SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING OF THE 2014 OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
Science of Snow
INTEGRATION GUIDE
Middle School Focus / Adaptable for Grades 4–12
Lesson plans produced by the National Science Teachers Association.
Video produced by NBC Learn in collaboration with the National Science Foundation.
Background and Planning Information .............................................................1
About the Video .......................................................................................................................... 1
Video Timeline ........................................................................................................................... 2
Promote STEM with Video ...............................................................................2
Connect to Science...................................................................................................................... 2
Connect to Technology ............................................................................................................... 3
Connect to Engineering Design ................................................................................................... 4
Connect to Math ......................................................................................................................... 4
Incorporate Video into Your Lesson Plan .........................................................5
Integrate Video in Instruction ..................................................................................................... 5
Predict ............................................................................................................................. 5
Compare and Contrast .................................................................................................... 5
Homework....................................................................................................................... 5
As Part of a 5E Lesson Plan ............................................................................................. 6
Connect to … Meteorology ......................................................................................................... 6
Connect to … Climate .................................................................................................................. 6
Connect to … Language Arts ....................................................................................................... 7
Use Video as a Writing Prompt ................................................................................................... 7
Connect Video to Common Core ELA................................................................7
Common Core State Standards for ELA/Literacy ........................................................................ 7
Facilitate Inquiry through Media Research ................................................................................ 8
Make a Claim Backed by Evidence .............................................................................................. 8
Present and Compare Findings ................................................................................................... 8
Reflect on Learning ..................................................................................................................... 9
Inquiry Assessment ..................................................................................................................... 9
Background and Planning
About the Video
Science of Snow discusses the formation of snow, its modification after accumulating on the
ground, and how these affect conditions for winter sports. Featured are Sarah Konrad, a
glaciologist at the University of Wyoming and a 2006 Olympian in the biathlon and crossScience of Snow, Integration Guide
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country skiing, and Cort Anastasio, a chemistry professor at the University of California-Davis.
They describe the role of supercooled (below freezing, but not frozen) water droplets and tiny
particles, such as dust or smoke, in snow formation. Also included is how organizers of the 2014
Olympics in Sochi have been concerned that snowfall may be less than ideal for the games, so
they stored large amounts of snow from the previous winter season.
Video Timeline
0:00 0:14 Series opening
0:15 0:35 Why snow conditions are important
0:36 1:04 Introduction to the science of snow
1:05 1:20 Introducing Konrad
1:21 1:43 Defining snow
1:44 2:16 Explaining the importance of a nucleating particle
2:17 2:43 Demonstrating the freezing process
2:44 2:59 Explaining dendrites
3:00 3:44 Introducing Anastasio, who continues explaining snowflake categories
3:45 4:15 Describing why snow conditions are important
4:16 4:28 Summary
4:29 4:41 Closing credits
Language Support: To aid those with limited English proficiency or others who need help
focusing on the video, click the Transcript tab on the side of the video window, then copy and
paste the text into a document for student reference.
Promote STEM with Video
Connect to Science
Science concepts described in the Science of Snow include supercooling and freezing of water.
Students may be surprised to learn that water can remain liquid when it is “supposed” to be
frozen. Related, but not mentioned in the video, is the ability for water vapor to change directly
into solid, skipping the liquid phase. In fact, this is an important part of the snow formation
process, as ice crystals form directly from vapor in the presence of evaporating supercooled
water droplets. Also, friction is implied as an important concept as different types of snow
surfaces present different amounts of resistance to motion (such as skiing). Density is also
involved, as snow compaction and partial melting increase its density and change other
properties.
Related Science Concepts
 phase (state of matter)
 phase diagrams
 temperature
 melting
 freezing
 sublimation
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deposition
precipitation
Bergeron process
crystallization
Take Action with Students
 Have students research how snow is formed. They will find that it is a more complex
process than the video had time to describe. An aspect not mentioned is the Bergeron
process, in which water vapor is deposited directly from vapor form into ice crystals,
accelerating their growth.
 Accumulated snow on the ground can have a huge range of densities, ranging from about
four to thirty times less dense than water. Have students research snow depth to liquid
water equivalent ratios. If you happen to have snow on the ground, students could take
core samples of the snow using cylindrical containers and then melt it down to find the
depth of the resulting water and the depth to liquid ratio.
 Have students produce supercooled water and witness its flash freezing. This can be done
using distilled water (available by the gallon in grocery stores, but do NOT get mineral or
spring water, as these likely cannot be supercooled significantly). Obtain a clean,
unscratched test tube (or a hard plastic breath mint container), two glass laboratory
thermometers (at least one of them not scratched), cork or rubber stoppers that will accept
the thermometers, foam cups, ice, and salt. Crush the ice into pieces perhaps a centimeter
across and put several centimeters of this into the cup. Then add salt until the slurry has a
temperature lower than −10°C (14°F). This can be checked with a thermometer (scratched
or not). Carefully insert the unscratched thermometer through the stopper, pour distilled
water into the clean test tube until it is about 2/3 full, and then carefully insert the stopper
and thermometer into the test tube, allowing the thermometer bulb to extend most, but
not all the way to the bottom of the tube. Do not let the bulb touch the test tube. Put the
test tube vertically into the ice/salt slurry, so that the water inside is visible, perhaps a
centimeter above the slurry. Put the cup in a quiet place, free from large vibrations, and
observe the falling temperature, which should fall to about −5°C (23°F) while remaining
liquid. Just after that, the water should almost instantly (in about a second) freeze
completely, accompanied by a sudden rise of the temperature to 0°C (32°F), as the latent
heat of freezing is released. This can be repeated many times if complete melting of the ice
is allowed. Students might try it again, but allowing some ice to remain. This ice serves as a
site for crystallization, so the water should now fail to supercool. Students could also try
repeating the experiment, allowing water to drop to a slightly higher temperature (perhaps
−4°C) and then shaking the tube or adding particles of various sorts to see if they will induce
freezing. They could also try different kinds of water, with various impurities, to see how
much they might be supercooled. Encourage students to graph their results to show how
the curves might differ.
Connect to Technology
Winter sports venues—Olympic or otherwise—are largely at the mercy of the weather.
However, artificial “snow” has become a very important part of this industry. Technology has
allowed the development of snow-making machines that can easily keep slopes open even in
the absence of natural snow. However, conditions have to be right for their use. Perhaps
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surprisingly, it is possible to produce snow with temperatures a bit above freezing, as long as
the “wet bulb” temperature is below freezing. The snow made by machines has a different
character from most natural snow, being denser and more durable (slower to melt for a given
depth).
Take Action with Students
 Have students research snow-making machines and describe how this process differs from
that of naturally occurring snow. Students might take this further by researching how
technology is used to control the operation of snow-making facilities.
 Interested students might research sodium polyacrylate, a super-absorbent polymer used in
television and cinema as fake snow that, when water is added, poofs into fluffy snow.
Connect to Engineering
The engineering design process uses human ingenuity to draw from science, math, and
technology to solve a problem. In this case, two problems are the storage of snow and the
prevention of avalanches.
Take Action with Students
 Have students work in groups to discuss some of the challenges involved in designing a
method for storing snow, as organizers in Sochi have done. Issues may include location and
shape of the snow piles, and methods of insulating them against both radiant and ambient
heat. Students might first think of their own ideas and then do research to see what is
actually being done in Sochi.
 Snowy slopes are often prone to avalanches. There are many methods that have been
developed for either preventing avalanches or for producing controlled ones to avoid
unpredicted and worse ones later. Have students work in groups to discuss what actions
might be successful in avalanche prevention and control, and then have them research
actual methods to compare with their own ideas.
Connect to Math
Snowflakes have fascinating structures, including rods, prisms, hexagonal plates, and flakes
with six-sided symmetry. All of these shapes have their roots in the natural shape of water
molecules that—due to how oxygen and hydrogen atoms bond—have the two hydrogen atoms
fitting into the corners of an imaginary tetrahedron, with the oxygen atom in the center of this
tetrahedron. While the atoms are all in the same plane to form planar molecules, the molecules
can then join to one another to make hexagonal prisms.
Take Action with Students
 A simple way to introduce mathematics concepts is to cut paper snowflakes and discuss
how the symmetry of folding relates to the 6-fold symmetry of a snowflake. This link can
provide additional ideas: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-6-Pointed-PaperSnowflakes/
 Show the portion of the video, 2:35 to 3:22, that discusses the shapes of snowflakes. Have
students work in groups to find definitions for hexagon and tetrahedron. Students might
construct hexagons using Archimedes’ method and then measure the interior angles (120
degrees) using a protractor. They might also construct tetrahedrons using cardboard,
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scissors, and tape. Then, using small foam balls and toothpicks or molecular model kits, they
might construct a figure with four equal-length “legs” that fit into the corners of the
tetrahedron, and then measure the angle (about 109 degrees) between any two adjacent
legs.
Students might make a model of a water molecule, by using a foam ball (representing the
oxygen atom) with two protruding toothpicks separated by 109 degrees (in water, the angle
is actually about 104.5 degrees), and other foam balls on the outer ends of the toothpicks to
represent the hydrogen atoms. Students might work in groups to make a large number of
these and then—perhaps with other toothpicks or pipe cleaners to represent “hydrogen
bonds”—try to construct a hexagonal prism representing an ice crystal. For reference,
students might look at images found by searching “ice one-h crystal lattice” on the Internet.
High school students might research why the bond angle in water is 104.5 degrees rather
than the expected angle of 109 degrees.
Students might do an Internet search for information on the occurrence of tetrahedrons
and hexagons in nature. For example, hexagons appear not only in snowflakes, but in honey
combs and storms near the poles of Saturn. Ask students to make claims backed with
evidence as to why these should occur in nature.
Students might do an Internet search on fractals, and then make a presentation to the class
about what a fractal is and what is special about it. They might show pictures of the bizarre
Mandelbrot set or the Koch snowflake. Although the Koch snowflake is not exactly a true
snowflake shape, it looks very much like one. Similarly, fractals can be used to generate
realistic-looking mountain and cloud imagery. Students might find and show examples of
such computer-generated imagery.
Students might do research to learn about the five regular polyhedral (or Platonic) solids,
which were known to the ancient Greeks, and of which the tetrahedron is the simplest
example.
Incorporate Video into Your Lesson Plan
Integrate Video in Instruction
As Part of the Day
 Predict Pause the video at about 2:49, where it shows a graph of snow crystal geometry at
different temperature and humidity (or degrees of saturation) conditions. Have students
study the graph, and do further research on the Internet. Ask them to predict changes in
the type of snow as the temperature is lowered with degree of saturation held constant,
and as humidity is raised, with temperature held constant (for different constant
temperatures). As an extension, have students research the temperature lapse rate and use
a typical cloud height above the ground to predict surface conditions that might yield the
heaviest snow.
 Compare and Contrast Have students research the properties of man-made versus natural
snow and then compare and contrast them regarding desirable properties for winter sports.
 Homework If there happens to be snow on the ground, have students take core samples of
it using a plastic graduated cylinder, a metal can, or some other cylindrical and sufficiently
deep container. Have students note the depth or volume of unmelted snow, repeat the
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measurement after completely melting it, and then divide these results to get the ratio of
the snow depth to that of the resulting water. Students might repeat this process a few
times on different samples and then average the results. They also might document the
process with a series of photographs or short video segments. Upon return to class,
students could share their results and then compute a class average. Finally, they might do
research to find typical values of this ratio for wet and dry snow cover, and compare their
results to this to arrive at a description of the snow.
Homework Have students choose a distant city in a northern clime and do research to find
data for snow cover for their chosen site. This might include annual totals and average
depth during different months. Then students should make claims supported by evidence
for why the site gets the amount of snow that it does.
As Part of a 5E Lesson Plan
If you use a 5E approach to lesson plans, consider incorporating video in these Es:
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Engage Ask students about any experiences they have had with snow or other winter
precipitation—skiing, shoveling, making snowballs or snowmen, etc. Have them describe
how the properties of different kinds of snow affect their success in any of these areas. Also
ask them what kinds of weather conditions (such as near freezing or far below freezing)
accompanied the snow they saw.
Explore Ask students to research or recall various winter storms, featuring different kinds of
precipitation (snow, sleet, freezing rain, etc.). Ask them what kinds of damage or
inconvenience were caused by these storms, and why the particular forms of the
precipitation had these specific effects.
Elaborate Have students do research to learn about other super physical states besides
supercooled, such as superheated, supersaturated, etc. Different groups could choose
different super topics and present their findings to the class, including examples of the
phenomenon’s occurrence, naturally or artificially.
Connect to … Meteorology
Types of Precipitation Not only does snow come in a variety of forms, but many different types
of winter (frozen or freezing) precipitation exist. The class might divide up into several groups,
each of which chooses a certain type of winter precipitation to research. This research might
result in not only a description of the precipitation, but also information about the processes
that lead to it and in what regions the precipitation type is common. Examples include snow,
corn snow, graupel, hail, sleet, and freezing rain.
Students might also explore why moisture in the air sometimes falls to the ground as
rain, sleet, freezing rain, snow, or hail. What meteorological conditions cause these different
types of precipitation?
Connect to … Climate
Snow/Ice Albedo Feedback Snowfall is an aspect of climate, but it in turn also affects climate
considerably in the long term. For example, slightly cooler springs and summers, resulting from
various factors (such as Earth’s changing orbital and axial tilt properties), can cause snow cover
to linger perhaps a day later in spring every decade. The white snow then reflects sunlight back
into space, causing further cooling, which accelerates the process. Within a few thousand years,
ice caps thousands of meters deep can form and advance many hundreds of kilometers toward
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the equator, resulting in a glacial period, such as Earth endured as recently as 15,000 years ago.
Have students research the role of ice and snow in controlling Earth’s climate. Ask them to
discuss the difference between positive and negative feedback, and explain which type snow
and ice generally produce. Finally, have them explain the role this effect would play if the Earth
were to warm (due to human activities such as greenhouse gas emissions, or natural factors),
and how different parts of the world would be impacted.
Connect to … Language Arts
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Words for snow There is an interesting and widespread claim that there are 50 (or more)
Eskimo words for snow. The history of this claim, the degree to which it is true, and sense in
which it might be true is quite a story in itself. Groups of students might investigate both
the truth and the history of this claim, and why it may sound plausible in the case of the
Inuit (“Eskimo”). Other groups might investigate a similar claim that the Sami (of northern
Finland and neighboring areas) have 200 (or 300) words for snow. Potentially, students
might even investigate the supposed origins of these groups of people and their languages.
Students might also research if languages have no words for snow and why that might be
the case.
Words for other types of winter precipitation Even English has many words for snow and
other forms of frozen or freezing precipitation. Furthermore, different English-speaking
countries may have different meanings for the same word, such as sleet, which has a rather
different meaning in most of the United States (and part of Canada) than it does in the
United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. There are other words, too, such as
graupel, corn snow, and hail, whose meanings might vary with the region. Students might
research the etymology of these terms and perhaps hold a debate about what the proper
meaning of sleet should be.
Use Video as a Writing Prompt
If using Science of Snow during the winter months in the United States, have students go to
http://www.weather.gov/ and look at the map for areas with winter storm warnings. Clicking
on the map will bring up the local National Weather Service forecast office web page for that
area. On the left, under Forecasts, there is generally a Forecast Discussion. Though these may
include some technical jargon or abbreviations, they also often discuss the conditions
producing frozen or freezing precipitation in a way that relates to what students will have seen
in the video. Have students choose an area and read its forecast discussion carefully. Then,
have them re-write the content of it in more accessible language. This is not only instructive
regarding the contents of the video, but also exposes students to technical writing and provides
an opportunity to learn to interpret such language.
Connect Video to Common Core ELA
Encourage inquiry via media research. Student work will vary in complexity and depth depending on
grade level, prior knowledge, and creativity. Use prompts liberally to encourage thought and discussion.
Common Core State Standards Connections: ELA/Literacy –
RST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or
descriptions
WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
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WHST.6-8.7 Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and
generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration.
WHST.6-8.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, using search terms effectively; assess the credibility and
accuracy of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format
for citation.
Facilitate Inquiry through Media Research
Show Science of Snow and encourage students to jot down notes while they watch. Elicit
questions from group members and help them determine which are best explored using print
media and online resources. Then, students should brainstorm to form a list of key words and
phrases they could use in Internet search engines that might result in resources that will help
them answer the question. Review how to safely browse the Web, how to evaluate information
on the Internet for accuracy, and how to correctly cite the information found. Suggest students
make note of any interesting tangents they find in their research effort for future inquiry.
Encourage students with prompts such as the following:
 Words and phrases associated with our question are….
 The reliability of our sources was established by….
 The science and math concepts that underpin a possible solution are….
 Our research might feed into an engineering design solution such as….
 To conduct the investigation safely, we will….
Related Internet Resources
 Weather WizKids: http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-winter-storms.htm
 Photos and information:
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/photos/photos.htm
 Webquest pdf with good graphics: sciencespot.net/Media/SnowflakeWebquest.pdf
 NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov/features/02_monitoring/snowflakes.html
 Explanation of snowflake shapes and how temperature affects formation:
http://dsc.discovery.com/video-topics/other/snow.htm
Make a Claim Backed by Evidence
As students carry out their media research, ensure they record their sources and findings.
Students should analyze their observations in order to state one or more claims. Encourage
students with this prompt: As evidenced by… I claim… because….
Present and Compare Findings
Encourage students to compare findings with others. Students might do a Gallery Walk through
the presentations and write peer reviews as would be done on published science and
engineering findings. Students might also make comparisons with material they find on the
Internet, the information presented in the video, or an expert they chose to interview. Remind
students to credit their original sources in their comparisons. Elicit comparisons from students
with prompts such as:
 My findings are similar to (or different from) those of the experts in the video in that….
 My findings are similar to (or different from) those of my classmates in that….
 My findings are similar to (or different from) those that I found on the Internet in that….
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Reflect on Learning
Students should reflect on their understanding, thinking about how their ideas have changed or
what they know now that they didn’t before. Encourage reflection, using prompts such as the
following:
 I claim that my ideas have changed from the beginning of this lesson because of….
 My ideas changed in the following ways….
 When thinking about the claims made by the experts, I am confused about....
 One part of the investigation I am most proud of is….
Inquiry Assessment
Assessment Rubric for Inquiry Investigations
Criteria
Initial question or
problem
References cited
Claim
Presentations
Findings comparison
Reflection
1 point
Question or problem had
had a yes/no answer or too
simple of a solution, was off
topic, or otherwise was not
researchable or testable.
Group incorrectly cited all of
the references used in the
study.
No claim was made or the
claim had no evidence to
support it.
Groups neither effectively
nor cooperatively presented
findings to support their
stance.
Only a few members of the
group constructively argued
their stance.
None of the reflections were
related to the initial
questions.
Science of Snow, Integration Guide
2 points
Question or problem was
researchable or testable but
too broad or not answerable
by the chosen investigation.
Group correctly cited some
of the references used in
the study.
Claim was marginally
supported by the group’s
research evidence.
Groups effectively or
cooperatively presented
findings to support their
stance.
Most members of the group
constructively argued their
stance.
Some reflections were
related to the initial
questions.
3 points
Question or problem was
clearly stated, was
researchable or testable,
and showed direct
relationship to investigation.
Group correctly cited all of
the references used in the
study.
Claim was well supported by
the group’s research
evidence.
Groups effectively and
cooperatively presented
findings to support their
stance.
All members of the group
constructively argued their
stance.
All reflections were related
to the initial questions.
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