period 6, connor and asad, understanding the air and sky around us

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Understanding the Air and Sky Around Us Asad Lakhani and Connor Farrell

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An informational book about the atmosphere and weather for children.

TRANSCRIPT

Understanding the Air and

Sky Around Us

Asad Lakhani and Connor Farrell

Table of Contents

P. 4-11 The AtmosphereP. 12-14 ConvectionP. 15, 16 CurrentsP. 17, 18 Air PressureP. 19 - 23 FrontsP. 24 HurricanesP. 25 TornadosP. 26 Sun's Energy

P. 27 Weather MapsP. 28 Isotherm and IsobarP. 29 PrecipitationP. 30 CloudP. 31 Dew PointP. 32 Scientist and ImagesP. 33 - 36 Meteorological Instruments

P. 37 Contributions

Table of Contents Continued

Atmosphere

● The atmosphere is like a big blanket made up of many layers

● It helps keep the Earth warm by absorbing heat and holding it in

● Protects us from the Sun's radiation with the ozone layer

● It causes weather and climate● It is made up of many different gasses

○ 78% Nitrogen○ 21% Oxygen○ Small amounts of Argon, C02, Neon, Helium,

Hydrogen, etc.

Diagram of the Atmosphere

This is the this is Troposphere. It is where the weather is, and is the first layer above the earth

This is the Stratosphere. This is where many planes fly, and it contains the ozone layer which protects us from harmful rays from the sun.

This layer, the Mesosphere, is where rocks and meteors burn up. This is like the Earth's shield that protects us from space junk

The Thermosphere is the layer of the atmosphere where the space station orbits. This is also where auras like the northern lights are.

This is the Exosphere. The Exosphere is the thinnest and outermost layer of our atmosphere.

Troposphere

● The Troposphere makes up about 80% of the atmosphere's mass

● The Troposphere is mainly heated by the Earth's surface

● The Troposphere is warmest closest to the Earth, and cools down from there

Stratosphere

● The Stratosphere is the second layer of the atmosphere

● The Stratosphere contains the ozone layer

● The Stratosphere gets warmer further up due to absorption of the sun's rays in the ozone layer

Mesosphere

● The Mesosphere is where most meteors burn up when entering the atmosphere

● The Mesosphere gets warmer the further out

● Ice clouds form in the Mesosphere

Thermosphere

● The Thermosphere is the second to last layer of the atmosphere

● The Thermosphere gets warmer further out, then stays at the same temperature

● The Thermosphere can reach 1,500°C or 2,700°F

Exosphere

● The Exosphere is the outermost layer of the atmosphere

● It is mainly composed of hydrogen and helium.

● The particles are so far apart that they can travel hundreds of kilometers without colliding with one another.

● The Exosphere no longer behaves like a fluid.

Layer Lengths

● The Exosphere reaches about 800 km around the earth

● The Thermosphere reaches to 410 km

● The Mesosphere reaches out to about 80 km

● The Stratosphere reaches out to 50 km

● The Troposphere reaches 12 km

Convection

● Common in the atmosphere and the ocean

● Convection is an ongoing cycle made up of different things happening

● Convection makes the air rise and fall, creating clouds and rain.

Convection - Air

● First, air gets heated and raises

● Next, the air starts to expand and become less dense

● After this, Cool air rushes up to take the warm air's place

● Finally, the warm air starts to cool down and fall

● This cycle repeats endlessly

Convection - Water

● Water starts to warm● The warm water becomes less dense

and rises up● The cool water at the top falls down

being less dense● The movement of this water causes

convection currents that continue forever

Wind Currents

● Wind currents are caused by differences in the temperature of the atmosphere

● When part of the atmosphere has a lower pressure, the air from the higher pressure section moves over to the low pressure section to balance out

● Areas with higher temperatures have high pressure. Lower temperature areas have lower pressure

Ocean Currents

● Ocean currents are like rivers inside of an ocean

● Remember water convection from two pages ago? This same thing is what causes these ocean currents

● Currents are caused by differences in temperature, salinity, and wind.

Air Pressure

● Have you ever been on an airplane when your ears popped? This is because of a change in air pressure

● Air pressure is how much force the atmosphere is pressing down with

● The higher you go, the lower the air pressure gets. This is why it can be harder to breathe when you're up high hiking or skiing

High and Low Pressure

● Low pressure usually signals that there are storms coming

● Low pressure also usually comes with warmer temperatures because when air heats up, it expands

● High pressure usually brings clear weather

● When air cools, it shrinks down and takes up less space which leads to a higher air pressure

Fronts

● There are four different types of fronts○ Cold Fronts○ Warm Fronts○ Stationary Fronts○ Occluded Fronts

● Warm fronts bring warm air● Cold fronts bring cool air● Stationary fronts are where ● Occluded fronts

Cold Fronts

● Forms when cold air pushes under warmer air

● Thunderheads can form when the moisture from the warm air cools and condenses

● As the front moves through an area, cool air is likely to follow it

Warm Fronts

● Forms when a moist warm air mass pushes up and over a cooler air mass

● Condenses into a wide area of clouds

● Brings gentle rain or snow followed by warmer weather

Stationary Fronts

● Forms when cold and warm air masses meet each other but neither has enough force to move on

● Can form clouds and fog at the point where cold and warm air meet

● Capable of bringing many days of clouds and precipitation

Occluded Fronts

● Forms when a warm air mass is caught between two cold air masses

● Causes the temperature to drop

● Capable of bringing strong winds and heavy precipitation

Hurricanes

● Hurricanes form in really warm water● In order to form a hurricane, the winds

must blow in the same direction● Hurricanes cannot form too close to the

equator● Hurricane seasons are from July 1st to

November 30th and May 15th to November 30th for the Atlantic and Pacific oceans

Tornadoes

● Most tornadoes are formed from thunderstorms

● A tornado needs to have moist air from the Gulf of Mexico and dry air from Canada

● Changes in wind direction and speed with an increase in height creates a spinning in the lower atmosphere known as a tornado

Sun's Energy

● The sun is the closest star to earth at 93 million miles away

● The sun's energy reaches earth as heat, ultraviolet light, and electromagnetic radiation

● Nearly all energy comes from the sun!

● Earth receives 1/2,000,000 of the Sun's energy

Weather MapsHigh pressure zone

Warm front

Low pressure zone

Isotherm

Stationary Front

Occluded Front

Cold Front

Heavy Snow

Fog

Thunderstorm with hail

Isotherm

● Isotherms are lines of equal temperature regions that are drawn in on weather maps

● Pictured on the map in green and red

● Isotherms are atmospheric pressure regions that are drawn into weather maps

● On the map in yellow

Isobar

Precipitation

● Precipitation is when there is enough condensed water in the air that it can group together and fall

● Precipitation always comes from clouds● Not all clouds always form precipitation● There are a few different kinds of

precipitation

● Rain ● Snow

● Sleet ● Hail

Clouds

● Clouds are large water droplets or ice crystals● Clouds are made when water vapor condenses● Four different types of clouds - Cumulus,

Stratus, and Cirrus○ Cumulus clouds are White and puffy or dark and grey○ Stratus clouds look like a huge grey blanket○ Cirrus clouds look like pieces of a cloud that was

pulled apart

Dew Point

● What is dew point?○ Dew point is the temperature when water in the air

turns into water and condenses● What causes frost?

○ Frost is caused when the temperature of the dew point falls below 0°C (32°F)

● Does this relate to humidity?○ Dew point is associated with relative humidity. The

higher the relative humidity is, the closer to the current air temperature the dew point is

Scientists and Images

● Scientists have many different ways of getting images

● Scientists can use satellites to get images of clouds and predict weather

● Scientists can use radars to get information about precipitation and weather

● Scientists can also look at past storms and weather patterns to predict what is going to happen

Meteorological Instruments

● Scientists use many different instruments to gather information about weather. These include○ Thermometers○ Barometers○ Psychrometers○ Rain Guages○ Anemometers○ Wind Vanes

Thermometers and Barometers

● Thermometers measure air temperature

● Most thermometers are glass tubes with alcohol or mercury

● Barometers measure air pressure

● A rising barometer means sunny and dry weather

● A falling barometer means stormy, wet weather

Psychrometers and Rain Gauges

● A Sling Psychrometer measures relative humidity by using evaporation

● A Psychrometer uses two different thermometers

● Rain gauges measure the amount of rain that has fallen over time

● Rain gauges are usually tubes that collect rainwater and have markings

Anemometers and Wind Vanes

● Anemometers measure wind speed

● Cups catch wind and turn a dial attached to the instrument

● The dial shows the wind speed

● Wind vanes determine the direction in which wind blows

● Wind vanes have a fin or some sorts that points with the wind showing wind direction

Contributions

Asad Connor

● Covection● Ocean Currents● Low Pressure● Hurricane● Tornados● Weather Map● Isotherm and Isobar● Clouds● How Scientists get

images● Formatting● Graphics

● Title● Table of Contents● Atmosphere● Wind Currents● High Pressure● Fronts● Sun and Sun's Energy● Types of Precipitation● Dew Point● Meteorological

Instruments● Graphics● Global Patterns of

Atmospheric movements