Download Precipitation

Use the images and information on this page to create a title page in your 2B5 science
work books. Remember to colour the images in and highlight the key information.
What is Weather?
We live and breathe in a blanket of air known as the atmosphere. The atmosphere is constantly moving and
changing all around the earth. These changes are called the weather.
No matter if it's rainy, snowy, stormy, or warm and sunny, weather affects everyone all the time! That's why
the science of weather, or meteorology, is so important!
The sun is a fiery ball of hot, burning gases. Our sun is about 93 million
miles away from earth, but we still feel it's warmth. The sun's heat brings
changes in our weather. It makes clouds form that bring rain, it makes
plants grow, and it warms the air that causes the wind to blow.
SUN
Rain is water that falls from the clouds in the sky. It is part of a continuous
cycle of water that falls to the earth, and then is heated by the sun and
evaporates into the air again to form clouds.
RAIN
Clouds that make rain are billions of tiny drops of water floating around in
the air. When the tiny water droplets bump into each other, they grow
bigger and heavier until they fall to the ground as rain.
CLOUD
THUNDERSTORM
LIGHTNING
TORNADOES
Thunderstorms are powerful electrical storms in the atmosphere. In less
than an half an hour, a single thunderstorm can drop over 100 million
gallons of water and give off more electricity than is used in a large city in
an entire week. The booming sound of thunder we hear in these storms is
caused by very hot lightning exploding the air.
Lightning is a giant spark of electricity. In the same way that magnets
attract metal, lightning is attracted to the ground. Lightning is created
inside thunderstorms and can become very hot. Just one lightning bolt can
be 50,000 Fahrenheit . . . that's about 5 times hotter than the surface of the
sun!
Tornadoes are very powerful windstorms with the most destructive winds
on earth. Winds in a tornado rotate violently, spinning at speeds of 100 to
300 miles per hour. Tornadoes occur all over the world, but most tornadoes
strike the United States. About one-thousand tornadoes hit the United
States each year, most of which happens in April, May, and June.
Using the internet complete the following worksheet
Google search bar type – facts on water
Use some of the website to answer the following questions.
1. The water cycle has no beginning or end. True or false.
2. In order to survive all living things require water to live. True or false.
3. Everything man does is connected some how back to using water. True or false.
4.
% of the Earth is covered by water.
5.
% of the Earth is covered salt water.
6.
% of the Earth is covered by fresh water trapped in frozen ice caps & glaciers.
7.
% of the human body is water. While the brain needs
8.
% is the small amount of water available for humans to use.
% to work.
9. Complete the diagram, showing the three states or forms of water below by labelling
points 1, 2 & 3.
1.
2.
3.
Water can exist in
forms or states.
means that the form or state can change when heated or
.
10.
Use this graph to answer the following questions.
a)
What is the lowest temperature recorded? __________°C
b)
i)
On which day did Wellington have its greatest temperature range? _______________
ii)
What was the temperature range for Wellington on this day? __________°C
c)
On which day did all three cities have the least temperature range? (Circle one)
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Here are some symbols from a weather map.
Draw a line from the symbol to its correct description. One description is not needed.
Symbol
•
Description
•
cloudy
•
thunder
•
mainly fine
•
showers
•
rain
•
hail
•
fine
•
isolated showers, mainly fine
•
•
•
•
•
•
Using weather maps.
Learning outcome;
I will be able to understand the symbols used in weather maps.
I will be able to change written/visual information into a table format.
Use the weather map below and draw up an information table to show what the weather
conditions are in EVERY place noted on the map (12 places).
Fill in the blanks below with words from this box:
evaporation
sunny
precipitate
evaporates
clouds
vapour
heating
heavy
oceans
droplets
plants
hail
runoff
snow
cycle
rain
rivers
streams
condenses
atmosphere
lakes
glaciers
crystals
Evaporation
On a warm, __________________ day, water in a glass of water seems to slowly
disappear. This is because the energy from the sun is _______________ the water up
and turning the liquid water into water ______________. This process is called
___________________. When the water ________________, it becomes an invisible
gas in the _____________________. Evaporation takes places all over the earth, but
especially in the ________________ and ________________ where there is lots of
water.
Condensation
As the water vapor rises, it cools off and ______________________ into water
_________________. If the water vapor becomes extremely cold, it will form ice
________________ instead of water droplets. As the water droplets or ice crystals
grow bigger and more numerous, they form ___________________.
Precipitation
If water droplets or ice crystals become too _______________, they can’t stay in the
air. They _________________. Water droplets precipitate as ________________
and ice crystals precipitate as _________________. Sometimes, the rain freezes
before it hits the earth and precipitates as _________________.
Runoff
This precipitation gathers into ________________ and
_________________ that flow down to the lakes and oceans.
This is called __________________. Not all of the water
makes it back to the oceans and lakes right away. Some of it is
used by animals and ________________. Some is frozen into
___________________. Eventually, the animals and plants
breathe the water out and the glaciers melt, releasing the
water back into the water _______________.
Water cycle dominoes
Cut the cards put along the dotted line and then match the definitions to the term.
Condensation
The process by which plants lose water
out of their leaves and the water rises into
the air as water vapour.
Precipitation
When water vapour turns into a liquid.
When the water vapour in the air gets
cold and changes back to a liquid form.
Transpiration
Surface water moves downhill. All water
will end up in the oceans eventually.
Water cycle
Collection of a body of water either on
the land surface or below the surface e.g.
lakes, stream, seas, ponds.
Run off
The process by which water is always
cycling around, through, and above the
earth with water continually changing
from liquid water to water vapour and
ice.
Accumulation
When a liquids changes to a vapour
(gas)
In the water cycle the sun’s energy heats
up the water changing it into water vapour.
Evaporation
Occurs when so much water has
condensed that the air cannot hold it
anymore. The clouds get heavy and the
water particles fall back to the earth in
the form of rain, hail, sleet, or snow.
Student rubric for water cycle task
Indicators of student performance
Expected quality
Science concepts
and understandings
Applying
understandings
excellence
I showed that I understand
clearly what causes change
of state of water; I
understand clearly what
happens to the water
particles, and why.

merit
I showed that I understand
most of what causes
change of state of water
and what happens to water
particles.
achieve
I showed that I understand
a few of the causes of
change of state of water
and what happens to the
water particles.


I explained clearly the
connections between the
change of state of water
and the cycling of water in
ecosystems.

I made some connections
between the change of
state of water and the
cycling of water in
ecosystems.
I made a few connections
between the change of
state of water and the
cycling of water in
ecosystems.


I identified many possible
I identified several
I identified a few
interruptions to the water
possible interruptions to
interruptions to the water
cycle.
the water cycle.
cycle.



Communicating
information
I used my own words in
my presentation.
I generally used my own
I sometimes used my own
words in my presentation. words.



I expressed myself clearly.
I generally expressed
I sometimes expressed
myself well enough for the myself clearly.
visitors to understand.


I used science words
appropriately and
correctly throughout.

I generally used the science I used a few science words
words appropriately.
in my presentation.


