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WEATHER AND WATER COURSE MATRIX |
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SYNOPSIS |
SCIENCE
CONCEPTS |
PROCESSES |
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1. |
What
Is Weather? (2 sessions)
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Students
start their study of weather by watching a video of severe weather.
Following small-group discussions, the class reaches a consensus
on the factors that constitute weather. Students begin monitoring
local weather conditions, using tools. |
•
Weather is the condition of Earth’s atmosphere at a given
time in a given place.
• Severe weather occurs all over Earth.
• Meteorology is the science of weather, and meteorologists
are the people who study Earth’s weather. |
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Describe weather instruments and the weather factors that they
measure.
• Use weather instruments to measure temperature, atmospheric
pressure, humidity, wind direction, and wind speed.
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2. |
Where’s
the Air? (3–4 sessions) |
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Students
work with syringes and tubing to discover that air takes up
space and is compressible. They work in small groups to design
demonstrations to show that air has mass. They study the atmosphere,
a mixture of gases, using diagrams, photos, and a reading. |
•
The atmosphere is the layers of gases surrounding Earth.
• Weather happens in the
troposphere.
• The troposphere is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, and
other gases, including water vapor.
• Air has mass and can be compressed. |
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Conduct experiments to determine that air has mass.
• Explain how experimental results provide evidence that
air has mass.
• Use a molecular model to compare a gas at standard pressure
and a gas under increased pressure. |
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3. |
Seasons
and Sun (5 sessions) |
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Students
investigate how the shape of Earth and its relationship to the
Sun affect the weather around the world. They use light sources
and globes to model the length of the day throughout the year,
which leads to an awareness of seasonal variations. |
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Earth’s axis of rotation tilts at an angle of 23.5º
and always points at the North Star.
• The angle at which light from the Sun strikes the surface
of Earth is the solar angle. |
•
Graph monthly day-length data for a single location to look
for a pattern.
• Analyze sunlight data and consider explanations.
• Use a Sun-Earth model to identify relationships involving
the tilt of Earth’s axis, Earth’s rotation, and
Earth’s revolution around the Sun. |
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4. |
Heat
Transfer (5 sessions) |
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Students
investigate energy transfer from the Sun to Earth’s surface
and the atmosphere. They learn the two mechanisms of heat transfer
in solids, liquids, and gases: radiation and conduction. |
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Heat is kinetic energy of atoms and molecules.
• The Sun is the major source of energy that heats the
atmosphere.
• Energy moves from one material to another by radiation
and conduction. |
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Collect and analyze temperature data measuring the heating and
cooling of different earth materials.
• Describe heat transfer in terms of molecular activity.
• Describe how the atmosphere is heated. |
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5. |
Convection
(5 sessions) |
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Students
investigate density of fluids on their way to understanding
convection as a process of mass movement of fluids and a mechanism
for energy transfer. They observe interaction of liquids of
different densities and gases of different densities. |
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Density is the ratio of a mass and its volume.
• As matter heats up, it expands, causing the matter to
become less dense.
• Convection is the circulation of fluid that results
from energy transfer. |
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Describe how materials of different densities interact.
• Observe how heating and cooling of fluids move air in
a system.
• Explain how energy transfer drives the process of convection. |
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page 4
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