Heating Earth's Surfaces

In this assignment you will start looking at the factors that influence weather, such as the unequal heating of Earth's surfaces, through some hands-on labs.

Part 1: Modeling a Storm

You will learn about storms by modeling a vortex. This follows chapter 2 of the Catastrophic Events book.

Procedure:

1. Observe the teacher and student volunteers using the vortex model.

2. With your own vortex model, try to get the water in the top bottle to flow into the bottom bottle. Do this several times and observe what happens.

3. In your journal, draw a labeled diagram of your vortex model in action.

4. In your journal, answer the following questions (also p. 14-15 of the Catastrophic Events book).

• a. Where are most of the glitter and beads

• b. How did you get the water to flow quickly into the bottom bottle?

• c. Where is the movement of glitter and beads the FASTEST? Where is it the SLOWEST?

• d. What do you think causes the spiral?

• e. How did the motion of the glitter and beads change as they moved closer to the central of the spiral?

• f. What do the glitter and beads represent in the bottle? What does their movement tell you about the movement of air in a rotating storm?

Watch Raging Planet - Tornado.

Part 2: Heating Land and Water

Uneven heating of Earth's surfaces affects the circulation of air and helps create weather and storms.

Follow the steps in chapter 3 of the Catastrophic Events book to set up and collect data on how equal volumes of soil and water heat up and cool down.

Procedure:

1. Set up your experiment as shown on p. 28 of the Catastrophic Events book.

2. While you wait for the thermometers to level with the lamp still off, write your hypothesis on your Heating Earth's Surfaces assignment sheet.

3. Record starting temperatures (^oC) for soil and water in minute 0:00.

4. Turn on the lamp and start timing using the clock.

5. Each minute, record the temperatures of soil and water.

6. At the end of 10 minutes, turn off the lamp, transfer the 10 minute data to the "Cooling" column, and keep timing and recording data for another 10 minutes.

7. Clean up your lab by returning soil and water to where you got them, wiping off beakers, thermometers and surfaces, and neatly re-stocking your bin.

8. Create a point-line graphs with two lines (one for soil, one for water), then write your "Reflection" on your assignment sheet.

Read p. 31 of the Catastrophic Events book about the source of Earth's heat.

Part 3: Heating the Earth

We have seen that land and water on Earth's surface heat and cool at different rates. Also, the spherical shape of the Earth affects heating at different points on Earth.

In the front of the room a globe and lamp (sun) will be set up. Thermometers are attached to the globe at the equator and near both poles.

In your journal, write a hypothesis for how the temperature at the equator and poles will change when the lamp is turned on.

In your journal, create a data table like this:

Record data in the table on how the different parts of the Earth heat up and cool down.

In your journal, create a point-line graph.

In your journal, write how the location on the globe affects the temperature (use data to support your answer).

Read pp. 32-33 of the Catastrophic Events book.