Earth Science Unit 5- Weather Knowledge Packet 2B: Describe types of energy transfer We all have a pretty good idea that the Sun is where majority of the heat comes from in Earth. That heat tends to act in a variety of ways. The 1 st way that heat is transferred is through radiation. Radiation is when the electromagnetic waves from the sun heats the earth. You can feel this heat when you step outside on a sunny day. As the energy waves come from the sun, it heats up the air around it. Have you ever had to run across a hot parking lot or a hot sandy beach? That s radiation. The next form of heat transfer is called conduction. This is when heat is passed through the contact of molecules. Have you ever held someone s hand and your hands got sweaty? That is conduction. On Earth, the sun heats the ground through radiation, but the air molecules that are touching the ground also heat up through conduction. The last form of heat transfer is called convection. Convection is when hot fluids rise and colder fluids sink. When molecules heat up, the spacing between the molecules increase (think about the summer, when you re hot, you don t want anything to touch you!) so the molecules become less dense. Less dense things float, so the warm fluid rises. When the air cools off in the upper atmosphere, the molecules move closer together and the molecules sink back to the ground. So on Earth, when the air molecules warm up through conduction, they rise. When all of these forms of heat transfer work together, it creates wind! Wind is the sideways movement of air, which happen during a convection current. 1. Define radiation 2. What is an example of radiation? 3. Define conduction 4. What is an example of conduction? 5. Define convection 6. What is an example of convection? 7. Explain the process of how radiation, conduction and convection work together to create wind
3A: Use a model to describe how the flow of energy from the sun influence weather patterns and interacts with the atmosphere We focus a lot about how heat impacts the land on Earth, which makes sense since we live here! But it also impacts the atmosphere, which influences weather around the globe. First we need to know about the layers of the atmosphere. The troposphere is the layer closest to the Earth. This is where all of our weather occurs. As you go towards space, the temperature in the troposphere gets colder (the molecules are moving farther apart) The stratosphere is the 2 nd layer closest to the Earth. This is the layer that contains the ozone layer. The ozone layer absorbs the UV light that can damage life on earth, so this layer actually warms up The mesosphere is the 3 rd layer closest to the Earth. This is the layer where comets and asteroids burn up. We say they burn up, but rather they burn out because it is so cold The thermosphere is the 4 th layer closest to Earth. This is the layer where the chemical reactions that create the Northern Lights/Southern Lights occur. These chemical reactions cause this layer to warm up The exosphere is the 5 th and farthest layer from Earth. It is almost space, so it is very very cold! This heating and cooling of the atmosphere causes different weather all over the Earth. Since water and land hold on to the radiation from the sun differently, areas where water and land interact are different than areas that are just land. One difference is the wind. A sea breeze happens when the sun s radiation heats up the land during the day (and the air over the land heats up through conduction) and since the water can t heat up as fast, the air over the water is colder. The hot land air rises and is replaced by the cold air over the water using convection currents. That replacement of the air is called a sea breeze (the breeze came in over from the sea). A land breeze is the exact opposite from a sea breeze. At night, the land gets very cold and the water is actually warmer than the land. The warmer air over the ocean rises and is replaced by the cold air from over the land. That replacement of air is called a land breeze (the breeze came from the land) 1. Describe the main event that happens in each layer and if the layer is heating or cooling a. Troposphere b. Stratosphere c. Mesosphere d. Thermosphere e. Exosphere 2. Explain how land breezes and sea breezes are created. Use the words radiation, conduction and convection in the explanation.
2F: Illustrate global wind patterns Wind can be a local wind (like land and sea breezes) or it can be a global wind. This is wind that happens all over the globe. Wind is split into large bands that split based on the latitudes of the wind bands. The equator is at 0 and the North Pole/ South Pole are at 90 Between 0-30 are called the Tradewinds. This is named for band of air that move ships used for trade between countries Between 30-60 are called the Westerlies. Between 60-90 are called the Polar Easterlies. They are the closest to the poles. Wind splits into smaller bands on different latitude lines At 0 (equator), the band is called a Doldrum. At the doldrum, wind moves very slowly At 30, the band is called the Horse Latitude. The wind moves very slowly here too. Pirates that were going through this area dumped horses off their ships to lighten the load so they could travel faster on the ocean Wind bands move based on the high or low pressure of the air in convection currents The equator is an area of low pressure (so air at the equator rises). The hot air has low pressure because the air molecules move apart and make it much less dense At 30 (on horse latitude) it is a high pressure system (so the air sinks). The high pressure at 30 connect with the air from the equator at 0 At 60 it is a low pressure system (so air rises). At 90 (at the poles), it is a high pressure because the air is the coldest air is at the poles, so it sinks. The high pressure Wind across the land moves with the convection currents and wind should move in perfect straight lines. But the wind doesn t move in perfect straight lines. Wind moves in curved patterns because of the Coriolis Effect. The Coriolis Effect causes things like wind and water to move a curved pattern because the Earth is constantly spinning. 1. Draw a globe that includes: a. Trade winds, westerlies, polar easterlies b. Doldrums and horse latitudes c. High pressure and low pressure d. Convection currents e. Wind direction in each section 2. What does the Coriolis effect do to the wind
3E: Analyze the distribution and causes of global winds and their impacts on local climates So think about it, even though the Sun s radiation is passing through all the layers, it only impacts a small few of them! The Sun has the largest impact on land! The sun has the ability to heat the land very quickly, but when the sun is gone, the land cools very quickly. This makes areas in countries that are in the middle of the country (not close to water) very hot or very cold (and sometimes both). Think of land like Iowa, Minnesota, or Kansas The sun heats up water much slower and water can cold the sun s heat for much longer. This causes the temperature at places near the coast to be much more consistent and neutral. Think of places like Seattle, WA. It never gets super-hot or super cold, it stays pretty mild all year because of the slow heating/slow cooling water. Wind is constantly moving, so the wind that transfers around the Earth pushes the warm/cold or neutral air near the land. That causes the weather and climate at each location. 1. Why do areas in the center of countries have extreme temperature differences? 2. Why do areas on the coasts of countries have more neutral temperatures?
3D: Evaluate how natural resources and the occurrence of natural disaster influence human activity 2E: Describe types and impacts of severe weather 1. Describe a natural disaster 2. Describe the causes of a natural disaster 3. Describe the impacts to humans (ex: happens because ) 4. Describe the impacts to natural resources ( ex: happens because )
3B: Investigate how daily weather overtime determines climate patterns in a given region 2C: Recall the difference between weather and climate Everyday people check the weather but what are they actually checking? Weather is a measure of the temperature, precipitation/humidity and wind. Weather changes every day and people change what they are doing and wearing based on the daily weather. But people move to a place because of its climate. Climates change much slower. If I said, What s it like in Iowa in July I could say it is going to be hot. Iowa in July has always been hot and it will always be hot. If I said, What s it like in Iowa in December? I could say that it is going to be cold. Iowa in December has always been cold and will always be cold. This is a measurement of the climate. Climate is the average weather recorded for over 50 years. Climates are different all over the world. This happens because there are lots of different things that affect the climate. If we are comparing climates in a hot vs cold way, we use two ideas: Concentration of Solar Energy: When places are closer to the equator, they receive a greater concentration of solar energy because the sum is more concentrated there. This means the land is going to be warmer. If the area s farther away from the equator, the sun spreads out more, so it has a lower concentration of solar energy. This means the land is going to be colder o Ex: Texas is warmer than Alaska because Texas is closer to the equator so it has a larger concentration of solar energy. Alaska is colder than Texas because it has a smaller concentration of solar energy Altitude/Elevation: When places have a higher elevation (higher up from the surface of the Earth), they have a colder climate because the air molecules are more spread apart and heat has a harder time passing between them. When a place has a lower elevation (closer to sea level), the climate is warmer because the molecules are closer together and can pass heat easily o Ex: The top of the mountains in Colorado are colder than the land in Louisiana because the elevation of the mountains in Colorado are higher than the land in Louisiana. Molecules of air on the top of the mountain are farther apart so it is harder to pass heat between them.? 1. How is climate different from the weather? 2. How is climate the same from the weather? 3. Pick 2 locations on the globe and explain why they have different climates (choose 1 reason the climate is hot vs cold)
3B: Continued If we are comparing climates in a constant vs changing way, we use two ideas Latitude of solar energy: The Earth is on a tilt, so at one time, parts of the Earth are closer to the Sun than other parts. When the earth is pointed towards the sun, we call this summer and when the earth is pointed away from the sun, we call this winter. Places that are closer to the poles have a very extreme change between winter and summer, while places near the equator have a very constant summer-like climate o Ex: Brazil is has a constant climate because they are close to the equator. It is hot in Brazil all through the year. But Canada has a changing climate because during the summer it is hot and the winter it is cold. This happens because there are times when Canada is pointing towards the sun and times when Canada is pointing away from the sun. Since Brazil is close to the equator, it is always pointing towards the sun Wind and Water currents: The sun heats water and land very differently. Land has the ability to be very hot and very cold because it has a hard time holding the sun s heat. But water heats up slowly, but holds heat very well. Areas that are close to the water have a very constant temperature and areas that are surrounded by land have very drastic changes in the climate. o Ex: Seattle has a neutral climate (doesn t get too hot or too cold) because the climate is regulated by the ocean. But Iowa has very extreme climates (very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter) because it is surrounded by nothing but land. The ocean holds the water better than the land, so it can stay neutral. The land gains and loses heat very quickly, so it changes a lot through the year Lastly, we decide where to go on vacation based on the climate of that location. But you must pack for the weather while you are there. Using a climatograph, we can tell what type of clothes that need to be brought on vacation. The bar graph shows precipitation (amount of rain in an area) and is read based on the left side of the graph (high= 120+, normal- 30-110, low= 20 or less) The line graph shows temperature and is read based on the right side of the graph. (hot= 20 C+, normal= 5-19 C, low 4 C) If I go to the Congo in November, the amount of precipitation is about 220 mm/ 22cm (that is a lot of rain!) and the temperature is 27 C (which is really hot). I would want to pack an umbrella for the rain and shorts/t-shirt for the heat 1. Pick 2 locations on the globe and explain why they have different climates (choose 1 reason the climate is constant vs changing) 2. If I go to the Congo in July: a. What is the temperature? b. What is the precipitation? c. What should I pack to go on vacation?
3C: Interpret weather data to create a weather forecast It is important to know about the weather outside, but rather than just looking out the window, we can read a weather map to determine the weather all over the world. The first thing that matters when telling the weather, is to determine the type of air that creates the weather. There are 4 types of air Maritime Polar Continental Polar Maritime Tropical Continental Polar Wet/cold air Dry/cold air Wet/warm air Dry/cold air Polar air comes from the poles Polar air comes from the poles Tropical air comes from the equator Tropical air comes from the equator Next you need to know what the fronts do to the air Warm Front Cold Front Warm tropical air creates weather Warm weather follows Cloudy skies (if air is continental) Cloudy/rainy skies (if air is maritime) This is slow moving and pretty constant. No extreme weather Cold polar air crates the weather Cold weather follows Large clouds bring extreme weather Extreme windy (if the air is continental) Thunderstorm (if the air is maritime) This is fast moving Lastly, you need to know about the pressure systems High Pressure Cold air/clouds are pushed toward the land and the air spreads out Sky is clear of clouds Sunny Low Pressure Warm air/clouds move away from the land Cloudy Precipitation if the air around it is humid enough o If the air has more than a 75% humidity, it will rain What is the weather in Minneapolis? What is the weather in Atlanta? What is the weather in Maine (by NYC)? What is the weather like in South Carolina?