Donna Barrett, MRESA

• Read your handout and then on NOTEBOOK paper, record the single answer you feel is correct.
• Then provide an explanation for your answer.

The best response is C – it is in the air in an invisible form.
The invisible form is water vapor.
Water does not immediately go up into the clouds.

• The best responses is C – it is in the air in an invisible form.
• Water may not immediately go up to the clouds as depicted in water cycle diagrams.
• Humid weather is an example of water in the air.
• Wet dew on the grass, fog, and condensation of water on the outside of a glass holding cold liquid confirms that water exists in the air around us.

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/waterproperties.html

• The oceans are a major storehouse of water
• Lakes, rivers and glaciers are also storehouses of water http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html
• Evaporation is the process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor.
– 90% - oceans, lakes
– 10% - plants
• Heat (energy) is necessary for evaporation to occur.
• Energy is used to break the bonds that hold water molecules together, which is why water easily evaporates at the boiling point (212° F, 100° C) but evaporates much more slowly at the freezing point.

• Condensation is the process in which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water.
• Precipitation is the primary route for water to return to the Earth's surface within the water cycle.
• Condensation is responsible for ground level fog, for your glasses fogging up when you go from a cold room to the outdoors on a hot, humid day, etc.
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html

• The process by which moisture is from plants released to the atmosphere.
• About 10 percent of the moisture found in the atmosphere is released by plants through transpiration.
• Plant transpiration is an invisible process.
• A large oak tree can transpire 40,000 gallons
(151,000 liters) per year.
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html

• Where will the water you drink this morning be tomorrow?
• You are going to become water molecules moving through the water cycle .
• Water can move through: Clouds, Plants,
Animals, Oceans, Rivers, Lakes,
Ground Water, Soil, and Glaciers. http://www.earthsciweek.org/forteachers/incrediblejourney_cont.htm

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html
• Sublimation is process of snow and ice changing into water vapor without first melting into water.
• Sublimation occurs more quickly at low relative humidity and dry winds.
• Occurs more at higher altitudes , where the air pressure is less than at lower altitudes.
• Energy is needed.

• Not a great storehouse of water
• Superhighway used to move water around the globe.
• There is always water in the atmosphere. Clouds are a visible form atmospheric water
• If all of the water in the atmosphere rained down at once, it would only cover the ground to a depth of 2.5 centimeters, about
1 inch.
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html

• Temperature
• Humidity
• Wind
• Soil Moisture Availability
• Type of Plant

•
up, especially during the growing season, when the air is warmer due to stronger sunlight and warmer air masses.
• Relative humidity: As the relative humidity of the air surrounding the plant rises the transpiration rate falls. It is easier for water to evaporate into dryer air than into more saturated air.
• Wind and air movement: Increased movement of the air around a plant will result in a higher transpiration rate.
• Soil-moisture availability: When moisture is lacking, plants can begin to senesce (premature ageing, which can result in leaf loss) and transpire less water.
• Type of plant: Plants transpire water at different rates. Some plants which grow in arid regions, such as cacti and succulents, conserve precious water by transpiring less water than other plants. http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html

• Keeley, Page. “Uncovering Student Ideas” Vol.
3

• Best response: Glenda – “I think clouds are made of tiny drops of water or tiny ice crystals.”
• Clouds are formed when water vapor in the air cools, condenses, and becomes tiny droplets of water (or ice crystals)

• Keeley, Page. “Uncovering Student Ideas” Vol.
3

• Best answer: Marcus – “ I think rainfalls when water drops in the cloud get too heavy.”
• Middle School students are gaining a more conceptual understanding of the processes of the water cycle AND the relationship between the mass of an object, the upward force of air and downward force of gravity.

• The discharge of water, in liquid or solid state, out of the atmosphere
• Rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, or hail
• Delivery of atmospheric water to the Earth
• Most precipitation falls as rain
• Water droplets must condense on tiny dust, salt, or smoke particles, which act as a nucleus
• Water droplets grow as a result of condensation of water vapor when the particles collide.
• Millions of cloud droplets are required to produce a single raindrop http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html

• Spherical – less than 1 mm
• Bottom starts to flatten out as they grow 2 – 3 mm
• At 4 – 5 mm they look like a parachute and begin to fall apart http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html

• Precipitation
• Soil
Characteristics
• Soil Saturation
• Land Cover
• Slope of the Land
• Evaporation http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycleplacemat.html

Condensation Clouds
Evaporation Lakes
Runoff
Infiltration
Precipitation Transpiration Groundwater

Condensation Ground water Runoff
Evaporation Rain
Transpiration Lake
Precipitation
Water Cycle

Oceans
Seas
Lakes
Streams
Ponds
River
Fresh Stag Moving Salt Fresh Stag Moving Salt
Puddle
Dams/
Reservoir
Marshes
Estuaries
(brackish)
Spring
Ground
Water
(Aquifer)

1 new idea you learned
2 factors affecting infiltration of groundwater
3 sources of water storage
Blast
Off!

Differentiate instruction
Activities to Enhance the Development of
Creating graphic representations/organizers
– Descriptive patterns
Fact
Fact
Fact
TOPIC
Fact Fact

Differentiate instruction
•
Find a new partner at a different table.
• Get comfortable.
A will face the screen
B will face
A
.
A / B
•
A has the task of getting
B to guess the mystery word.
Only non-linguistic representations will be shown. Feel free to skip and go back if necessary. When all answers have been given stand up and give a shout !

1 .
2 .
3
4.
5.
6 .

• The Sun’s energy is the origin of weather

• Related to thermal energy
• Temperature is the average kinetic energy of a system
• Use standard units for measuring temperature
– Celsius
– Kelvin
– Fahrenheit temperature illustration

• The degree Celsius (°C) scale was devised by dividing the range of temperature between the freezing and boiling temperatures of pure water at standard atmospheric conditions (sea level pressure) into 100 equal parts.
• The degree Fahrenheit (°F) nonmetric temperature scale was devised and evolved over time so that the freezing and boiling temperatures of water are whole numbers; 0 is the freezing point of salt water http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/temps.htm

• Look for patterns in the chart.
• What do you notice?
• Let’s graph the “points” from the chart on the coordinate grid.
• What would be the best increments to use on the x axis and y axis?
• Extension: Questions 1 – 4 at the bottom of the page.

• Linear relationship
• Slope = rise/run or change in y/change in x
• Used to derive the conversion formulas we use
• Many cell phone apps with conversions

• F = C x 9/5 + 32
• F = (C x 1.8) + 32
• C = 5/9(F – 32)
• C = (F - 32) / 1.8

Common Temperature
Comparisons
Boiling point of water
Hot bath
Average human body temperature
Nice day at the beach
Average room temperature
Cool day
Melting point of ice
Very cold day
Celsius
Prediction degree
Fahrenheit
212
104
98.6
86
70
50
32
0

Common Temperature
Comparisons
Boiling point of water
Hot bath
Average human body temperature
Nice day at the beach
Average room temperature
Cool day
Melting point of ice
Very cold day
Celsius
Prediction
100
40
37
30
21
10
0
-18 degree
Fahrenheit
212
104
98.6
86
70
50
32
0

When it's zero it's freezing, when it's 10 it's not, when it's 20 it's warm, when it's 30 it's hot!
Thirty is hot
Twenty is nice
Ten is cool
Zero is ice http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/temps.htm

___ 1. Heat energy from the sun drives the weather system
___ 2. Land heats up faster than water.
___ 3. Winds blow as a result of the ___ movement of air from low to
___
___ high pressure
___ 4. Warm air rises and cool air sinks ___
___ 5. The evaporation of moisture from ___ oceans causes hurricane

• Which friend do you most agree with?

• The best answer is Emma’s. The coldest part of the day is generally right around the dawn, actually right after the sunrise while the Sun is still very low on the horizon.
• During the night, the Earth’s surface radiates the heat it has absorbed back into space, allowing the temperature to drop.

• Radiation – energy from the sun travels to the earth via radiation
• Conduction – direct transfer of heat from one substance to another – air heated by the ground
• Convection – transfer of heat in a fluid – warm air rises and cool air sinks

• Radiation – heat is transferred through electromagnetic waves
• Do not need a medium to travel
– Radiant energy (light)
– Microwaves
– Radiowaves

• Conduction – direct contact; heat moves from the warmer to the cooler object

Hot water rises, cools, and falls.
Heated air rises, cools, then falls. Air near heater is replaced by cooler air, and the cycle repeats.
What if coils were at the bottom? http://sol.sci.uop.edu/~jfalward/heattransfer/heattransfer.html

• Temperature measures how hot or cold something is or the average motion of the molecules
• Thermal energy – the total energy of all of the molecules (large pot of soup vs. small pot of soup – which one has move TE?
• Heat – the movement of thermal energy – warm to cool

• Winds are formed by the movement of air from one place to another
• Air moves from high pressure to low
• 2 Types:
– Local – blow in any direction and cover short distances
– Global – blow in same direction and cover long distances
– Name of the wind tells you the direction it is blowing FROM
• Convection currents

•Molecules are less dense; spread out; rise
•LOW pressure
•Wet, rainy, warm
•Molecules are sinking; getting pushed together; more dense
•HIGH pressure
•Warm air rises and is replaced by colder air which causes local winds
•Air moves from high to low pressure

http://www.dlt.ncssm.edu/resources/images/seabreeze_day.jpg

http://www.dlt.ncssm.edu/resources/images/seabreeze_night.jpg

• Beaufort Scale
• Why Winds Whirl
• Just A Gust
• Pressure Points

•Air near the equator is heated rapidly and pushed toward the poles as polar air sinks back toward
•Because the earth is rotating and is greater in diameter near the middle causing different rotation speeds, the winds change speed and direction, this accounts for the movement of air on a global scale.
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/wwhlpr/hurricane_globalwinds.rxml

Beaufort number
0
7
8
5
6
9
1
2
3
4
10
11
12-17
Wind speed
(km/hr)
<1
1-5
6-11
12-19
20-28
29-38
39-49
50-61
62-74
75-88
89-102
103-117
>117
International description
Calm
Light Air
Light Breeze
Gentle Breeze
Moderate Breeze
Fresh Breeze
Strong gale
Fresh Breeze
Fresh gale
Stong gale
Whole gale
Storm
Hurricane http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/earth/Atmosphere/wind_speeds.html

• Measure of the force of air pressing down on the Earth’s surface
• Approximately 800 km deep
• Depends on the density of air
• Greater density leads to greater pressure
• Measured in Hectopascals or Millibars; previously in inches
• Measured with a barometer

• Altitude of elevation
• Water vapor
• Temperature
• Uneven heating is due to many factors such as: angle of suns radiation, differences in absorption and reflection of material, & regional climate
• The shifting causes great swirling air masses called high or low pressure cells

• Convection & uneven heating of the Earth causes north to south winds and rotation turns the winds east or west depending on the hemisphere

Highs
• Fair
• Wind circulation is clockwise in northern hemisphere & counterclockwise in southern
• Winds are light
• Warm or cold for relatively long periods without
Lows
• Generally cloudy, with rain of snow
• Wind circulation is counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere & clockwise in the southern hemisphere
• Winds are strong

• Choose your answer.
• Making a Human Scatter plot
• Stand in line with the letter you most closely agree with – determine how strongly you feel your answer is correct.
• Source: Uncovering Student Ideas – Page Keeley

• The best response is A: a gas in the air – the phenomenon described is condensation that occurs on the outside of a cold object when the object comes in contact with warmer air that contains water vapor.

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/waterproperties.html

• Source: Project Earth Science:
Meteorology

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycleplacemat.html

• Which student do you most agree with?

• The best response is C – it is in the air in an invisible form. The invisible form is water vapor. Water does not immediately go up into the clouds as students often think.

• Which friend do you most agree with?
• Source: Uncovering Student Ideas in Science, Page
Keeley

• The best response is Glenda’s
• Clouds come in a variety of shapes and sizes. All are formed when water vapor in the air cools, condenses and becomes tiny drops of liquid water or tiny ice crystals.

• Sun’s energy turns liquid water into a gas
( EVAPORATION )
• Leads to the formation of CLOUDS
• Wind transports moisture all over the world
• HUMIDITY – a measure of the amount of water held in the air
• Relative Humidity – percentage of moisture air holds compared to the amount it could hold
• Psychrometer – measures relative humidity
• Air will hold water vapor until saturated or until
100% relative humidity

• Make Dew
• Make Frost
• Make Clouds
• Cloudy Logic
• Marlee’s unit for 4 th grade
• http://discoverwater.org

• Temperature at which water condenses (gas is converted to a liquid)
• The capacity of air to hold water vapor depends on temperature. Warm air holds more moisture than cold air.
• Alternative:
– Fill a beaker half with water. Allow the water to reach room temperature.
– Add 3 – 4 ice cubes to the beaker. Stir.
– Continue stirring until moisture appears on the outside.
Record temperature.
– Temp. of Room____Initial___ Dew Point____

• Analysis of Class Data
• Questions:
– What does dew point measure?
– If the temperature of the air is close to the dew point, what type of weather will most likely be experienced?
– Why do we see dew in the morning? Where did the water come from?

• Dew point temperature can be higher than air temperature.
No
• Dew point temperature can be the same as the
Yes air temperature.
Yes, most likely
• Dew point temperature can be lower than the air temperature.

• Form when moisture in the air condenses on small particles of dust or solids in the air
• Warm air can hold more moisture than cold air
• 3 Basic Types
– Cumulus – puffy white clouds; can become tall
– Stratus – form smooth layers; low altitude; indicate fair weather or precipitation
– Cirrus – high altitude, appear feathery, wispy, fair weather clouds

• What does “nimbo” mean?
• Rain
• http://www.eo.ucar.edu/webweather/cloud3.html

• Which friend do you most agree with?
• Source: Uncovering Student Ideas in Science,
Page Keeley

• The best response is Marcus’s
• Precipitation is a complex process. A simple explanation begins with water vapor in the warm air rising in the sky, cooling to the dew point (where condensation occurs), and forming tiny drops of suspended liquid water.
• When there are enough of these tiny drops of suspending liquid water, they accumulate to form clouds. Some of the drops combine and form larger droplets. Eventually the large drops are too heavy to remain suspended and fall to the ground due to the force of gravity.

• Forms: Rain, Snow, Sleet, & Hail
• Must have clouds in order to form
• Each droplet forms around foreign particles such as dust, smoke, or salt in the cloud & the microscopic particle is known as a condensation nucleus
• The vapor in the cloud must have a place to condense in order to form precipitation
• These microscopic molecules run into each other in the cloud and combine until they become large and heavy and then gravity takes over.

___ 1. Heat energy from the sun drives the weather system
___ 2. Land heats up faster than water.
_T_
_T_
___ 3. Winds blow as a result of the movement of air from low to high pressure
___ 4. Warm air rises and cool air sinks _T_
_F_
___ 5. The evaporation of moisture from _T_ oceans causes hurricane

1 new idea you learned about weather
2 types of winds
3 factors that effect weather
Blast
Off!

http://pafc.arh.noaa.gov/tvwx.php?img=symbols

• Atmospheric pressure is plotted on maps by the use of lines called isobars. Each isobar connects points having equal air pressure expressed in units of millibars (mb) in the
United States

• Large bodies of air with the same properties and cover thousands of kilometers
• Temperature & moisture are similar
• Take on the same temperature
& moisture properties of the area over which they form
• Classified based on where they form
• 4 Types:
– Warm (Tropical) – form in tropical areas
– Cold (Polar) – form in polar regions
– Wet (Maritime) – form over the oceans
– Dry (Continental) – form over land

• Boundary between air masses
• Named according to direction of movement

• Fronts are the transition zones between two air masses
• Cold front
• Warm Front
• Stationary Front
• Occluded Front
• Dry Line Front

• Is cold air denser than hot?
• Procedure:
– Fill plastic shoe box ¾ full of COLD water
– Fill a test tube with HOT water – color with red food coloring (water should not be too hot)
– Hold your finger over the bottle and place it horizontally at the bottom of the cold water
– Sketch the direction of flow of the HOT water
– Repeat the procedure using a large container of
HOT water and a small container of COLD water colored blue

Warm Front – warm air replaces cold
Warm Air
•Molecules are less dense; spread out
•Low pressure
•Wet, rainy, warm
Cold Air
•Molecules are sinking; getting pushed together; more dense
•High pressure http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/images/warmfront.GIF

Cold Front – cold air replaces warm – Stormy
Weather – followed by sunny, cool
Cold Air
•Molecules are sinking; getting pushed together; more dense
•High pressure
Warm Air
•Molecules are less dense; spread out
•Low pressure
•Wet, rainy, warm http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/images/warmfront.GIF

• 6 th Grade: Interpreting Weather Maps &
Hurricanes (AIMS)
• 4 th Grade: Fronting the Weather (AIMS) &
Making Instruments