Wacky Weather Station
Introduction
This project will eliminate the need for you to check the weather on
television, on the Internet or on the phone. You can become your very own
personal meteorologist.
Here, you will build your own weather station
capable of measuring precipitation, atmospheric pressure, wind direction and
wind speed. Put it all together and make your own predictions by analysing
your observations.
Time: 1½ hours
Engineering and Scientific Background
Wind: Wind is created when hot air rises and is replaced by cold air
descending. In Canada, winds usually blow from West to East and follow the
jet stream. These dominant winds are usually the cause of plane delays and
affect our entire country’s temperature and cloud movement.
Clouds: Clouds are very important since they literally show us what type of
weather we’re having (we can see clouds but not temperature or humidity).
Clouds are formed by small water droplets (each having an approximate
diameter of 0.02 mm). There are many different types of clouds; each
created in different weather conditions:
Cumulus:
Big rounded clouds that have a flat base (like cotton balls)
Stratus:
Undefined layers (fog)
Cirrus:
When cold air rises and condenses, the water vapours change
into solids and form crystals. These clouds are usually thick
and very white.
Rain: When water forms clouds, the droplets combine together to make
bigger droplets. This is achieved by the winds, which blow into the clouds
and move the droplets around so that they bump into each other and
combine. Once these drops attain 2mm in diameter, the cloud becomes too
heavy and the water droplets are too attracted to the ground by gravity, so
they drop!
Pressure: When cold air descends near the earth’s surface, the pressure
applied on the surface increases. This is considered a high pressure
condition by meteorologists, and usually results in clear skies and warmer
weather (the air is coming down and warming up as it does so). The air is
also less humid since the water can’t evaporate and go high in the sky. Low
pressure conditions are a result of hot air rising into the sky, so there is
less pressure near the earth’s surface. They usually bring very unstable
conditions that can cause precipitation and storms. The hot air is filled with
water that it took from lakes, streams and rivers on its way up. Once in the
sky, the vapour condenses and falls again towards the earth.
Tornadoes: Tornadoes are very strong winds that blow in a circular motion.
Their speeds can vary from 60 to 500 km/h. There are three developmental
phases to a tornado. A storm is usually the first step. Then the winds shift
and create a cyclone. Finally, the pressure under the cyclone’s base lowers,
which increases the velocity of the cyclone to attract it towards the ground.
Materials
BAROMETER
- 1 500ml bottle
- 12 Popsicle sticks
- 20 ml of play dough (see recipe)
- 1 aluminium pie plate (6 inches in diameter)
RAIN GAUGE
- 1 500ml bottle
- Duct tape
WEATHER VAIN
- Small plastic cups
- 1 trombone
- Cardboard
- 30cm of balsa stick
- 2 beads
- 1 straw
ANEMOMETER
- Cardboard (40cmX40cm)
- 1 film canister
- 1 straw
- 1 plastic cup
- String
- 2.2 feet of balsa stick
- 1 push pin
Other : x-acto knife, scissors, glue gun and hot glue, masking tape, duct
tape, metal cutting pliers, markers and other decorative supplies.
Cautions and Warnings
- Ask a grown up to help you to use the x-acto knife and the hot glue.
- Only a grown up should cut the plastic bottle in half for the rain gauge.
- The edges of the cut bottle are very sharp. Cover with masking or duct
tape.
- Cutting the paper clip can be tricky and pieces could fly around. Please
do this carefully with the help of a grown up.
Procedures
BAROMETER
- Take 4 Popsicle sticks and glue them as shown in the figure below with
masking tape. Repeat twice to have a total of 3 structures.
-
Glue the Popsicle stick structures around the plastic bottle with masking
tape to make a rocket shape (see figure). The ends should stick out from
the neck of the bottle at least 1,5 cm.
-
Place three pieces of play dough in the bottom of the aluminium plate so
that they align with the bottle legs later.
-
Fill half the bottle with water. Fill the aluminium plate with water as well.
-
Place the palm of your hand on the bottle opening to prevent any water
from spilling out. Turn the bottle upside down and plunge the neck into
the water. Make sure water is all around the opening. Release your hand
slowly. The water should not splatter nor have bubbles.
-
Bring the barometer outside, you should see that in low pressure
conditions, the water level inside the bottle should drop. In high
pressure conditions, the water level inside the bottle will rise. This is a
great indicator of pressure, therefore you will be able to predict stormy
or sunny weather with the information given in the Engineering and
Scientific background section.
RAIN GAUGE
- Cut the plastic bottle, 10 cm from the neck, in two halves.
-
Use the top part to create a funnel.
-
Place the funnel part upside down into the other section of the bottle.
-
-
-
Tape the two pieces together with masking tape, being careful not to cut
yourself around the sharp edges.
Create a scale on the outside of your bottle so that you can measure how
much water it will collect. To do this, use masking tape, a ruler and a
permanent marker.
Place your gauge outside in the rain, then you can determine how much
precipitation falls on a given day.
WEATHER VAIN
- Make a hole into the bottom of the plastic yogurt container big enough to
fit the balsa stick.
-
Insert and secure the balsa stick with hot glue or masking tape.
-
Unfold the paper clip to make a straight rod. Cut into three pieces using
pliers or very strong scissors.
-
Place 1/3 of the paper clip into the top of the balsa stick and secure in
place with hot glue or masking tape.
-
Place a bead at the intersection of the paper clip and the balsa stick.
Secure in place also.
-
Cut 2 triangles shapes out of construction paper.
-
Cut two parallel slits in one end of the straw. Insert the triangles into
the slits and tape or glue in place (See figure).
-
Insert the straw into the paper clip at top of balsa stick. Place another
bead on top of the paper clip and secure with glue or masking tape.
ANEMOMETER
- Cut the balsa stick in two pieces (1X45cm or 1½ feet and 1X30cm or 1
foot). Glue them to make an “L” shape.
-
Cut out a piece of cardboard in the shape shown below and glue to the L
shaped balsa sticks.
-
Use the rest of the cardboard to make the base.
-
Make a hole in the bottom of a film canister with closed scissors. This
hole should be wide enough to fit the bottom piece of the L shape
structure.
-
Glue the balsa stick into the hole of the film canister then glue the film
canister, with the stick in the air, to the cardboard base.
-
Glue the plastic cup to a straw.
-
Pass the pushpin through the other side of the straw, then through the
middle of the cardboard in the L shape (see figure).
-
To secure the machine is solid, tape or glue two pieces of string from the
top of the L shape to the base of the anemometer.
Conclusion and observations
By taking your barometer outside and comparing where your water level is
with the pressure indicated by weather stations, you should be able to
create a scale for the barometer. After a few days, you won’t even need to
turn on the weather station to compare. You will have all the necessary tools
to know and understand what the weather is like that day. You can also make
a scale for your anemometer, using the same technique.
Take all your devices outside to measure wind direction and speed, pressure
and precipitation. Then, by watching the trends over a day, a week or a
month and by comparing the temperature from the weather stations with
your readings, you should have a good to start at making your own weather
predictions! Tell all your friends that you can now accurately predict the
future!!!