Meteorology

Engage in a captivating Earth Science activity that hones your cloud identification skills. In this interactive session, students will have the opportunity to discern various cloud types by analyzing 10 captivating cloud images, encompassing a minimum of 5 distinct cloud formations. This engaging exercise includes comprehensive teacher guidance and reflective discussions, allowing students to evolve into accomplished "Professional Cloud Identifiers" upon completing this enlightening weather laboratory.

In this Google Drawing activity, students will create a concept map using the following words: Earth Science, geology, waves, currents, astronomy, oceanography, stars, volcanoes, planets, meteorology, fossils, weather, climate, rocks galaxies, thunderstorms, tides, tsunamis, lightning, comets, minerals, asteroids, tornadoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes.

I blame the Coronavirus for causing boredom which in turn caused me to play with making a video for my students. In this episode, El Guapo is introduced and joins Mr. Weir in Spain to teach a cool science concept about air pressure.

In this episode El Guapo and Mr. Weir visit Argentina and the Iguazu Falls. They then teach about waterfalls and clouds. Students will be taught how to make a cloud in a bottle. Spanish words they will learn are: Buenos Dias, El Rio, Gaucho, Qué Guay. Science words that students will learn are: Waterfall, resistant rock, water vapor, and condensation.

In this self-guided activity, students will gain an understanding of how to interpret basic to advanced weather station models. They will read barometric pressure examples and interpret whether the barometer is rising or dropping. Students will learn what many of the symbols on station models represent. Students will take real station model data from 2017 from around the country. They will have to interpret the temperature, dew point, wind speed in knots, wind direction, millibar pressure, change in MB, sky cover, visibility, and precipitation.

In this Earth Science activity, students will gain a better understanding of what gases the atmosphere is made out of. Students will need to work some math problems out, converting percents and decimal places to determine ppm, parts per million. Students will gain an understanding that greenhouse gases make up such a small amount of the atmosphere, but are extremely important in keeping the temperature balance in check.

 In this assignment, students will access a database with documented tornadoes since 1950. Students will use a Google spreadsheet as a class to gather data from the website. Data they will look into for each year are: Total tornadoes, Longest path, widest path, total F4s, total F4 fatalities, total F5s, total F5 fatalities, the month with the most tornadoes, and deadliest tornado sizes. When all data is collected there is a totals tab that contains three graphs that students can analyze. Students will also investigate and view states that have the most tornado events.

In this Earth Science lab, students will crush a soda can using atmospheric pressure. This is a common science experiment with a twist. In this version, students will calculate the total air pressure found on the outside of the can. The kids will take the surface area formula of a cylinder and find out about how many pounds of air is sitting on top of and around the can. This lab also attempts to incorporate math into a science class.

In this Earth Science lab, students will create their own homemade barometers using a canning jar, a balloon, and a straw. The barometers can show low and high-pressure systems. After they build their barometers, students will complete a daily log, by measuring the height differences of their barometers. They will determine rising and falling barometers. Students will also observe the weather that is currently outside.