Air
True or False: Air is EVERYWHERE.
False: It is not in the space taken up by other objects. It fills space in between or inside these objects.
What layer of the atmosphere are meteorologists most interested in? Why?
What is a meteorologist?
A meteorologist is someone who studies weather.
Name the force that pushes air into a smaller space. Name the force that pushes back so that air can't be completely squished into no space.
Compression, Pressure
What is the coldest layer of the atmosphere? What is the hottest layer of the atmosphere?
Mesosphere, Thermosphere
What is one way weather reports and weather forecasts are the same? What is one way they are different?
Same: They both involve data about weather variables, like temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind speed, etc. They are both reported by a meteorologist. You have to use tools/instruments to gather the data for them.
Different: Weather reports tell what the weather is like currently/in the present. Weather forecasts tell what the weather will do in the future.
How did we see that air takes up space?
We compressed it in a syringe, but could not get the plunger all the way down. That is because the air was taking up that space at the bottom of the syringe.
Give three ways that humans rely on or use the atmosphere to help them.
It burns up meteors so they don't hit the Earth's surface.
We use the oxygen in the atmosphere to breathe.
Explain how a wind meter works.
Turn the holes on the wind meter toward the direction the wind is coming from. The air enters the holes and into the tube. It makes the small ball fly up to different heights in the tube depending on how strong the wind is. The faster the speed, the higher the ball bounces.
What are the 6 most abundant and important gasses that make up our air on Earth?
Nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, argon, ozone
Describe how the air pressure changes as you move through the atmosphere.
The air pressure is the highest in the troposphere because the mass from the layers above it is compressing it and because there are more air particles in this layer. As you go up, the number of air particles decreases and they are more spread out, so the pressure decreases.
Look at this 2 day weather report/forecast. Based on the large change in air pressure, what do you think will happen to the temperature, humidity, and wind speed.
A drop in air pressure indicates that rain and bad weather are coming. Temperature will drop. The humidity will increase since it will start raining. The wind speed will increase if it is storming.
Think back to the three videos we watched: pumping air into the dodgeball, pumping air into the sealed plastic bottle, and watching the bubbles disappear from the carbonated drink. How did these videos show that air has mass?
Video 1: When they pumped air into the ball, the mass on the scale went up. When they let air out of the ball, the mass went back to what it was before.
Video 2: When they pumped air into the bottle, the mass increased. When they released the seal, the mass went back to zero.
Video 3: The bubbles are made of air, so as they popped, the mass of the drink decreased.
Tell me a fun fact about all 5 layers of the atmosphere.
Answers will vary.
Name a tool that is used to measure the following weather variables: temperature, air pressure, humidity, wind direction, and precipitation.
Temperature = thermometer
Air pressure = barometer
Humidity = hygrometer
Wind direction = wind vane
Precipitation = rain gauge, ruler