Name______Date______Hour______Table______
"Worldly Winds"
For this demonstration a ball, a marker, heavy-duty tape, and a pencil will be needed. Using these supplies you will be creating a model. The ball will represent Earth while the marker will be representing wind.
1. Using the heavy-duty tape, attach a pencil to the ball so that you can spin the ball from on top
using the pencil and without touching the ball.
2. One person should hold the pencil. The second person should use a marker to draw a straight line from the "north pole" to the "equator" of the ball.
3. On the diagram below, draw the line that you made.
North
4. Repeat the activity. This time have one person slowly turn the ball counterclockwise as seen from above by rotating the pencil. Have the second person use the marker to draw a straight line from the "north pole" to the "equator" while the ball is turning. On the diagram below, draw the line that you made.
North
5. How did the two lines look different?
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6. Repeat the procedure again. This time you will be drawing a line from the "south pole" to the
"equator" of the ball. One person should hold the ball still. The second person should use the
marker to draw a straight line from the "south pole" to the "equator". On the diagram on the next page, draw the line that you made.
North
7. Repeat the activity. This time have one person slowly turn the ball counterclockwise as seen from above by rotating the pencil. Have the second person use the marker to draw a straight line from the "south pole" to the "equator" while the ball is turning. On the diagram below, draw the line that you made.
North
8. Winds that blow steadily from specific directions are called global winds. Temperature differences between the equator and the poles produce giant convection currents. How would these winds blow if the Earth did not rotate?
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9. What does the rotation of the Earth do to the path of global winds?
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10. If cold air was moving north from Antarctica to South America, how would its movement be
affected by Earth's rotation?
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11. Draw the pattern the wind in question #10 would make on the diagram below.
12. If cold air was moving south from Canada into the United States, how would its movement
be affected by Earth's rotation?
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13. Draw the pattern the wind in question #12 would make on the diagram below.
14. What is the name scientists have given to the effect Earth's rotation has on global winds?
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