TOPIC: WEATHER
LEVEL: Intermediate
"When You're Hot, You're Hot"
[information |
preparation |
activity ]
- SCIENCE CONCEPT:
- The air temperature at different locations throughout a
community can have different readings due to underlying
surfaces at each location.
- STUDENT OBJECTIVE:
- Students will select eight locations around the school
yard to place thermometers to observe and record their
individual readings. Thermometers should be placed in a
sunny location but in different surroundings such as a
grassy area, playground, soil, to get a variance in
readings.
- OVERVIEW:
- In this activity, the student will be placing thermometers
around the school yard with different variables to effect
the individual readings. The thermometers will all be placed
in the sun but in a different setting. One will be placed in
a grassy area, another placed near the playground, another
placed around soil. At different times during the day teams
of students will take temperature readings at the designated
areas and record their results. They will observe that the
areas chosen for recording will have different readings even
though all thermometers are in the sun and the readings are
done at the same time.
- TEACHER TEXT:
- We all know that the energy from the sun heats the Earth.
Some surfaces of the Earth get hotter than others. Surfaces
with darker areas are hotter. Dark surfaces absorb more
energy from sunlight than light surfaces. Students
will through their observations discover that the Earth receives
the most radiant energy when the sun's rays are more direct and
that the dark surfaces absorb more radiant than light surfaces.
PREPARATION TIME: 10 minutes (to gather materials)
LESSON TIME: Several 10-15 minute readings throughout the
day, 30 minutes to summarize each group's data.
TEACHER PREP:
WORDS TO KNOW:
- radiant energy
- absorption
- energy
MATERIALS NEEDED:
- 8 thermometers per group or class
- 8 meter sticks or dowels of equal height per group or class
- STEPS TO FOLLOW:
- 1. Each group will draw an aerial view of the school.
- 2. Select 8 sites from your drawing to place thermometers.
- 3. From the drawing, each group will go on the yard and place their
thermometers.
- 4. Attach thermometers to the side of a meter stick using masking tape.
- 5. Place thermometers on the sticks in different places, example:
on the grass, bark/sandbox, asphalt, cement, in the shade, soil, etc.
Make sure at least 3 thermometers are in the sun.
- 6. Make sure the meter sticks with the thermometers are placed 10
cm above the ground. Make sure the sun is not shining directly
on the thermometers.
- 7. Have students predict which sites will be the warmest and coolest
and record their predictions. Have them explain their predictions.
- 8. Visit each site for approximately 2 minutes before making a
recording.
- 9. Visit the sites at least 3 times during the day.
- 10. After all temperatures have been recorded, the findings will be
charted for observations.
- WHY?
- The surface temperature will vary throughout the day at each of
the reading sites due to different factors. Radiant energy is the
strongest when thermometers are placed directly in the sun and on
a surface that absorbs radiant energy. Thermometers in the shade
do not receive the radiant energy and the energy is not absorbed
as great as in the direct sun on an absorbent surface. Two
thermometers in the sun but on different absorbent surfaces will
have different readings.
- ASSESSMENT: Can the student communicate what they observed?
- 4....Student is able to communicate that the warmest sites with
dark surfaces receive the most sunlight and the coolest locations
with light surfaces receive less sunlight. Radiant energy is
absorbed into darker surfaces.
- 3....Student is able to communicate that the dark surfaces become
hotter and the lighter areas are not as hot. The sun produces heat
energy.
- 2....Student is able to communicate that asphalt get hotter that the
grassy area.
- 1....Student is able to communicate that it is hot in the sun and
cool in the shade.