Download THE WEATHER UNIT PREDICTING WEATHER

THE WEATHER UNIT
SCIENCE CYCLE 3
PREDICTING WEATHER
Name_______________
Teacher: D. Strina
CLIMATE
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.
Review questions-
1
TEMPERATURE
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.
Review questions..
2
Fill in the blanks with the best word.
_______
____
________
_______
__________
3
HUMIDITYHumidity 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.
Re ie questions….
4
Fill in the blank with the correct word.
________
______
________.
______
________
______
WORD BANK--warm
ocean
low
humid
5
humidity
high
6
Fill in the missing words.
Name the four kinds of air masses.
________________________
_________________________
________________________
_________________________
Answer True or False.
Answer the questions.
7
AIR PRESSURE
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.
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AIR PRESSURE
Fill in the blanks with the correct word.
__________
___________.
_______
_____,
____.
________.
_____.
WORD BANK--------wind
barometer
rises
high
heavier
low
temperature
air pressure
__________.
10
Fill in the missing word.
Answer True or False.
Answer the questions.
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12
13
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PREDICTING WEATHER
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 th e land where a
station is located can also be factors in determining what the weather will
be like.
16
Predicting Weather Quiz
Do you know your....
?
__________
________
__________
___________
__________
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18
Tracking the weather
Answer TRUE or FALSE.
19
1
Make your own THERMOMETER……
2
3
Make your own ANEMOMETER 1- with cups
Make your own ANEMOMETER 2- with protractor
and Styrofoam ball & Beaufort Scale & Wind Chart
4
5
Make your own BAROMETER
Make your own CLOUD WHEEL 1 & CLOUD CHART
6
7
Make your own WEATHER VANE
8
9
Make your own CLOUD WHEEL 2
Make your own RAIN GAUGE
Make your own WHIRL HYGROMETER and Chart
Team Members:________________________________
_____________________________________________
20
GROUP________
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
Medium
High
Sunny
Thunderstorms
Getting colder
Low
Medium
High
A little rain
Rain
Rain or snow
High
Sunny, dry
Our Cloud Observations for ___________
(date)
Observation #1 Time:
Drawing
Observation #2 Time:
Drawing
Observation #3 Time:
Drawing
Shape
Level
Color
Temp. Rain?
White
Cumulus Low
Light
Yes
Stratus
Medium
Gray
No
Cirrus
High
Dark Gray
Shape
Level
Shape
Level
Color
Temp. Rain?
White
Cumulus Low
Yes
Light
Stratus
Medium
Gray
No
Cirrus
High
Dark Gray
Color
Temp. Rain?
White
Cumulus Low
Light
Yes
Stratus
Medium
Gray
No
Cirrus
High
Dark Gray
JetStream
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16,000 - 50,000 feet
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Middle Clouds
6,500 - 23,000 feet
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for Safety, for Work, for Fun - FOR LIFE
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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.
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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.
A C T I V I T Y
Cloud Key
C L O U D S
I
dentifying clouds is a terrific way for students to put their skills of observation 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.
Materials
(for each student)
reproducible pages
45 and 46
brass paper fastener
Directions
1
Make 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 together. Page 45 goes on top.
2
Show 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.
3
Have 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 morning for a week, comparing their predictions to the actual
weather in the afternoon.
scissors
39
Cloud Finder
46
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Altocumulus
Giant thunderhead clouds that
tower to high heights.
Thunderstorms with
heavy rain, hail,
winds, and
lightning
are on the
way.
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Thick blue-gray blanket-like
clouds made of ice and
water at middle heights.
Rain or snow likely,
or at least
cloudy skies.
The Wow’s and Why’s of Weather Scholastic Professional Books
ht
s s. Lig
u
t
a ud ies
Cloud Key
Cut out the wheel.
Cut out the two shaded areas inside the wheel.
This is the top wheel of your cloud key.
45
The Wow’s and Why’s of Weather Scholastic Professional Books