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METEOROLOGY AND EARTH SYSTEMS Course# 03006G05012 Full Year Course 03006G05022 Grade Level: 11 – 12
Prerequisite: Completion of or concurrent enrollment in Physics
Why is Colorado’s weather so unpredictable? What makes it snow? What is a “bomb” cyclone? Where is gold created? What is a Supernova? Why do earthquakes happen in patterns around the world? What is the Big Bang, and how can a balloon teach us how old the Universe is? How can Physics help us understand the Earth? We will answer all of these questions, and many more, in Meteorology and Earth Systems. This course will begin by exploring Plate Tectonics and Astronomy, as we seek to understand how multiple Earth systems interact. The second half of this course will explore the science of Meteorology, in which students will learn the fundamentals of weather and climate, and apply this knowledge by learning how to use computer models, logical reasoning, and atmospheric patterns to forecast the weather. The weather forecasting aspect of this class will emphasize Colorado weather . As the year progresses and students have access to increasing knowledge concerning the Earth and its atmosphere, weather forecasts will become more detailed and relevant.
What is Meteorology and Earth Systems?
A science elective class for Seniors, or for Juniors who want to “double” up as they are taking Physics
This class counts as a full year of science credit!
What will you learn?
Why weather forecasts can be “wrong” and so far off
Why Colorado weather is the way it is (spastic)
How Earthquake waves refract (bend) as they travel through the Earth
What a Supernova is, and what causes it
Where gold and silver are made (the answer is out of this world!)
How tornadoes form
Why Denver gets so much snow
Why the ski resorts get more snow than Denver
How to forecast the weather!
And much more!
What will we do?
Use computer model output to learn how weather forecasts are made
Simulate gravity’s effects, and the expansion of the Universe, in hands-on labs
Study patterns of Earthquakes and Volcanoes to learn about Plate Tectonics
And much more!
Questions? see Mr. Long in ST208
Supernova Credit: http://www.city-data.com/picfilesc/picc46725.php
Highlands Ranch - March 2003 Snowstorm
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