13. Testing and Improving our Designs
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Over the course of the last few weeks we have been testing our designs to see if they meets the needs of our problems. Our scientists have been collecting data and using that data to improve their design. It required them to re-evaluate the materials they used and the stability of their structures. Many of them discovered that the elements of weather are much stronger than human force. They all did a wonderful job creating ways to help keeps families across the world safe from severe weather!
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12. Designing a Solution to Severe Weather
2/27/15
Now that our young meteorologist have a comprehensive idea of some of the horrible types of weather conditions out there and how they can be measured and created, we are going to put that knowledge to good use. The students are developing structures to build on the sides of house to help secure a home and family from one of three severe types of weather:
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11. Wind and Air masses
02/05/15
Air masses are large moving bodies of air that have the same temperature and level of moisture throughout. When air masses of different temperatures meet its called a front. A front is where different weather occurs (rain, hail, sleet and snow). Warm air masses are less dense than cold air masses, therefore warm air rises and cold air sinks. Meteorologists use symbols on weather maps to show the public where the air masses are moving.
Wind is also another important factor in observing and recording the weather. Wind is moving air. There are many different types of wind including trade winds, polar easterlies, and prevailing westerlies. There is even a section near the equator called the doldrum where there is no wind at all. All of the movements in the air help add to the weather we experience. |
10. Tornadoes
01/23/15
Tornadoes are a force to be reckoned with! They cause mass amounts of destruction to communities across the midwest. It is a rotating column air that extends from a thunderstorm down to the ground. The path of destruction can be one mine wide and up to fifty miles long. Tornadoes are ranked on a Fujita scale which measures the level of destruction a tornado brings from F0 to F5. Tornadoes form when a warm moist air mass and cool dry air mass meet. It creates and instability in the atmosphere and this causes a change in the wind directions. As the strength of the air column increases and an updraft occurs the tornado switches from spinning horizontally to spinning vertically. There are a series of states known as 'Tornado Alley' which is where tornadoes frequently occur. Texas Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana all make up Tornado Alley.
All of the information provided in this summary was found on www.weatherwizkids.com |
9. Thunderstorms
01/05/15
Thunderstorms can be quite dangerous! Our young meteorologists discovered that thunderstorms can cause flooding and damage to entire cities. In order for a thunderstorm to develop there needs to be moisture, unstable air and lift. Thunderstorms also produce lightning which can be fatal. Lightning is a bright flash of electricity produced during a thunderstorm. It is produced when the positive charges build up in the top of the clouds and the negative charges build up in the bottom of the clouds. Opposite charges attract and so a positive charge builds up on earths surface. Eventually both charges attract to one another producing a huge surge of electricity in the form of lightning.
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8. All about Hurricanes!
12/12/14
Hurricanes are large tropical storms that form over warm tropical waters. They are also known as Typhoons, Tropical Depressions and Cyclones. Hurricanes from when warm, moist air rises due to huge winds pushing upwards. Large clouds form with cool air rushing in to take its place. Light winds push against the outside of the system causing this circular motion of warm air rising and new cool air dropping in. Hurricanes can be separated into 5 categories based on wind speed, category 5 being the worst. Hurricanes can also cause storm surges, which are huge amounts of water in the form of waves that push on to shore, causing flooding and tremendous destruction to coastline communities. It is especially worse in shallow waters. Hurricanes can last for a few days to a two weeks.
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7. Severe Weather 101
12/08/14
This week I introduced the students to the 5 main severe weather conditions that we will be studying for the next month At the end of the unit we will be developing a safety procedures to help people who live in areas that typically deal these types of weather conditions. The 5 weather types are as follows:
- Hurricane
- Tornado
- Thunderstorm
- Blizzard
- El Nino
6. What causes the seasons?
11/17/14
For the next two weeks we will be exploring and developing models to explain how the seasons are caused here on Earth. Our meteorologists are beginning to realize that the Sun plays an important role in why we experience 4 seasons here in Chicago. We discussed that the earth is tilted on an axis, an imaginary line that runs north and south through the Earth. We also discussed that the Earth is cut into two pieces called the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere by another imaginary line called the Equator. The Equator is the widest part around the circumference of the earth. This is also where Earth receives it's most direct sunlight. The earth orbits (revolves) around the sun, so at different times our part of Earth is either tilted towards the sun or away from the sun. The more sunlight we receive from the sun means we are experiencing summer and the less direct sunlight we receive means we are experiencing winter. This is what causes the seasons!
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5. Wacky Science Day!
11/03/14
During each class period our scientists try and earn a magnifying lens signifying their excellent behavior, superb listening skills and exceptional contributions in class. When they have earned 10 magnifying lenses they earn a Wacky Science Day! This quarter for WSD the kids wanted to explore something space related. They were asked by Nasa Scientists and Engineers to help develop a rover that could travel on the moons bumpy and crater filled surface. They have a limited set of materials and only 45 minutes to design and construct their lunar rover. In order to test the success of their design, we will be letting their rovers roll down a ramp and onto bubble wrap. Their rovers must travel the full length of the 1 foot bubble wrap road.
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4. Water cycle experiment
10/22/14
This week we set up an experiment to determine what would happen to a cup of water with no lid on it. We set up a fair test using two identical plastic cups, saran wrap, a rubber band, warm water and a lamp. We marked the cup with no lid as cup A and the cup with a lid as cup B. The students made their hypothesis (predictions based on what they know) to determine what would happen to the water in cup A compared to cup B. Students made observations after 10 min and then were asked to make another hypothesis after obtaining more data. As promised, I am posting a pic of what happened to the water in both cups 24 hours later. The picture is below. Were your hypothesis correct scientists? What do you notice? Look carefully at the level of water compared to where it started. We will be discussing in class next week how this relates to the water cycle!
3. The Water Cycle
10/11/14
Earth's water is always in movement, and the natural water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth. Water is always changing states between liquid, vapor, and ice, with these processes happening in the blink of an eye and over millions of years. There are 6 major steps of the water cycle: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, run-off, transpiration and collection.
* Evaporation- the process where liquid water turns into a gas known as water vapor and rises into the atmosphere. * Condensation- the process by which water vapor cools and collects together to make a cloud. * Transpiration- when water sweats and evaporates from plants. * Precipitation- when water falls from the sky in the form or rain, hail, sleet or snow. * Run-off- water slides down plants, buildings, mountains and cars. * Collection- a place where water collects together in one body ranging in size. |
2. Creating a Diagram
09/28/14
Scientists use diagrams all the time to help explain the parts of an object. Diagrams are used in directions, maps, textbooks, and may other places. Being able to create an effective diagram is a very important skill. Students were able to practice drawing several diagrams in their notebook They then took a diagram assessment on drawing and labeling the parts of a fish.
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1. Team Building!
09/15/14
Being a successful scientist often times means being a successful teammate. This year we started off by completing a design challenge that focused on working as a team. Students were given 45 minutes to create the tallest free standing tower they could with 20 pieces of spaghetti, 1 meter of masking tape, 5 jumbo marshmallows and 2 pieces of paper. They needed to communicate ideas, share materials, develop a strategy and put it to work. At the end of the challenge we measured the height of each standing tower in centimeters to determine which team had the tallest towerr. We then discussed how teammates should speak to one another. We also discussed how to compromise and combine ideas so that everyone was successful. Students discovered that they accomplished much more when they helped each other.
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Ms. Lohitsa
Lover of ALL things Science!
Effective teammates:
1) kind
2) responsible
3) share ideas
4) respect others
5) include everyone
Guided questions:
1) What makes weather?
2) How is temperature measured?
3) How is wind measured?
4) How is precipitation measured?
5) How is weather predicted?
6) How are weather and climate related?
7) How does extreme weather affect people?
8) How can people reduce the damages cause by extreme weather?
Links:
Scholastic Study Jam on Air Pressure and Wind
Scholastic Study Jam: Air masses and fronts
StudyJam about Earth's Atmosphere
StudyJam video on weather and climate
StudyJam video on Water Cycle
Water cycle information
Water cycle movie
Weathering and Climate
http://climatekids.nasa.gov/
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/treehouse/index.cfm
Understanding the water cycle
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/
National weather service
Books we are reading:
Lover of ALL things Science!
Effective teammates:
1) kind
2) responsible
3) share ideas
4) respect others
5) include everyone
Guided questions:
1) What makes weather?
2) How is temperature measured?
3) How is wind measured?
4) How is precipitation measured?
5) How is weather predicted?
6) How are weather and climate related?
7) How does extreme weather affect people?
8) How can people reduce the damages cause by extreme weather?
Links:
Scholastic Study Jam on Air Pressure and Wind
Scholastic Study Jam: Air masses and fronts
StudyJam about Earth's Atmosphere
StudyJam video on weather and climate
StudyJam video on Water Cycle
Water cycle information
Water cycle movie
Weathering and Climate
http://climatekids.nasa.gov/
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/treehouse/index.cfm
Understanding the water cycle
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/
National weather service
Books we are reading: