Understanding Cloud Formation

Grade Level:

• Grade Level 4 and 5

Objective:

• The student will investigate and understand how clouds are formed.
• The student will create a bar graph using the S'COOL database.
• The student will compare S'COOL data from their site with data from at least four other school sites.

Prerequisites:

• Beginner computer skills

Estimated Time for Completing Activity:

• 50 minutes

Math Skills:

• Measurement
• Graphing

Science Skills:

• Observing
• Recording data
• Interpreting data and predicting

Virginia SOLs:

• S4.6: The student will investigate and understand how weather conditions and phenomena occur and can be predicted. Key concepts include weather factors (temperature, air pressure, fronts, formation and type of clouds and storms; and meteorological tools (barometer, hygrometer, anemometer, rain gauge, and thermometer)).
• S5.1: The student will plan and conduct investigations in which data are collected, recorded, and reported using the appropriate graphical representation and predictions are made using patterns, and simple graphical data are extrapolated.
• C/T5.3: The student will process, store, retrieve, and transmit electronic information.
• C/T5.4: The student will communicate through application software. Create simple databases and spreadsheets to manage information and create graphs and reports.
• M5.11: The student will choose an appropriate measuring device and unit of measure to solve problems involving metric measurement of length and temperature.
• M5.17: The student will collect, organize, and display a set of numerical data in a variety of forms, given a problem situation, using bar graphs, stem and leaf plots, and line graphs.

Vocabulary:

• Weather, climate, meteorology, meteorologist, cirrus clouds, stratus clouds, cumulus clouds

Class Activity:

• Exploratory

Materials Needed:

• Two glasses, a small cake pan with ice, a large glass jar

Procedure:

1. Read the poem Clouds by Aileen Fisher. Ask the students the following questions. Where do clouds come from? Why do some clouds make rain while others don't?

   Clouds
   
   Wonder where they come from?
   Wonder where they go?
   Wonder why they're sometimes hanging high
   And sometimes hanging low?
   Wonder what they're made of,
   And if they weigh a lot?
   Wonder if the sky feels bare up there
   When clouds are not?
   

2. Demonstrate how hot air holds more moisture than cold air with the following activity. Fill two glasses -- one with hot water and the other with cold water and ice. Let them sit for several minutes as students observe what happens. Moisture will form on the outside of the cold water glass. Discuss why with the class. The cold water has cooled the air around the glass, and since cooler air cannot hold as much moisture as warmer air, the moisture in the air begins to condense into droplets on the glass.
3. Extend this demonstration by showing how clouds form. Fill a small cake pan with ice. Fill a large, wide mouthed glass jar about 1/4 full of hot water. Light a match and hold it down inside the jar for a few seconds, then drop it in. This forms dust particles around which water vapor can condense. Place the pan of ice over the top of the jar. Have students observe what happens. Warm air will cool and condense when it hits the pan of ice. The result will be the formation of a cloud near the top of the jar. Whenever there is a large amount of heated, moist air, it can cool and condense into cumulonimbus clouds.
4. Explain to the class that there are many different kinds of clouds, and some can be used to predict the weather.

Summary:

• Write a paragraph explaining how clouds are formed. Include a sentence explaining how clouds can be used to predict the weather.

Follow-Up Activity:

• Students will accumulate data over a period of time. They will observe cloud types and record this data on individual worksheets and the classroom computer. Students will create a bar graph from the S'COOL database after the class has collected data for one week. The students will go to the S'COOL home page and pull up data for one week. They will create a bar graph showing the cloud cover, temperature, and cloud level. This information will be compared with at least four local schools in the Tidewater Virginia region. The graph will include a title and all appropriate labels.

Extension Activity:

Purpose:   How does air pressure change?

Materials:

• Balloon, coffee can, rubber band, tape, clay, straw, white glue, ruler, thermometer

Procedure:

1. Cut the end off the balloon. Stretch the balloon over the open end of the coffee can. You may want to have an adult cover the sharp edges of the open coffee cans with tape. Hold the balloon in place with a rubber band. Use tape to seal the ends of the balloon to the can.
2. Use white glue to attach a straw to the balloon. Place the end of the straw in the center of the balloon and glue it to the balloon. Stick the end of a ruler into a lump of clay. Place the ruler so that the straw points to the centimeter scale.
3. You now have a barometer. You can read a change in air pressure by reading the number of centimeters at the top edge of the straw.
4. Put a thermometer near the barometer but out of direct sunlight. Make observations at 9AM and 2PM for three days. Record the barometer reading, temperature, and weather conditions on a simple chart in the students science journal.

State Conclusions:

1. What was weather like when the barometer reading was low?
   A drop in pressure usually means a storm is coming.
2. What was the weather like when the barometer reading was high?
   A rise in pressure usually means fair weather.
3. Does a change in barometer reading mean that the weather is going to change?
   A change in barometer reading means that the weather is going to change.
4. Why would the S'COOL project be interested in recording data on the barometric pressure?
   The S'COOL project is studying how clouds relate to climate and weather conditions.

Additional Language Arts Extensions:

1. The Greek word "meteoros" means "high in air." Which word in the vocabulary list comes from this word?
   Meteorologist: a person who studies the weather.
2. The suffix "meter" means "an instrument used to measure something." Three types of instruments that measure weather conditions are an anemometer, barometer, and psychrometer. Think of other meters you might be familiar with. For example, if you use gas heat in your home, or if you have a gas stove, you also have a gas meter that measures the amount of gas you use. List below as many other kinds of meters you can think of. Compare your list with that of a classmate.
   Possible answers include: thermometer, electric meter, water meter, speedometer

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Lesson Plan submitted by Barbara Hamill, Portsmouth,, Virginia, USA, for NASA's S'COOL Project.

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