SCIENCE
ETO
SUCCESS ACADEMY
DATE:____________
Preparing ___________________________ to be a Sensational Scientist.
(Name)
Topic: Atmosphere in Motion
Pre-assessment
1. Local winds and global winds are generally a result of which of the following?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Earth’s tilted axis.
Unpredictable changes in the atmosphere.
Variations in the received from the sun.
Unequal heating of Earth’s surface.
2. In coastal areas, land and sea breezes may exist due to the uneven heating of the land
and water. Which process is responsible for the breeze?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Conduction
Radiation
Convection
Refraction
2
Heating Earth’s Surface
Reviewing Content
The sun’s energy travels to Earth in the form
of electromagnetic waves. After some of the
radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere and
reflected by clouds, about 50 percent of the
sun’s energy eventually reaches Earth’s surface.
Earth’s surface absorbs most of the sunlight
that reaches it. The rest is reflected back to space.
However, the amount of sunlight that is absorbed
or reflected depends on the substance the sun
shines on.
Land and water absorb and reflect different
percentages of the sunlight that reaches them.
Land and water also heat up and cool down at
different rates, due to their physical characteristics. What do you think heats up faster, land
or water? Why? What do you think cools down
faster? Why?
Reviewing Inquiry Focus
When you develop a hypothesis, you write a statement that expresses
the expected outcome of an investigation. That statement is based on
prior knowledge, past experience, or other evidence.
The statement must be a “testable” one. In other words, it must be
possible to set up an investigation that allows someone reading the
hypothesis to actually test it to see if it is correct. A hypothesis that is
tested repeatedly and proven correct might eventually become a theory.
In this Lab Investigation, you will develop a hypothesis, and then test
it with an investigation.
Create a hypothesis.
How will you find out if your hypothesis is correct?
3
Name
Date
Class
Heating Earth’s Surface
Problem
INQUIRY FOCUS
Develop Hypotheses,
Draw Conclusions
How do the heating and cooling rates of sand and
water compare?
Procedure
2 thermometers
2 beakers, 250-mL
sand, 200 mL
water, 200 mL
lamp with 100-watt
bulb
metric ruler
clock or stopwatch
string
graph paper
ring stand and 2 ring
clamps
1. Which do you think will heat up faster when placed in
the sun, sand or water? Record your hypothesis below.
Then follow these steps to test your hypothesis.
2. Which material do you think will cool off more quickly?
Record your hypothesis. Give reasons why you think
your hypothesis is correct.
3.
Put on your safety goggles and apron. Fill one
beaker with 200 mL of dry sand.
4. Fill the second beaker with 200 mL of water at room
temperature.
5. Arrange the beakers side-by-side beneath the ring stand.
Do not let the beakers touch one another.
6. Hang one thermometer from each ring on the ring
stand with string. This will hold the thermometers in
place so they do not fall.
7. Place a beaker beneath each thermometer.
8. Adjust the height of the ring clamps so the bulb of each
thermometer is submerged in about 0.5 cm of sand or
water in a beaker.
9. Position the lamp so it is about 20 cm above the sand
and water. There should be no more than 8 cm between
the beakers. CAUTION: Be careful not to splash water
onto the hot light bulb.
4
Name
Date
Class
10. Record the Start temperature of the sand and water in your data table.
11. Turn on the lamp. Read the temperature of the sand and water every minute for
5 minutes. Record the temperatures in the Temperature with Light On columns
of the data table (1–5 minutes).
12. Turn the light off. Read the temperature of the sand and water every minute for
another 10 minutes. Record the temperatures in the Temperature with Light Off
columns (6–10 minutes).
Data Table
Temperature with Light On (°C)
Time (min)
Sand
Water
Temperature with Light Off (°C)
Time (min)
Start
6
1
7
2
8
3
9
4
10
Sand
Water
5
5
Name
Date
Class
HEATING EARTH’S
SURFACE continued
Analyze and Conclude
Draw Conclusions What can you conclude about which material
absorbed heat faster? How do your results compare with your hypothesis?
Graph Graph two lines to show the data for the temperature change in
sand and water over time. Label the horizontal axis from 0 to 20 minutes and the vertical
axis from 20 to 30 degrees Celsius. Draw both lines
on the grid below. Use a dashed line to show the temperature change in
water and a solid line to show the temperature change in sand.
Calculate Calculate the total change in temperature for each material.
Develop a Hypothesis How do you think being close to a large body of water, such as an
ocean may affect the climate of a region?
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Post-Assessment
1. Jason thinks that global climate change is not happening because a city in Northern
Florida received snow one day in January. Which statement explains what is wrong
with Jason's reasoning?
A. Northern Florida would need to get snow for at least a week for this to be true.
B. Jason has confused the weather for one day with the climate of a region.*
C. Jason does not realize that Southern Florida would also need to receive snow to make this
true.
D. The climate of Northern Florida would be unaffected since it's already warm in Florida.
2. On some small islands in the Pacific Ocean, the average sea level is rising on the
beaches little by little each year. Residents of the islands are worried that their island,
and their homes, may become flooded in a few years. What is the most likely cause for
the water level increases?
F. They are getting more rain in their area.
G. The tides are more dramatic because of the number of full moons they have experienced.
H. Ice from the North and South poles is melting and adding to the water in the ocean. *
J. The waves are bigger because of increased winds.
3. Wind is caused by which of the following?
A.
B.
C.
D.
the gravity of the Sun
the Moon's attraction to Earth
the uneven heating of Earth's surface *
the changes in the ozone layer
4. In which atmospheric action can we see evidence of conduction?
F.
G.
H.
J
Radiation from the Sun heats the surface of the Earth.
The surface of the Earth heats the air that contacts it. *
Cold air pushes warm air upward creating a current.
Air increases in density and sinks back towards the Earth.
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