Atmosphere WebQuest

(Questions with Answers)

Source: The National Weather Service

Wright 6th Grade Science

NGSS Standards: ESS2.C and ESS2.D

Directions: Use internet following the steps below to answer the questions A-Z. Answer all questions on the answer sheet provided.

  1. Go to the website: does NOAA stand for?
  2. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
  3. If I want to find my local weather forecast, what is the easiest way on this page to find it?
  4. Type in zip code into the box in the upper left of the page or just click on map.
  5. Look at the colors on the map. State what the three colors covering the largest area on the map show. (This answer varies depending on the conditions/time).
  6. Pink – Red Flag Fire Alert, Gray – Air Quality Alert, Dark Green – Flash Flood Watch
  7. In the section near the bottom of the page, under which orange heading would I find a section for students?
  8. Education
  9. Go to the website: What are the first three categories listed in the blue menu bar near the top of the page?
  10. Ocean and Coasts, Climate, and Weather and Atmosphere
  11. Under which category would you find information about the water cycle and watersheds?
  12. Freshwater
  13. Go to the website: What are the basic properties of the atmosphere?
  14. Pressure, temperature and dewpoint.
  15. Click on “Heat Transfer”. Most of the electromagnetic radiation from the sun comes in the form of what?
  16. Visible light.
  17. Read the section on conduction. Is air a good or bad conductor of heat?
  18. Bad.
  19. Read the section on convection. What are the areas of rising heated air called and what do they often result in?
  20. They are called thermals or thermal cells and they often result in clouds or cloud formation.
  21. What is the horizontal transfer of heat by wind called?
  22. Advection.
  23. Click on the Water Cycle. List the 4 main components listed and discussed on this page.
  24. 1. Evaporation and Transpiration 2. Condensation 3. Precipitation 4. Runoff and Groundwater
  25. What is the difference between evaporation and transpiration?
  26. Evaporation is the changing of water (liquid) into water vapor (gas).Transpiration is the evaporation of water through plant membranes.
  27. In this section, what mistake was made about the atmosphere?
  28. They stated that energy from the atmosphere required for evaporation is conduction, not convection.
  29. When condensation occurs, where does the heat go that was originally required to cause the evaporation?
  30. It goes back into the atmosphere, thus heating it up.
  31. Click on Wind. Define wind.
  32. Wind is air in motion relative to the Earth’s surface.
  33. What happens to air as is rises? When it sinks?
  34. When air rises, it cools and condenses causing clouds.
  35. When it sinks, it warms, causing evaporation and the clearing of clouds.
  36. What are isobars and what does the distance between isobars represent?
  37. Isobars are the lines of equal pressure around high and low pressure systems. The closer the isobars are, the greater the pressure changeover a given distance (pressure gradient).
  38. In the Northern Hemisphere, which direction do the winds travel in a high pressure system and which direction do the winds travel in a low pressure system?
  39. The winds in a high pressure system travel clockwise and slightly outward from the center and the wind in the low pressure systems travel counterclockwise and slightly toward the center.
  40. What are the 3 factors that cause wind?
  41. Pressure Gradient Force (PGF), Coriolis Effect, and Friction.
  42. In the absence of any other force, pressure travels from which to which (High to Low or Low to High)?
  43. High to low.
  44. How would the strongest winds be shown?
  45. Where the isobars are closest together.
  46. What causes the Coriolis Effect and in which direction does it deflect moving objects in each hemisphere?
  47. The Earth’s rotation and it deflects objects to the right of their motion in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
  48. Where is this effect the strongest and weakest, and how is it related to the PGF?
  49. It is strongest at the poles and weakest at the equator, and it is nearly equal and opposite the PGF.
  50. In terms of wind, what is friction?
  51. Friction is the force that causes air to slow down and spiral into lows and out of highs.
  52. Why are low pressure systems usually associated with adverse weather conditions and high pressure systems usually associated with fair weather?
  53. When air spirals into the low, it is converging into the low. When air converges near the surface, it is forced to rise. As air rises, it may condense and form clouds and precipitation. When air spirals out of the high, it is actually diverging. As air diverges from the high, the air above the surface must sink in order to replace the air that is moving away from the high. Sinking air warms and tends to evaporate any clouds that may be present.