Name ____________________________________________Period __________
Hot Air Extraordinaire!
Today you’ve been invited to come on board with a bunch of scientists who
are studying the Earth’s atmosphere. It’s not the same at different altitudes
you know! You have been assigned a job by the head scientist: Measure
temperature and pressure readings as the hot air balloon rises. This lesson
has three main objectives. 1) Determine the relationship between
atmospheric pressure and altitude. 2) Determine the relationship between
temperature and altitude. 3) Determine the location of ozone in the Earth’s
atmosphere. Here’s how you’ll do it:
Instructions:
Go to this website:
http://sunshine.chpc.utah.edu/Labs/OurAtmosphere/atm_measure2.html
1) Click on “Temperature, Pressure, Ozone” (the third one down)
2) Click on “Interactive Lab”
3) You will take pressure measurements first. You do this by making sure on the
control panel that the measurement device in the lower right hand corner is set on
"pressure".
4) To take a measurement click on the blue square on the hot air balloon. This logs
you measurement into a data base. DO THIS WHILE YOU’RE ON THE GROUND
(0 km) TO GET A “baseline” MEASUREMENT!!!!
5) The altitude is displayed in yellow letters in the control panel and is measure in
kilometers (km). For the computer to generate a good graph, you will want to take
four measurements for every 15 km of altitude (height off the ground). Go as high
off the ground as you can when collecting data. Remember, this is for science!
Remember this:
0-15 km four measurements
15-30 km four measurements
30-45 km four measurements
45-60 km four measurements
60-75 km four measurements
75-90 km four measurements
6) After you have collected all measurements (24 measurements total) click on “view
data”. Then click “plot data” and you should see a line graph. Use this to answer
your questions.
7) Click on “questions” in the bottom right hand corner and answer the questions on
your lab sheet under the “Air Pressure” section.
8) Click the blue “ > “ button on the control panel to
switch to temperature then repeat steps 4-7.
9) Click the blue “ > “ button on the control panel to
switch to ozone then repeat steps 4-7.
Name ____________________________________________Period __________
Air Pressure: When answering the questions you must write them down and enter
them in the computer
1) Does air pressure increase or decrease with altitude?
2) The line generated by your data is not straight. This means that:
3) Atmospheric pressure is defined as the weight of the air above. According to your
data, the majority of the earth’s atmosphere is concentrated in the lowest _____ km
4) When the curve in the line on your graph slopes almost vertical (straight up), what
does this mean?
5) At sea level, the average pressure is slightly more than 1000 millibars. Do you think
it would be greater or smaller if you were to go scuba diving below sea level?
6) Remember how your hot air balloon popped when you reached an alititude above
80 km. Why did it pop?
7) If the atmospheric pressure is reduced and you’re not wearing a pressureized suit,
hypothesize what would happen to your body (in theory) if you were to reach an
altitude of 85 km (if you had enough oxygen to breathe?
8) Some people say that the air is thinner in the mountains than it is at sea level.
Knowing what you do about atmospheric pressure being caused by the weight of
the air above, explain what you think people mean by the term “thinner”.
9) What do you think is keeping the atmospheric gases from floating off into outer
space?
10) The atmosphere may seem pretty thick, but actually it is thin in comparison to how
big the earth is. Which of the following is the best comparison for the average
thickness of the atmosphere to the size of the earth?
Name ____________________________________________Period __________
Temperature: Now you will be taking temperature readings as you travel higher
and higher in the atmosphere.
1) Click the “ > “ button on the control panel to switch to temperature.
2) Repeat steps 4-7
Temperature questions: When answering the questions you must write them
down and enter them in the computer
1) What happens to the temperature at 10-12 km (the higher Troposphere)?
2) According to your data, what is the approximate altitude range in km when the
temperature reaches the freezing point (0˚ C)?
3) When a storm system approaches a mountainous area, the precipitation that occurs
is snow in the mountains and rain in the valleys. How can you get two types of
precipitation out of same cloud?
4) What occurs to the temperature of the atmosphere from 12-20 km (the
Stratosphere)?
5) What occurs to the temperature from approximately 20-50 km in the upper
stratosphere?
6) From approximately 50-80 km in the mesosphere, what happens to the
temperature?
Ozone: Now you will be taking measurements of ozone in parts per million (ppm).
1) Click the “ > “ button on the control panel to switch to ozone.
2) Repeat steps 4-7.
Ozone questions: When answering the questions you must write them down and enter
them in the computer
1) What is the altitude range where ozone is the most concentrated (the
highest amount of parts per million)?
2) How does the ozone affect the temperature of the atmosphere? (Click
on “plot all” in the data section to see all three graphs together)