Weather, Sun/Water Cycle, and Space Test Review
Weather Key Concept 1: Weather conditions can vary and change from day to day. Key Concept 2: We can use tools, such as rain gauges, wind vanes, and thermometers to gather weather information. Key Concept 3: We can use charts, tables, and graphs for recording and comparing weather data. Students will use charts, tables, and a class-made wind vane to measure and record the wind direction over the course of several days. In addition, precipitation and temperature are recorded. Students are asked to compare weather changes over a period of five days.
Sun and Water Cycle Key Concept 1: The Sun is a star. All stars are made up of gases. Stars are enormous balls of gas that produce their own light and heat. Our Sun is the star at the center of our Solar System. Stars differ in size, color, and temperature. Although our Sun is over a million times larger than Earth, when compared to billions of other stars, it is only average size and average temperature. Our yellow star provides just the right amount of heat and light to allow water to flow and life to flourish on Earth. Key Concept 2: The Sun produces light and heat energy. Key Concept 3: The Sun is the source of energy for the water cycle.
Sun and Water Cycle
Sun and Water Cycle The Sun s energy powers the water cycle, the change to water as it moves up into the air and then back down to the Earth s surface. The heat energy from the Sun causes the temperature of the surface water in oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams to increase, causing some water molecules to move fast enough to break loose and escape into the air. This activity begins the process of evaporation where liquid water transforms into a gas called water vapor. The Sun heats Earth unevenly, causing winds to form and move the air mass with the water vapor to other locations. As the water vapor continues to rise, cooler temperatures cause condensation where the gaseous water vapor changes back to liquid water droplets. This condensation takes the form of clouds that can become too saturated with the water droplets causing precipitation to start. Precipitation comes in several forms: rain, snow, sleet, or hail. Once the precipitation is on the ground, the water soaks into the ground to eventually become groundwater or it drains into lakes, streams, and rivers, as run-off which flows back into Earth s oceans, and the water cycle begins again.
Space Key Concept 1: Models can be used to represent the Moon orbiting Earth and Earth orbiting the Sun. Students need to understand that models can never be exact representations of reality, and must identify the specific limitations involved in those models. Making models also helps replicate the movements between Earth, the Moon, and the Sun that would otherwise be difficult to see given the great distances in space. Students need to be able to identify a model s limitations, including size, properties, and materials.
Space For example, the balloon Sun is too small (One million Earths should fit inside the Sun model.); the Moon is not soft like the marshmallow (The Moon model should be hard.); and the Moon is too close to Earth on the model. (It should be 30 Earth diameters away.) With Earth the size of a Ping Pong ball (about 1.5 inches), the distance between Earth and the balloon Sun is too close. (The balloon Sun would have to be about four meter sticks away from the Earth to represent the 93,000,000 miles distance between Earth and the Sun.)
Space Key Concept 2: Each of the planets of our Solar System orbit (revolve or go around) the Sun. Within our Solar System are eight major planets (listed from nearest the Sun to the farthest): Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Space Key Concept 3: The closest planet to the Sun is Mercury, followed by Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. My very educated mother just served us nachos is a phrase that uses the first letter of each planet to represent the planets in order from the Sun. (Students can create their own planet sentence.) When exploring the spacing of the planets in the Solar System, students should observe that the inner planets are spaced quite close together, while the gas giants are spaced much farther apart at surprisingly even intervals.
Solar System