Specific Heat Virtual Lab
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/pd/oceans_weather_climate/media/specific_heat.swf
Define Specific Heat:
What did you notice about the land and water?
Land
Water
Specific Heat Virtual Lab
Analysis:
1. What can you conclude from these results? (Which material heats and cools the
fastest/slowest?)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. What do these results indicate about the heating of the Earth? (Does the Earth heat
the same way all over?)
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. Think about it: What do you think would happen if the Earth were covered with over
70% land instead of water?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Real World Application Questions:
1. If you walk barefooted in the summer, why does a sidewalk feel hotter than the grass?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
2. Why does the sand feel hotter than the ocean water?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
3. When night falls on a nice summer day, the air temperature drops by 10 degrees Celsius.
Will the temperature of the water in a lake change by the same amount as the land nearby?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Specific Heat Virtual Lab
Using specific heat information from today, write to explain how the air above land and water
differ? Relate this information to how land and sea breezes form.