| The
Sun's Energy Heats Unevenly (Pages C70 and C71) |
| Notes for Teachers |
Investigating
Uneven Heating
See the investigation that begins on page C70.
Diana has quite a few thermometers and potting soil available for your
use.
Call ahead (5248), bring cans to put soil in.
You can have your students bring in empty canned
vegetable cans. (Keep the size consistent.)
Click here for a
handout
to accompany this investigation. |
|
| The
Causes of Weather (Page C72) |
Uneven Heating Causes Local
Winds, Prevailing Winds, Air Masses, and Fronts
As we saw from our canned water and
canned soil temperature investigation, the sun heats
unevenly.
Local Winds
This uneven heating causes local winds such as land
breezes and sea breezes.
Warm air is lighter than cold air. Warm
air rises. Cold air sinks.
Click on these links to find out about land
breezes and sea
breezes.
Prevailing Winds
Winds that blow continuously in the same direction are
called prevailing
winds.
Prevailing winds are caused by (a) uneven heating
between continents and oceans
and (b) the earth's rotation.
Although local winds will always change, the prevailing
winds in Schenectady and the whole
northeast are from the west. They are called westerlies.
This causes the weather to generally
travel from the west to the east.
Air Masses and Fronts
Air masses that make our weather are over 700 miles
across. An air
mass is a large section of air
that has a consistent temperature and humidity. The
boundary between two different types of air
masses is called a front.
As air masses move in, they change your weather. Weather
maps show
approaching warm
fronts and cold
fronts. |
|
| Reading
Weather Maps (Page C76) |
Click here for the USA
Current Conditions Weather Map Reading Activity.
Click here for the
handout that accompanies the activity.
Mrs. Nelson's, and Mrs.
Ralston's, and Mrs. Wheeler's
Meteorologist
of the Day Activity.
|
Scholastic provides an interactive Weather
Maker (needs the Flash plugin). By manipulating
temperature and humidity variables, the learner makes wind, calm, sun,
clouds, rain, and snow.
Your students will need to understand what they mean by "Equatorward"
and "Poleward"
temperatures. Basically, These are to show fronts in the area. If the two
temps are the same, there is
not a front in the area and precipitation is unlikely. As fronts come
through, temperature fluctuations
create winds. If there is enough humidity, precipitation also occurs.
AWESOME- Check it Out! Once you get to the page, read the directions and
then look for the light blue button that says "Try your hand at
creating the weather."
For additional textual information, see Scholastic's
What is Weather?
|
|
Maintained
according to Mohonasen Central School District Web Publishing
Regulations by Kathryn A. Verzoni, Coordinator for
Staff Development/Technology Integration, Mohonasen Central School
District, 2070 Curry Road, Schenectady, NY 12303 (518) 356-8365 ©
2001 Mohonasen Central School District--All Rights Reserved Last Updated
09/12/2008 |
