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Laboratory Title: Wind and Air Pressure
Name: Yolanda Flores
Concepts Addressed: predicting weather, wind and air pressure
Lab Goals: To help students to:
 Conceptualize the effects of wind and air pressure on weather
 The importance of air to earth and humans.
 Design and collect data on the weight of air.
 Build weather instruments, collect data and draw conclusions about air pressure and
weather conditions
Lab Objectives: Students will:
 Experience air pressure in their bodies
 Draw conclusions about how air presses down on us
 Design a machine to test how much air weighs
 Blow a balloon to find out if air has weight compared to a balloon with no air
 Make a barometer to record wind pressure
 Record the data of air pressure and daily weather
 Determine if there is any correlation between air pressure and the daily weather
Benchmark(s) Addressed:
Grade 3
3.1
Structure and Function: Living and non-living things vary in their characteristics
and properties.
3.1P.1 Compare and contrast the properties of states of matter.
3.2
Interaction and Change: Living and non-living things interact with energy and
forces.
3.2E.1 Identify Earth as a planet and describe its seasonal weather patterns of precipitation
and temperature.
3.3
Scientific Inquiry: Scientific inquiry is a process used to explore the natural world
using evidence from observations and investigations.
3.3S.1 Plan a simple investigation based on a testable question, match measuring tools to
their uses, and collect and record data from a scientific investigation.
3.3S.2 Use the data collected from a scientific investigation to explain the results and draw
conclusions.
3.3S.3 Explain why when a scientific investigation is repeated, similar results are expected.
3.4
Engineering Design: Engineering design is a process that uses science to solve
problems or address needs or aspirations.
3.4D.1 Identify a problem that can be addressed through engineering design, propose a
potential solution, and design a prototype.
Grade 4
4.1
Structure and Function: Living and non-living things can be classified by their
characteristics and properties.
4.1P.1 Describe the properties of forms of energy and how objects vary in the extent to
which they absorb, reflect, and conduct energy.
4.2
Interaction and Change: Living and non-living things undergo changes that
involve force and energy.
4.2E.1 Compare and contrast the changes in the surface of Earth that are due to slow and
rapid processes.
4.3
Scientific Inquiry: Scientific inquiry is a process of investigation through
questioning, collecting, describing, and examining evidence to explain natural
phenomena and artifacts.
4.3S.1 Based on observations identify testable questions, design a scientific investigation,
and collect and record data consistent with a planned scientific investigation.
4.3S.2 Summarize the results from a scientific investigation and use the results to respond to
the question being tested.
4.3S.3 Explain that scientific claims about the natural world use evidence that can be
confirmed and support a logical argument.
4.4
Engineering Design: Engineering design is a process of using science principles to
solve problems generated by needs and aspirations.
4.4D.1 Identify a problem that can be addressed through engineering design using science
principles.
4.4D.2 Design, construct, and test a prototype of a possible solution to a problem using
appropriate tools, materials, and resources.
4.4D.3 Explain how the solution to one problem may create other problems.
Grade 5
5.2
Interaction and Change: Force, energy, matter, and organisms interact within
living and non-living systems.
5.2E.1 Explain how the energy from the sun affects Earth’s weather and climate.
5.3
Scientific Inquiry: Scientific inquiry is a process of investigation based on science
principles and questioning, collecting, describing, and examining evidence to
explain natural phenomena and artifacts.
5.3S.1 Based on observations and science principles, identify questions that can be tested,
design an experiment or investigation, and identify appropriate tools. Collect and
record multiple observations while conducting investigations or experiments to test a
scientific question or hypothesis.
5.3S.2 Identify patterns in data that support a reasonable explanation for the results of an
investigation or experiment and communicate findings using graphs, charts, maps,
models, and oral and written reports.
5.3S.3 Explain the reasons why similar investigations may have different results.
5.4
Engineering Design: Engineering design is a process of using science principles to
make modifications in the world to meet human needs and aspirations.
5.4D.1 Using science principles describe a solution to a need or problem given criteria and
constraints.
5.4D.2 Design and build a prototype of a proposed engineering solution and identify factors
such as cost, safety, appearance, environmental impact, and what will happen if the
solution fails.
5.4D.3 Explain that inventions may lead to other inventions and once an invention exists,
people may think of novel ways of using it.
Materials and Costs:
List the equipment and non-consumable material and estimated cost of each
Item ..........................................................................................................................$
PowerPoint Slide Program on Air Pressure (found with this lesson plan) ............ -0Computer and projector (school to provide) .......................................................... -0Metric Rulers (30 x $1.29) ...................................................................................$38.70
Estimated One Time Total Cost ...........................................................................$38.70
List the consumable supplies and estimated cost for presenting to a class of 30 students
30 color index cards at Fred Meyer .......................................................................$2.40
90 medium size balloons..........................................................................................3.20
30 barometer rules(cardboard paper) .......................................................................3.00
Star stickers ..............................................................................................................1.99
30 (12inch long) pieces of string .............................................................................1.00
Some scotch or masking tape ...................................................................................1.20
pencils (classroom supply) .......................................................................................0.00
medium size rubber bands ......................................................................................1.60
30 plastic drinking straws ........................................................................................0.90
30 wooden skewers ..................................................................................................2.40
30 deli tooth picks ....................................................................................................1.80
Estimated total cost of consumable supplies: ......................................................$22.00
Time:
Preparation time: 1-2 hrs
Instruction time: 2-3 class periods (1-2 hrs), and daily recording of weather and barometer
reading for a specific period of time
Clean-up time: 5-10 minutes
Assessment (include all assessment materials):
 A quiz can be developed according to the grade level and needs of the students.
 A short verbal set of questions can be used to find out if students understood the
concepts.
 Teacher’s observations during and after the lesson.
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Wind and Air Pressure_Presentation NOTES Lesson Plan
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Welcome to 3rd Grade Class.
o (Be sure to have the PowerPoint downloaded, a computer and projector to show
the slide show)
Today we are going to start our lesson by writing in these cool cards
o (Hand out cards)
First, put your name on the cards then answer the question (you have 2-3 minutes)
o SLIDE #1
What can you tell me about air and wind pressure?
o Pick two or three students to share
Now put your card aside, and place your hands on your ribs, stomach
Take a deep breath; concentrate on where that air you’re inhaling is going.
o Everyone inhale deeply.
Let’s do it one more time
What is happening? Did you notice your chest and belly expand, getting big?
Your chest expands because, like blowing up a balloon, you are increasing the number of air
molecules inside your lungs. This causes your lungs to expand in order to provide space for the
increased number of air molecules.
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Does air weight ?
o Pick two or three students to share
The air is all around us. This air is composed of atoms and molecules. Despite their small
size, the quantity of atoms and molecules put weight on us known as pressure. Since our
bodies are designed to live in this environment, we do not notice the pressure.
The air around us has weight. The air’s pressure is caused by the weight of the air
pressing down on earth. Meteorologists don’t measure the total weight of the air. They
measure the way that air weight is spread out (distributed) above ground.
Wind influences the weather!
o When air pressure is low, air is rising into the sky.
 Water vapor in the air turns to liquid and clouds form.
 As more air rises, the pressure gets lower and lower. And the clouds get
bigger and darker.
o When air pressure is high, air is sinking toward earth. The skies stay mostly clear.
 A few puffy clouds may appear, but it won’t usually rain.
 The air is dry and sunny when the air pressure is high.
What is air pressure?
o It might seem funny for you to think
The air we breathe can rise and sink
It might be really heavy, it may be light,
But molecules of air have weight all right.
Source: What Will the Weather Be? By Linda DeWitt; All Kids Are Scientists Weather Curriculum.
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Does air weight anything?
o Pick two or three students to share
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Now let’s try it with a balloon
o Hand out balloons, skewers and tape
When a balloon is blown up, the air pressure inside the balloon slowly becomes greater than the
air pressure outside the balloon. Since the balloon is made of rubber and is expandable, it grows
larger and larger. But what happens when you take the air out? The balloon flattens. It collapses
from the weight of outside air.
How much does air weigh?
It might not seem like it, but air has weight. In fact, anything that has mass, also has weight. The
fact that you can feel the wind blow against you means air has mass. At sea level, the total
weight of the atmosphere exerts a pressure of about 14.7 pounds per square inch. You don't
notice this weight, however, because you are used to it. If you live in Denver, Colorado, which is
at an elevation of about 5,000 feet, then about 15% of the mass of the atmosphere is below you,
resulting in an air pressure of about 12.5 pounds per square inch. At the top of Mount Everest
(over 29,000 feet), 70% of the atmosphere lies below, leaving an air pressure of only 4.4 pounds
per square inch.
Interesting facts:
THATS HEAVY: The atmosphere of Venus is about 90 times heavier than that on Earth.
Resource: http://www.weatherquestions.com/How_much_does_air_weigh.htm
Activity #1 - Let’s find out if air has weight
What we need:
 1 wooden skewer
 2 balloons
 2 feet length of kite string
 1 pencil
 Some masking tape
Skewer
String
Procedure:
 How can we find out if air has
Balloons
weight using these supplies?
 Allow students to spend time with
the supplies
 Call class back together and ask
for ideas
 Be sure that students have thought about:
o Test the balance by using both balloons on either end of the skewer without
blowing up either balloon.
o Mark where the string is located
o Blow up one balloon, hang it on one end and the empty balloon on the other end.
o But before they build their scale…
 Let’s make an observation. Blow up one of your balloons.
o What is filling up the inside of the balloon as you blow it up?
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o Does the balloon weight the same as it did before?
o Let the air out of the balloon
We are going to make a balance to find out if a balloon is heavier with or without air in it.
o Tie the kite string to the middle of the wooden skewer.
o How can we find the balance point (fulcrum) of the skewer?
o Tape an empty balloon to each end of the skewer (use masking or scotch tape)
o Hold the string up by the end not tied to the skewer.
What happens?(most student’s skewers will tilt to one side or the other)
Why? (it is not balanced)
How can we balance it?
o Adjust the string on the skewer until it balances.
 (When balanced, the skewer will hang perpendicular to the floor.)
o With a pencil, mark the spot where the string rests on the skewer.
o This point of balance is called the fulcrum.
What will happen if we add more weight to one end of our balance?
o (it will tilt) *
Let’s try
o Remove one balloon from the skewer, blow it up, and tie it.
o Re-tape the blown up balloon to the skewer.
o Reposition the string so it sits on the pencil mark made at the fulcrum.
o Hold up the string by its end.
What happens? (the balance will tilt one way or the other)
Why? (because the air blown into the balloon has weight)
Can we balance the skewer again? *
Try it!
Is the position of the string the same or different than when neither balloon had air?
What does this prove? Why do we care if the air has weight? (because the weight or
pressure of the air has an effect on the weather)
Sources for Diagram of Balloon Balance:
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http://rehydrate.org/images/pinch.gif
http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/4369591/2/istockphoto_4369591-flabby-yellow-balloon.jpg
http://divinepartyconcepts.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/upsidedownballoon.jpg
Activity 2: Measuring Air Pressure
What we need:
 One 10oz plastic cup
 One balloon
 One straw
 One deli tooth pick
 A piece of scotch tape
 One medium rubber band
 Scissors
 Masking tape
 One piece of card stock paper (any color)
 Metric ruler
Procedure:
 Have you ever heard of a barometer?
 What does a barometer measure? (air pressure)
Air pressure provides clues about what the weather will be like. When air pressure is high, it
usually means that the weather will be sunny. Then the pressure is low, water in the air turns to
tiny liquid droplets, and the weather will be cloudy.
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Make your barometer
o Cut the neck-end off the balloon
o Carefully stretch the balloon over the rim of the cup and fit it to create a taut
drum-like top
o Wrap a rubber band around the cup’s rim to secure the balloon to the cup
o Cut the straw in half and with the piece of scotch tape
o Tape the straw in the middle of the balloon surface, note that half the straw should
be sticking out from the edge of the cup.
o Slide the cellophane end of the toothpick into the open end of the straw (to make a
pointer)
o Fold the card stock paper in half (to create a tent) to make the barometer ruler
o Mark every 2 millimeters (5 marks in 1 centimeter) on your barometer ruler
o Tape the barometer ruler to the back of the cup so the toothpick can point to the
lines on the ruler.
o Mark on the Barometer Ruler where the pointer points to on the ruler
o Go outside and record the temperature (cold, cool, warm or hot) and if
precipitation (clear, cloudy, drizzling, or raining) on your Barometer Ruler
What does the mark tell us? ( the current air pressure )
What will happen if the mark goes up?
o ( higher air pressure, means sunnier days )
What will happen if the mark goes down?
o (lower air pressure, means cloudier days )
Although your barometers won’t usually make dramatic changes, you can take them home and
check it for several days to see if it helps you decide what the weather will be like outside.
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Record how many millimeters higher or lower your barometer is every day for 5 days.
Go outside and record the temperature and precipitation.
Keep these records for at least 2 weeks.
After you have completed recording your data, can you see any trends? For example,
does your barometer go up if it is warmer or colder? Clear and dry or raining?
Can you draw any conclusions?
NOTE: it may be worth having a journal where we can record the air pressure for 10 days at the
same time and at the same time make some weather observations.
Resource: All Kids Are Scientists Weather Lesson Plan Program taught by Oregon Health
Career Ctr.
Activity #3
Origin of Wind
Wind is simply the air in motion. Usually when we are talking about the wind it is the horizontal
motion we are concerned about. If you hear a forecast of west winds of 10 to 20 mph that means
the horizontal winds will be 10 to 20 mph FROM the west.
Although we cannot actually see the air moving we can measure
its motion by the force that it applies on objects. For example, on
a windy day leaves rustling or trees swaying indicate that the
wind is blowing. Officially, a wind vane measures the wind
direction and an anemometer measures the wind speed.
The vertical component of the wind is typically very small
(except in thunderstorm updrafts) compared to the horizontal
component, but is very important for determining the day to day weather. Rising air will cool,
often to saturation, and can lead to clouds and precipitation. Sinking air warms causing
evaporation of clouds and thus fair weather.
You have probably seen a surface map marked with H's and L's which indicate high and low
pressure centers. Surrounding these "highs" and "lows" are lines called isobars. "Iso" means
"equal" and a "bar" is a unit of pressure so an isobar means equal pressure. We connect these
areas of equal pressure with a line. Everywhere along each line is constant pressure. The closer
the isobars are packed together the stronger the pressure gradient is.
Pressure gradient is the difference in pressure between high and low pressure areas. Wind speed
is directly proportional to the pressure gradient. This means the strongest winds are in the areas
where the pressure gradient is the greatest.
Also, notice that the wind direction (yellow arrows) is clockwise
around the high pressure system and counter-clockwise around
the low pressure system. In addition, the direction of the wind is
across the isobars slightly, away from the center of the high
pressure system and toward the center of the low pressure system.
Why does this happen? To understand we need to examine the
forces that govern the wind.
There are three forces that cause the wind to move as it does. All three forces work together at
the same time.
The pressure gradient force (Pgf) is a force that tries to equalize pressure differences. This is the
force that causes high pressure to push air toward low pressure. Thus air would flow from high to
low pressure if the pressure gradient force was the only force acting on it.
However, because of the earth's rotation, there is second force, the Coriolis force that affects the
direction of wind flow. Named after Gustav-Gaspard Coriolis, the French scientist who described
it mathematically in 1835, this force is what causes objects in the northern hemisphere to turn to
the right and objects in the southern hemisphere to turn to the left.
One way to see this force in action is to see what happens when a straight line becomes a curve.
Picture the Earth as a turntable (see number 1) spinning counter-clockwise. A ruler is placed over
the turntable (see number 2) and a pencil will move in a straight line from the center to the edge
while the turntable spins underneath. The result is a curved line on the turntable (see number 3).
When viewed from space, wind travels in a straight line. However, when viewed from the Earth,
air (as well as other things in flight such as planes and birds) is deflected to the right in the
northern hemisphere (red arrow on image at right). The combination of the two forces would
cause the wind to blow parallel to straight isobars with high pressure on the right.
So why does air spiral out from highs and into lows? There is one other force, called Friction,
which is the final component to determining the flow of wind. The surface of the earth is rough
and it not only slows the wind down but it also causes the diverging winds from highs and
converging winds near lows.
What happens to the converging winds near a low? A property called mass continuity states that
mass cannot be created or destroyed in a given area. So air cannot "pile up" at a given spot. It has
to go somewhere so it is forced to rise. As it rises it cools. When air cools it can hold less water
vapor so some of the invisible vapor condenses, forming clouds and precipitation. That is why
there is often inclement weather near low pressure areas.
What about the diverging air near a high? As the air spreads away from the high, air from above
must sink to replace it. Sinking air warms. As air warms it can hold more water vapor, which
means that clouds will tend to evaporate. That is why fair weather is often associated with high
pressure.
Resource: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream//synoptic/wind.htm
VOCABULARY WORDS TO KEEP IN MIND
Air - The mixture of gases, which form the atmosphere of the Earth.
Air Pressure - The weight of air pressing down on earth. Air pressure can change from place to
place, and this causes air to move, flowing from areas of high pressure toward areas of low
pressure. It’s the same as barometric pressure.
Atmosphere - A layer of gases surrounding a planet. The Earth’s atmosphere is divided into five
layers: exosphere, thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere, and troposphere.
Storm - Any disturbed state of the atmosphere that creates unpleasant weather like rain,
lightning, thunder, hail, snow, sleet, and freezing rain.
Barometer - An instrument that measures air pressure.
Wind - The movement of air relative to the surface of the earth. It’s considered to be severe if 58
m.p.h. or greater. Hurricane winds are 74 m.p.h or greater and the highest tornado winds are
about 318 m.p.h.
Wind Advisory - An advisory from the National Weather Service when the winds are between
29-38 m.p.h. lasting more than one hour, or when wind gusts are between 44-57 m.p.h.
Note: You may want to develop a short list of questions to test knowledge