Earth Systems
Standard VI, Objective 6
Title: Weather Watchers
Description: Students will use weather instruments and the Internet to monitor the weather for a week. They willmake graphs that compare weather factors analyze their relationships.
Time Needed: 45 minutes the first day, 10 minutes each day for 3 more days and 45 minutes the last day.
Materials: Cloud chamber or clear 2 liter plastic bottle, thermometer, barometer, sling psychrometer, cloud chart, wind meter, student sheet (see below)
Procedures: (first-make sure the weather pattern is changeable during the week you are going to do this. 5 days of high pressure will be very boring, choose a week with a storm coming in)
1. As a “hook” activity, show students a cloud chamber and make a cloud. Follow the directions if you have a commercially produced one or you can make one using a two or three-liter clear pop bottle. Put a tablespoon of water in it, place the cap on and shake it to thoroughly saturate the air in the bottle. Light a small candle (like a birthday candle) and place it in the mouth of the bottle until it goes out and smokes. Cap the bottle tightly and squeeze and release it several times. It may take some practice but if you watch carefully, a “cloud” will form. This could be a student activity also.
2. Explain to students that energy is used to evaporate the water in the atmosphere, convection allows it to rise and expansion in the upper atmosphere cools the air, condensing the water. The website in #4 has a nice description of this process.
3. Explain the use of each weather instrument. The thermometer should be familiar but the sling psychrometer and barometer may take some explanation. A neat site for the psychrometer is located at:
It will take the dry bulb, web bulb and air pressure readings and tell you the relative humidity.
4. Explain that students will be checking the cloud type and percentage of the sky covered. Since the percentage is what they will graph, it is quite important. An online skychart is located at:
5. The data for any of the equipment you are missing can be easily accessed from the Internet on a site like:
6. On the first day, show the students how to use the instruments and then take them outside in groups that collect one of the specific weather data points, on the following days, send only enough to take the data.
7. Share the information each day as students collect it. You may wish to have the IMC in your school available for your students to access a computer if you do not have a classroom computer they can use. You can also project the website on a projector if you have access to one.
8. Do the graphing and analysis on the last day. Student may need help understanding a direct and inverse relationship. There are several relationships you may see depending on the weather you had for your week.
Student SheetName______
Title: Weather Watchers
Introduction: Weather is often a topic of conversation. We want to know what to wear, where we can go and what we can do when we get there. Imagine taking a ski trip in summer or a trip to the amusement park in winter. Many scientists are studying the long-term weather patterns that we call climate. In this activity, you will monitor the short-term changes that we call weather. You will compare different weather factors such as temperature and humidity and see if you can discover how they are related.
Materials:
Procedures:
1. Listen carefully as your teacher describes how each weather instrument will be used and what it measures. Fill in the “materials” as you go. You may be chosen to collect this data.
2. Write down the data collected by your class each day of this activity. Make a forecast for the next day.
3. Graph the data and look for patterns and relationships.
4. Answer the analysis questions using the graphs you create.
Data:
Weather Factor / Day 1 / Day 2 / Day 3 / Day 4 / Day 5Air Pressure
Temperature (degrees C)
Wind Speed
(mph)
Relative Humidity %
Cloud Cover (% sky covered)
Forecast
Graphs
DayDayDayDayDay
1 2 3 4 5
DayDayDayDayDay
1 2 3 4 5
DayDayDayDayDay
1 2 3 4 5
DayDayDayDayDay
1 2 3 4 5
Analysis:
1. How are air pressure and temperature related? (use your graph)
2. Why might they have this relationship?
3. How are temperature and cloud cover related?
4. Why might this be so?
5. How are air pressure and cloud cover related?
6. Why might this be so?
7. How are temperature and relative humidity related?
8. Why might this be so?
9. What day had the largest change in weather factors?
10. What happened that day?
11. If air pressure were rising, what would you expect temperature and cloud cover to do?
12. If air pressure were falling, what would you expect temperature and cloud cover to do?
13. Which weather factor seems to give the best prediction of what weather will be coming?
Conclusion: