________________
Air Masses
1. What is an air mass?
2. What is a source region?
3. Why is the U.S. not a favorable
source region?
4. A cold dry artic (polar) air mass may pick
up what characteristics as it passes over
an ocean?
5. How long can air masses control the
weather over a given area?
6. Where do most changes in weather occur?
Fronts
1. What is a front?
2. How are fronts classified?
3. What is a cold front? Draw the symbol
for a cold front. Be sure to use the
correct colors.
4. What is a warm front? Draw the symbol
for a warm front. Be sure to use the
correct colors.
5. What is a stationary front? Draw the
symbol for a stationary front. Be sure to
use the correct colors.
6. How are the weather patterns different
between warm and cold fronts?
Precipitation
1. List at least three common forms of
precipitation.
2. What four components are necessary for
precipitation to form?
3. What are the three primary sources of
moisture for precipitation in the U.S.?
4. How is the moisture transported from the
source to inland areas?
5. What is the most effective way for
clouds to form? Provide two ways
clouds form.
6. What often determines the type of
precipitation (rain, snow, sleet) during
the winter?
7. What is the difference in the atmosphere
between snow forming or sleet
forming?
Instrument: rain gauge
Units: inches or millimeters
Symbol note: the symbols for precipitation
on a weather map are usually the words snow, rain, sleet, and thunderstorms – with
a semi to full circle showing the area where
the precipitation will occur.
Air Pressure
1. What makes up the air we breath?
2. What is air pressure?
3. Describe how we feel air pressure.
4. How is air pressure associated with air
molecules?
5. Why does the air pressure decrease the
higher one goes into the atmosphere?
6. What are the symbols for high- and lowpressure systems?
.
\
Instrument: Barometer
Units: millibars or inches of mercury
Units: inches or millimeters
7. What type of weather is associated with
a high-pressure system and a lowpressure system?
Heat Transfer
1. In what three ways can heat be
transferred?
2. What happens to most of the solar
energy that reaches the earth’s surface?
3. What is conduction?
4. What is convection?
5. What is radiation?
6. How can heat transfer in the atmosphere
cause wind?
7. Describe the process in which a warm
bubble of air is formed by heat energy.
Instrument: Thermometer
Units: Degrees
Atmosphere Energy
1. What three things happen to the energy
from the sun when it reaches the earth?
2. How does the earth maintain a stable
temperature and climate?
3. What is the greenhouse effect?
4. Why does the moon’s and earth’s
average surface temperatures differ?
5. Why do cloudy nights tend to be
warmer?
6. When are nights the coolest?
Clouds
1. What two things can cause clouds to
form?
2. Why do clouds tend to evaporate as air
sinks?
3. Why does rising air cool?
4. Describe cirro clouds? What type of
weather are cirro clouds usually
associated with?
5. Describe nimbo clouds? What type of
weather are nimbo clouds usually
associated with?
6. Describe cumulo clouds? What type of
weather are cumulo clouds usually
associated with?
7. Describe strato clouds? What type of
weather are strato clouds usually
associated with?
Winds
1. Why does rising air often lead to clouds
and precipitation?
2. What does sinking air do and what
weather does it cause?
3. Why does sinking air result in fair
weather?
4. What is the pressure gradient? How
does it impact wind speed?
5. Does warm or cool air hold more water
vapor?
6. What must happen as the air spreads
away from the highs?
Instrument: Wind vane - direction
Units: Compass directions
Instrument: Anemometer – wind speed
Units: Miles per hour or kilometer per hour
Jetstream
1. What are jet streams?
2. When are jet streams the strongest?
3. Draw a figure that shows where polar
and subtropical jet streams are
generally located on the earth.
4. In the spring, how does the jetstream
help bring warmer air to the U.S.?
5. What speed can jet streams reach?
6. In the autumn, how does the jetstream
help bring cooler air to the U.S.?
7. What general direction does the wind
blow in a jetstream?
Probability Activity - Understanding the Difficulty in Forecasting the Future
4. Record if the ball landed in the box or the
toss missed the box.
Teacher Action - Setup
1. Divide the class into groups of 3-5 students.
Each group must have a nerf ball, forecast
box, and blank data table.
2. Students need to complete the data table, by
tossing the nerf ball into the forecast box at
various distances from the box.
3. Students need to answer the questions after
the data table.
Objective
To illustrate as people forecast farther into the
future, the harder it is to provide good forecasts.
Materials
One nerf ball and one forecast box for each
group
5. Complete the questions following the data
table as a group.
Concept
Tossing the nerf ball represents making a
forecast. The forecast can be for weather, the
stock market, or any other event you may want
to forecast. The idea remains the same for all
forecasting.
The distance from the box
represents the future you are forecasting as given
by the following timeline.
Another concept this activity can illustrate is as
follows: let the further away steps indicate lack
of knowledge. As knowledge increases, the
student moves closer to the box. Getting the
nerf ball in the box represents correct
understanding of the concepts / principles.
Illustrate why people need to be educated.
Procedures
1. Read the concept and understand the
timeline.
2. Place the forecast box on the floor.
3. As a group, complete the data table by
trying to toss the nerf ball into the forecast
box at different distances from the box.
Elect one student to be the thrower and use
the same student for all throws. This
eliminates differences in throwing skills.
Distance
1 step
3 steps
Day
Today
Tomorrow
In this timeline, it is currently today. One step
represents forecasting this afternoon, given the
conditions in the morning. Three steps represent
forecasting tomorrows conditions based on the
conditions in the morning today. Five steps
represent forecasting two days into the future
using today’s current conditions. Finally, 10
steps represent forecasting a week into the
future. The nerf ball landing in the box
represents two things 1) ease of making the
forecast and 2) how good the forecast is.
5 steps
10 steps
2 days into
the future
1 week into
the future
Data table for tossing the nerf ball. Place a one (1) in the table if the toss landed in the box, toss made,
and a zero (0) if the toss failed to land in the box.
Toss
1 step
3 steps
5 steps
10 steps
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Total the tosses
made
Questions
1. At what distance were the most tosses
made?
2. What is the relationship between the number
of tosses made and the distance from the
forecast box?
3. Recall, the tosses made represent a “good”
forecast. At what distance did you have the
most “good” forecasts?
4. What is the relationship between the number
of “good” forecasts and the number of days
into the future?
5. Provide some reasons why you found the
relationships in question 4 between forecasts
and distance into the future.
Hot/Cold Water Experiment
Now that students are familiar with the
terminology, discuss with them the local weather
patterns. What might cause changes in local or
microclimate weather?
** Read through the entire procedure first,
and then write down your hypothesis
BEFORE beginning.
Procedure:
For example, ask “How is the movement of cold
air masses different from that of hot air
masses?”
Density and Weather
Much of what we call “weather” is caused by the
differences in the density of different air masses.
Because it is difficult to see the movement of air
masses, we will observe the movements of
liquids with different densities. (Remember that
liquids and gases are very similar in the way
they move, except liquids ‘move’ slower!)
Purpose: To discover how different temperature
air masses interact with each other.
Hot
Cold
1. Fill the plastic box about 2/3 with room
temperature water. Let the tub of water sit
still in a position so all members can see it.
WRITE YOUR HYPOTHESIS WHILE
THE WATER IS ‘RESTING’.
2. Fill one small beaker with hot water. Add
several drops of red food coloring to color it
red. Stir the coloring around with a stir
stick.
3. Fill the other beaker with cold water. Add
several drops pf blue food coloring to color
it blue. Stir the coloring around with a stir
stick.
4. Gently place the two beakers into opposite
ends of the tub of water. The top of the
beakers should be above the water. Let the
water come to rest for a minute or two.
5. At the same time, gently tip the two beakers
towards the center of the pan of water. Let
the beakers lay on the bottom of the tub. Be
sure to remove your hands as gently as
possible so as to not disturb the water.
LEAVE THE BEAKERS THERE – DO
NOT TAKE THEM OUT!
** Read through the entire procedure first,
and then write down your hypothesis
BEFORE beginning.
Hot
Cold
Hypothesis:
If I mix cold water and hot water together in a
tub of water, the (write your hypothesis here
concerning the water mixture)
6. OBSERVE! Begin timing. During this time,
DO NOT MOVE THE DESKS!
7. After each time interval below, sketch how
the tub of water appears from the side?
c. Make one final observation from the top
of the box looking down into the tub.
Draw what you see.
a. After 10 seconds it looked like this:
a. After 60 seconds it looked like this:
Hot
Cold
b. After 60 seconds it looked like this:
CLEAN UP: Carefully pour the water into the
sink. Return all materials as where they were
when you began.
\
8. Was your hypothesis correct?
Hot
Cold
b. After 2 minutes it looked like this:
Hot
9. Explain your observations. (WHY did the
hot water in the tub do what it did? WHY
did the cold water do what it did?)
Cold
10. Since liquids and gases act the same way,
what does this tell you about the movement
of cold air and war, air? _
Temperature around Town - Impact of Concrete and Asphalt Experiment
Differences in Local Weather
Objective: Help students realize that there are
local differences in weather (micro-climates)
and explore what might cause these variations.
Teacher asks, “Now that we have seen some of
the types of weather we have in our town, what
differences are there inside the town itself”.
Option 1:
Your City
between the parking lot, playground, and lawn
areas? Question to have students answer is,
“How much area do you need to observe slight
temperature differences?” Do this on both a
cloudy day and a sunny day, are there
differences on both days. Which day has the
most variation? Why?
Option 3: Temperature Variation around
Students’ Homes
Temperature Variation around
Equipment Required: Thermometers for each
student
Method: Have the students take the
thermometers home and read the temperature at
two set times (am and pm), and record the
temperature. The teacher will have a city map
posted in the classroom and the students will put
their temperature reading on the map each day
with a different colored pen for the am and pm
temperatures. The teacher will record the
official temperature at the am and pm times for
the local city. Students will calculate the
difference from their temperature and the
reported temperature for the town. Ask students
to list what might have caused the temperature
differences (e.g. concrete, asphalt, grass, trees
causing shade etc).
Option 2: Temperature Variation around the
School Grounds
Equipment Required: Thermometer for each
student
Method: Same as Option 1 except have the
students take temperatures around the school
grounds. Have a map of the school grounds and
have students put the different temperatures on
the map. Are there any temperature differences
Equipment Required: Thermometer for each
student
Method:
Have students take temperature
measures around their home at 5 time intervals
during the next Saturday (e.g. 9 am, 12 noon, 3
pm and 7 pm). Have students create a table of
temperatures at five locations around their home
at these times. Ask students to identify factors
that cause these temperature changes during the
day. Identify which students found the most
variation around their house and ask them to
explain why they had this much variation.
Option 4: Rainfall Variation
Equipment Required: rain gauge for each
student (may be available from local hardware,
lumber, machinery or farm supply stores in
country, at little or no cost). Large pill bottles
from a pharmacy or film canisters will also
work.
Methods: Have the students measure the
amount of precipitation over one week at their
home. Compare this to the official rainfall for
the town. Have each student enter the amount of
rainfall at the students’ homes on a map of the
school district. Have the students identify
reasons why the rainfall might be different.
Drawing a Weather Map
Draw the following weather factors on the map of North America, using your Weatherman’s
Backpack. Be sure to use the correct symbols and colors.
1. Place a high-pressure system to the west of
the Great Lakes in central U.S.
5. Show that rain is possible in the along the
western Gulf of Mexico coast.
2. Place a low-pressure system over the
southeastern U.S.
6. Draw a cold front approaching western U.S.
from the Pacific Ocean.
3. Draw a warm front that extends from the
southwestern U.S., between the two above
pressure systems to the northeastern U.S.
7. Show that snow is possible in front of the
cold front in the western U.S.
4. Draw a stationary front that goes from the
Gulf of Mexico through Florida to the
Atlantic Ocean.
Making Inferences from a Weather Map
Answer the following questions based on the attached weather map and your knowledge from the
Weatherman’s Backpack activity
1. Where would you expect heavy rains in the
U.S?
4. How will the temperature be changing in the
next few days in the area of Great lakes?
2. What kind of front runs from the Gulf of
Mexico through Florida to the Atlantic
Ocean?
5. How will the precipitation outlook change in
the next few days in the area of Great lakes?
3. What kind of weather would be expected in
western Canada?
6. What kind of weather would be expected in
northwestern U.S.?