Rianna LaGrassa
9/17/15
Meteorology
Investigation 1A: Surface Air Pressure Patterns
This investigation discussed air pressure and how to locate the high and low
atmospheric pressures. I learned about isobars and how to read, interpret and
draw them. Learning how to draw the isobars was difficult at the beginning but as
I continued to practice it did get easier. You also had to locate the high and low
pressures on the map given. Once you practiced the task of drawing isobars and
locating the high and low pressures you were able to compare your results with
the completed map results at the end of the investigation. The isobars I drew
were similar but not exactly the same. I will continue to practice on the website
given in text.
What I learned on this investigation is how to interpret the isobars, which allows
you to see where the low and high air pressures are forming. This allows us to
know that there could be some stormy weather conditions on our way: severe
storms, earthquakes, hurricanes, higher ocean levels, stronger currents, etc. Now
when I see these lines on the weather map, on the 4 o’clock news, I will
understand why and how to read them as they move across the region.
Understanding the patterns of the isobars could be helpful for my students to
know what they are looking at when they are watching the Meteorologist telling
us our daily forecast. Using my Promethean Board I may use the internet to pull
up a map on the weatherbug.com, Google, or wherever to show these patterns.
Using actual graphs from the available websites really will help the students
understand how to read the weather conditions as they are watching the patterns
move along. After teaching the students about the isobars and the atmospheric
pressure it would be nice to periodically show them how the patterns change
during various weather conditions throughout the school year. You don’t
constantly need to re-teach the lesson, but you could spend five minutes in the
beginning or end of a lesson viewing the map to see what your students notice
about the various patterns.
Investigation 1B: Air Pressure and Wind
In this investigation we used our hands as models to help us understand the
general flow of surface winds that occur in both high and low pressure systems.
We practiced two different ways with our fingers going counterclockwise and
inward and also going clockwise and outward. On the map in Figure 3 of the
manual there are all different circles, some are clear, colored in, and partial filled.
You get to learn how to read the different markings and what they mean.
When you use the hand models to understand the surface winds it helps
you understand the direction and motion the wind is spiraling in. Air that has low
pressure flow spirals inward and counterclockwise. Air that has high pressure flow
spirals outward and clockwise. You also learned how to read the circles
representing the stations local coverage of the sky by clouds. An open clear circle
means clear skies, partial shading means partly cloudy and a dark filled in circle
means completely cloudy.
If I was to teach this lesson on air pressure and wind I would use the same hand
model, showing both the low and the high pressure flows. I teach in many
inclusion classes, which involve lower level students so any hands on activity to
help them understand the information at task is helpful. I found this activity to be
very helpful in making me understand the wind flow. At first I was slightly
confused, but it really helped.