Name:____________________________
Class Period:_____________
Ocean Currents Lab
Procedure:
Carefully fill your clear tray or tub with water. Do not fill it completely. Let the water settle.
Observation 1: Sprinkle some pepper at one end of the tray or tub and gently blow across the
tray or tub in a single direction. Observe, describe, and sketch what you see happening at the
surface of the water and along the bottom of the tray or tub.
Sprinkle pepper in
front of the island
Blow the pepper in
one direction
Observation 2: (see above). Gently place your deep bowl upside down in the center of the tray
or tub. The bowl should stick out of the water. If it does not stick out, then remove some of the
water from the tray or tub, and try again. This is your island.
Sprinkle some pepper in front of the island and gently blow across the tray tub. Observe,
describe, and sketch what you see happening to the pepper in front and in back of the island.
Remove the deep bowl and use a paper towel to remove the pepper that is floating on the surface
of the water so that you have a clear ocean again.
Observation 3: Select a few irregularly shaped objects to submerge and repeat the procedure,
observing and recording your observations
Name:____________________________
Class Period:_____________
Generate Your Own Ocean Currents!
I. Record your observations by drawing sketches and answering the questions in
the table below:
Observation 1 Draw: Sketch your model ocean
showing the direction of the wind
Your model
and the movement of the black
ocean.
pepper.
Answer:
Observation 2 Draw:
Your model
ocean with an
island.
Answer:
Where do the currents move most rapidly?
What effect does the island have on the current?
Is the current stronger in front or behind the island?
How can you tell?
Observation 3 Draw:
Your model
ocean with an
irregularly
shaped ocean
floor.
Answer:
Are the currents more or less complex with the odd-­­
shaped objects? Explain.
Name:____________________________
Class Period:_____________
Post-Lab Questions:
For Observation 1:
Are your sketches different from other teams? If so, how are they different? What happens as the water moves
away from the source of wind?
For Observation 2:
What effect does the island have on the current?
Is the current stronger in front of or behind the island? How can you tell?
For Observation 3:
How is the current different with odd shaped objects? Can you predict how the pepper will move across the
water when it passes above a submerged object? Explain.
Name:____________________________
Class Period:_____________
I. Extend your observations to the real world effect of winds on ocean currents.
Use the maps to answer the questions on the following page.
Map A shows global wind patterns. Map B shows wind-­­driven surface ocean currents.
A
B
Name:____________________________
Class Period:_____________
1. Compare the wind patterns to the ocean current patterns. Do the patterns in Map A
and Map B look similar?
2. Identify areas where the maps show similar patterns and explain why you think they
are similar.
3. Identify areas where the maps show different patterns and explain why you think
they are different
Name:____________________________
Class Period:_____________
Our Local Surface Ocean Currents
The global wind pattern map below shows the general wind directions during
January.
Use the map of global wind patterns to draw what you predict our local surface
ocean currents may be in January (how will the surface currents interact with
landmasses?):