AIMS Education Foundation

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1 Developed and Published by AIMS Education Foundation This book contains materials developed by the AIMS Education Foundation. AIMS (Activities Integrating Mathematics and Science) began in 1981 with a grant from the National Science Foundation. The non-profit AIMS Education Foundation publishes hands-on instructional materials that build conceptual understanding. The foundation also sponsors a national program of professional development through which educators may gain expertise in teaching math and science. Copyright 2002 by the AIMS Education Foundation All rights reserved. No part of this book or associated digital media may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means except as noted below. A person purchasing this AIMS publication is hereby granted permission to make unlimited copies of any portion of it (or the files on the accompanying disc), provided these copies will be used only in his or her own classroom. Sharing the materials or making copies for additional classrooms or schools or for other individuals is a violation of AIMS copyright. For a workshop or conference session, presenters may make one copy of any portion of a purchased activity for each participant, with a limit of five activities or up to one-third of a book, whichever is less. All copies must bear the AIMS Education Foundation copyright information. Modifications to AIMS pages (e.g., separating page elements for use on an interactive white board) are permitted only for use within the classroom for which the pages were purchased, or by presenters at conferences or workshops. Interactive white board files may not be uploaded to any third-party website or otherwise distributed. AIMS artwork and content may not be used on non-aims materials. Digital distribution rights may be purchased for users who wish to place AIMS materials on secure servers for school- or district-wide use. Contact us or visit the AIMS website for complete details. AIMS Education Foundation 1595 S. Chestnut Ave., Fresno, CA aimsedu.org ISBN Printed in the United States of America WEATHER SENSE: Temperature, Air Pressure, and Wind 2002 AIMS Education Foundation

2 Weather Sense Temperature, Air Pressure, Wind Table of Contents Introduction...1 Conceptual Overview...2 Management Overview...8 Throughout Your Weather Studies Weather Journal Cover...14 Global Weather Extremes...15 A Matter of Degrees...measurement scales...17 Proverb Proofs...weather proverbs...25 Station Model...graphic weather model...29 Temperature Heat Energy...38 Thermometers and Scales...41 Temperature Proverbs...45 How does location affect temperature? Playground Fever...microclimate variables...47 On Location...testing variables...51 Local Temperature Assessment...57 Graphing Thermometer...58 Temperature Tally...weather station: temperature...59 Tub Temps...soil versus water...64 Nationwide Highs...U.S. temperature patterns...69 Heat Bands...isotherms...74 Global Temperature Assessment...80 Air Pressure Air and Air Pressure...82 The Troposphere...85 Air Pressure Proverbs...86 What are the properties of air? Air Pockets...air takes up space...88 Air Aware...air has weight...92 Pressure Points...air exerts pressure...95 Highs and Lows...weather station: air pressure Aneroid Barometer...weather station: air pressure Air Assessment Wind Wind Wind Proverbs What are the effects of wind? It s a Breeze!...informal wind direction and speed Beaufort Scale...historic scale Wind Ways...weather station: wind direction Just a Gust?...weather station: wind speed Chillin in the Wind...wind chill Wind Assessment Weather Literature Weather Websites WEATHER SENSE: Temperature, Air Pressure, and Wind 2002 AIMS Education Foundation

3 sun tilt Earth revolution weather systems fronts air masses jet streams severe weather blizzards severe thunderstorms drought patterns weather temperature air pressure wind moisture forecasting catastrophic weather tornadoes hurricanes long-term drought seasons yearly cycle condensation water cycle precipitation climate multi-year averages evaporation WEATHER SENSE: Temperature, Air Pressure, and Wind AIMS Education Foundation

4 takes up space sun Temperature degree of hotness or coldness location global sun exposure surface distance from color affects thermometer feels-like temperature humidity condensation Moisture evaporation wet/dry bulb thermometers precipitation (rain, snow, ice) rain gauge Air PRESSURE Wind anemometer wind vane has weight barometer differences cause direction speed damage land/water latitude exerts (macroclimate) local (microclimate) varies with heat energy causes differences in type shape rate type clouds altitude frost dew WEATHER SENSE: Temperature, Air Pressure, and Wind AIMS Education Foundation

5 Topics Heating and cooling of soil versus water Properties of matter Key Question How does the sun affect the heating of Earth surfaces? Learning Goals Students will: investigate how the sun heats soil and water, and infer how different surfaces of the Earth are influenced by the heating of the sun. Guiding Documents Project 2061 Benchmarks The sun warms the land, air, and water. Some materials conduct heat much better than others. Poor conductors can reduce heat loss. Things change in steady, repetitive, or irregular ways or sometimes in more than one way at the same time. Often the best way to tell which kinds of change are happening is to make a table or graph of measurements. NRC Standards Objects have many observable properties, including size, weight, shape, color, temperature, and the ability to react with other substances. Those properties can be measured using tools, such as rulers, balances, and thermometers. Earth materials are solid rocks and soil, water, and the gases of the atmosphere. The varied materials have different physical and chemical properties, which make them useful in different ways, for example, as building materials, as sources of fuel, or for growing the plants we use as food. Earth materials provide many of the resources that humans use. NCTM Standards 2000* Identify and describe situations with constant or varying rates of change and compare them Select and apply appropriate standard units and tools to measure length, area, volume, weight, time, temperature, and the size of angles Represent data using tables and graphs such as line plots, bar graphs, and line graphs Math Measurement time temperature Whole number operations Graphing line Science Physical science properties of matter heat energy Earth science weather Integrated Processes Observing Predicting Collecting and recording data Comparing and contrasting Controlling variables Interpreting data Inferring Relating Materials For each group: 2 liter boxes 2 thermometers potting soil, 700 ml water, 700 ml For each student: student pages colored pencils For the class: thermometer meter stick Background Information Soil absorbs heat energy faster than water, but also releases it more quickly. Water warms and cools very slowly. A look at the properties of soil and water helps provide the explanation of why this happens. Soil is opaque; water is transparent. The sun s rays pass through transparent materials more readily than opaque materials, distributing the heat energy to greater depths. Since sunlight can t pass through the rough, dark surface of soil, the heat energy is absorbed only WEATHER SENSE: Temperature, Air Pressure, and Wind AIMS Education Foundation

6 at the surface. Have you ever dug into the sand on a hot beach and felt how cool it is underneath? Water, because it is a liquid, moves easily. The water molecules help transport heat to different areas and depths (convection). Soil, a solid, is more stationary and the heat remains at the surface. The heat energy absorbed in land is transferred by contact (conduction). Water has a greater capacity for heat. It takes more heat to raise the temperature of water than it takes to raise the temperature of the same amount of soil. Water is slow to take in heat but then equally stingy about releasing it. Water temperatures vary less over time than soil temperatures. The different rates with which land and water absorb heat energy affect our weather. The Earth s land masses (soil) and oceans (water) release varying amounts of heat energy into the air above them. This creates air masses with different temperatures. Coastline cities that receive breezes off the ocean will likely have moderate temperatures because water gains and loses heat slowly. Inland cities will generally have greater temperature extremes because the soil will heat quickly during the day and cool rapidly as the sun goes down. The purposes of this activity are to sharpen students observation skills as they look at the properties of soil and water, to practice controlling variables as they measure time and temperatures, to produce a line graph that shows change over time, and to interpret the data they have collected. The results of this experience should be related to geography and weather when students are ready to make these connections. Management 1. Plan to do this activity during a warm time of the year late spring, summer, or early fall. 2. At least one day before beginning this activity, set out the potting soil and water so they will be at room temperature. Water can be easily be stored and transported in 2-L bottles with lids. 3. Use thermometers with matching readings. To measure air temperature, tape one thermometer to the top of the 1 to 1.5 meter stick. Air temperature should be taken in the shade over a grassy surface at a height of about 1.5 meters. 4. For the sun readings, students will put the thermometers in the soil and water just long enough for them to stabilize and be read. They will then remove them. Otherwise the thermometers will be registering the sun s radiation along with the temperature of the soil or water. 5. Take an equal number of readings in the sun and the shade, not counting starting temperature. Plan for at least a two-hour block of time during the heat of the day. Start Sun Shade Time 12:30 12:45 1:00 1:15 1:30 1:45 2:00 2:15 2:30 Soil Temp. ( ) Water Temp. ( ) 6. Always read thermometers at eye level and do not remove the bulb from the soil or water when reading. 7. Thermometers (item number 1976) and liter boxes (item number 1913) are available from AIMS. Procedure 1. Put 700 ml of soil in one liter box and 700 ml of water in another. Place them where students can gather and observe. Have them describe each kind of matter. 2. Distribute the first activity pages and have students record their descriptions. 3. Ask the Key Question and state the Learning Goals. Invite students to predict which will warm up faster, soil or water, or if they will warm up at the same rate. They should also comment on which material will cool down faster. Ask students to sharing their reasoning, then have them write their predictions. 4. Direct students to get into groups. Discuss how often to take the temperatures (every 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 minutes) and have students record the time interval. 5. Instruct them that they will place the thermometer bulbs about 3-4 centimeters under the surfaces of the water and soil each time. Demonstrate the procedure. 6. Have each group fill one liter box with 700 ml of water and one liter box with 700 ml of soil. Tell students to gather liter boxes, thermometers, pencils, and student pages. 7. Take the class outdoors to a grassy spot where both sun and shade are available. Measure the air temperature in the shade. Have students describe the weather wind, clouds, air temperature, etc. in the space provided. 8. Tell students to record the time and starting temperatures of the soil and water. (Air temperature is not likely to match soil and water temperatures.) WEATHER SENSE: Temperature, Air Pressure, and Wind AIMS Education Foundation

7 9. Direct students to remove the thermometers from the containers and place the soil and water in a grassy, sunny spot. Go indoors. 10. Return outside a few minutes before the next reading. Have students put one thermometer in each container so that the thermometer faces away from the sun. After a few minutes, when the thermometers have stabilized, direct students to record the soil and water temperatures. 11. Tell students to remove the two thermometers and repeat the temperature readings at regular intervals throughout the afternoon. After taking several sun readings, move the containers into the shade and continue readings at the same time intervals. For shade readings, the thermometers may be left in the containers. 12. Ask students how to find the temperature range of soil. [Find the highest and lowest soil temperatures and compute the difference.] Repeat for water and record on the activity page. 13. Distribute the line graph. Have students label the vertical axis ( ), the horizontal axis (time), and give the graph a title. Discuss how to determine the temperature range and increments to be used. 14. Instruct students to complete the key and plot the data using two colors, one for soil and another for water. 15. Discuss the results and have students write what they have discovered. 6. Why don t you go swimming the first warm day of spring? [You will want to wait several days or weeks since it takes time for the water to absorb enough heat to make swimming a comfortable experience.] 7. Is your location surrounded by land or is there a large body of water nearby? Would you expect greater or smaller differences between the high and low temperatures of the day? [for land, greater differences; for water, smaller differences] Why? [because land gains and loses heat energy more rapidly than water] 8. What are you wondering now? Extensions 1. Measure and graph air temperatures along with soil and water temperatures at each time interval. 2. Design an investigation to compare the temperatures of soil and water at different depths. 3. Compare air temperatures 1 or 2 cm above soil and water over time. * Reprinted with permission from Principles and Standards for School Mathematics, 2000 by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. All rights reserved. Connecting Learning 1. How would you describe the soil? [rough, dark, dull, solid, opaque, etc.] How would you describe the water? [smooth, shiny, transparent, liquid, etc.] 2. What variables did we control? [time intervals and depth the thermometer was placed] 3. How much did the soil s temperature change? (Find the temperature range: highest minus lowest temperature) How much did the water s temperature change? What caused the change? [energy from the sun] 4. Look at your graph. What patterns do you notice? [Examples: The temperature climbs sharply at first and then slows. It also drops sharply when first put into the shade. The soil temperature got warmer than the water temperature. The Big Idea: Water heats and cools more slowly than soil.] 5. What do you think might happen to the temperature of the air right above the soil? [Heat energy released from the soil would make air temperatures heat up quickly in the sun and cool down quickly in the shade.] What do you think might happen to the temperature of the air right above the water? [The air temperature wouldn t change as much as it did above the soil.] See Extension 3. WEATHER SENSE: Temperature, Air Pressure, and Wind AIMS Education Foundation

8 Observe and describe. Soil Water How do the temperatures of soil and water compare over time? Prediction: Time Soil Temp. ( ) Water Temp. ( ) Weather: Time interval: Thermometer depth: Shade Sun Start Soil Temperature Range Water Temperature Range WEATHER SENSE: Temperature, Air Pressure, and Wind AIMS Education Foundation

9 Key Line Graph Temperature What did you discover? Time WEATHER SENSE: Temperature, Air Pressure, and Wind AIMS Education Foundation