Weather Watchers
Students explore weather conceptsCopyright U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Surface_analysis.gif
Students are introduced to some essential meteorology concepts so they more fully understand the impact of meteorological activity on air pollution control and prevention. First, they develop an understanding of the magnitude and importance of air pressure. Next, they build a simple aneroid barometer to understand how air pressure information is related to weather prediction. Then, students explore the concept of relative humidity and its connection to weather prediction. Finally, students learn about air convection currents and temperature inversions. In an associated literacy activity, students learn how scientific terms are formed using Latin and Greek roots, prefixes and suffixes, and are introduced to the role played by metaphor in language development. Note: Some of these activities can be conducted simultaneously with the air quality activity, What Color Is Your Air Today?.
It is essential for engineers to have an in-depth understanding of air pressure, temperature and humidity (which all play a role in the weather) to minimize and prevent air pollution. Weather and general atmospheric conditions can affect how a pollutant moves through the air or how it is transferred to soil or water (pollutant transport).
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Define and explain the following terms: air pressure, barometer, humidity, saturation, convection currents and temperature inversions.
- Describe how interactions of air masses in the atmosphere result in weather changes.
- Explain how weather affects air pollution.
- Explain the purpose of the Air Quality Index.
- Explain how engineers use meteorological information.