Name: _____________________________ Date: _________ Period: ________
Oceans Webquest
Concept: Oceans Waves
Topics: Ocean waves, currents, and tides.
Guiding Questions:
1) How do waves, currents, and tides affect our planet?
2) What is the relationship of the positions of the sun and the moon on the oceans’
tides?
Introduction:
You are about to embark on an exciting quest to learn more about the ocean tides,
currents, and waves and how they affect our planet. You won’t be traveling on a
Magic School Bus, but on the Information Super Highway. Your task sheet contains
the URL’s for several different web sites that you will visit in order to complete a
scavenger hunt. At each site there will be information to locate and record. You may
need additional paper for the questions.
At various points you will encounter an “Assessment Check”. This is when you
should reflect and silently ask yourself “Do I understand the concepts I just
discovered” before moving on. If you do not believe you understand the concepts
ask for assistance from the teacher or review what you missed again.
Waves
http://www.mos.org/oceans/motion/wind.html
Animationhttp://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science/terc/content/visualizations/es16
04/es1604page01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization
1. The size of a wave depends on ____________________________________________.
2. Waves travel ____________ water, they do not take __________________ with them.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/ocean/Waves.shtml
3. Tsunamis are sometimes called tidal waves, and are different from surface waves:
they are usually caused by ___________________________________________________________.
ASSESSMENT CHECK – I can explain what a wave is and how it is caused.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Currents
http://www.mos.org/oceans/motion/currents.html
Animationhttp://www.kevinflint.org/ppt/chap5/Animations/climate_currents_v2.html
4. What do you call the circular patterns in which the world’s oceans travel?
________________
5. What body of water can these patterns be compared to?_____________________________
6. What else causes currents to flow? ___________________________________________
7. Do all currents have the same characteristics? ___________________________________
8. What makes them different?_____________________________________________
9. Describe the Gulf Stream by its characteristics. __________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
10. Besides cold water what does the Humboldt Current normally bring to the
surface? ___________________________________________________________________
ASSESSMENT CHECK – I can explain how currents affect our climate and how
they are caused.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Tides
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/ocean/Tides.shtml
http://www.onr.navy.mil/focus/ocean/motion/tides1.htm
Animation- http://www.mmscrusaders.com/newscirocks/tides/tideanim.htm
11. Give a definition of tides ._______________________________________________________________
12. What causes tides? ______________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
13. Why does the moon have a greater effect on tides than the sun?
________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
14. Where is the moon when there is a high tide? ____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
15. Draw a picture of tides with the sun and moon.
ASSESSMENT CHECK – I can explain what a tide is and how it is caused.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________