GIZMOS Student Exploration Coastal Winds and Clouds

Exam (elaborations) GIZMOS Student Exploration Coastal Winds and Clouds Student Exploration: Coastal Winds and Clouds Vocabulary: condensation, convection, convection current, land breeze, sea breeze Condensation: change from a gas to a liquid Convection: Transfer of heat through movement of a fluid. Convection Current: the circular motion of a fluid (such as air) in which hot material rises while cold material sinks. Land breeze: A wind that blows from the land to the sea. Sea breeze: A wind that blows from the sea to the land. Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) A hot-air balloon contains a propane burner that directs hot air into the interior of the balloon. You can see the flames in the photo at left. 1. What happens when the air inside the balloon is heated? The balloon begins to float. 2. What might happen if the burner was turned off? The balloon would probably cease to float. Gizmo Warm-up Have you ever taken a walk along an ocean beach and noticed a refreshing breeze blowing in from the water? The cause of this breeze, called a sea breeze, is related to the reason that a hot-air balloon is able to fly high in the sky. The Coastal Winds and Clouds Gizmo™ allows you to explore how daily temperature variations are related to sea breezes and other weather phenomena. Click Play ( ), and watch the Gizmo for 24 simulated hours, focusing on the sailboat. 1. Click Pause ( ) when the sailboat starts moving towards the shore. This represents the start of the sea breeze. What time is it? Around 10:00 AM. 2. Click Play, and then click Pause when the sailboat starts moving out to sea again. This represents the start of the land breeze. What time is it now? 1:30 AM. This study source was downloaded by from CourseH on :40:15 GMT -05:00 This study resource was shared via CourseH GIZMOS Student Exploration Coastal Winds and Clouds 3. Click Play, and now observe the clouds for a day. What do you notice? The clouds move towards the land during the sea breeze, and then back out to sea, and then back towards the land once again. This study source was downloaded by from CourseH on :40:15 GMT -05:00 This study resource was shared via CourseH Activity A: Temperature and wind Get the Gizmo ready:  Click Reset ( ).  Turn on the Weather probe. Question: How is wind speed and direction related to air temperature? 1. Think about it: Imagine a pocket of air over the land (“land air”), and another pocket of air over the ocean (“ocean air”). A. Which air pocket would you expect to heat up more during the day? Land air Why? The wind tends to move more towards the land than the sea during the day. B. Which air pocket would you expect to cool down more at night? Land air. Why? The air tends to move towards the sea at night, which warms it up. 2. Gather data: Check that the time is 6:00 A.M. Drag the Weather probe so that it is on the ocean’s surface (Alt. 0 ft) on the left side of the Gizmo, and record the air temperature. Then, repeat with the probe on the land on the right side of the Gizmo. Finally, move the probe to the land-sea boundary and record the type of breeze (sea or land breeze) and wind speed. Record data for each time listed in the table below. Time Ocean air temperature (°F) Land air temperature (°F) Sea breeze or land breeze? Wind speed (mph) 6:00 A.M. 20.0 15.6 Land breeze 24.4 9:00 A.M. 20.7 20.4 Land breeze 2.0 12:00 P.M. 21.5 25.1 Sea breeze 19.3 3:00 P.M. 22.2 29.3 Sea breeze 38.2 6:00 P.M. 21.8 26.5 Sea breeze 26.1 9:00 P.M. 21.3 23.7 Sea breeze 13.3 12:00 A.M. 20.8 20.9 Land breeze 1.1 3:00 A.M. 20.4 18.2 Land breeze 12.3 ***The units on the gizmo are in metric, so I just recorded them in the table as what’s originally shown in the gizmo (Celsius/Kilometers). I hope that’s okay.*** 3. Calculate: For both the ocean air temperature column and land air temperature column, find the temperature range by subtracting the lowest temperature from the highest. A. How much does the temperature over the ocean change in one day? 2.2 degrees B. How much does the temperature over the land change in one day? 13.7 degrees