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Weather & Water 5th Grade Program GATE Activities

© 2006 Ocean InstituteGATE -- 1

Week 5: Real-Time Air Pressure Data

BACKGROUND INFORMATIONAir pressure varies with elevation. The air pressuredecreases as you move farther away from the Earth. This isbecause air particles are affected by gravity. Gravity pullsthe air particles toward the Earth, so there are more airparticles present if you are at sea level than if you are on thetop of a mountain. The air pressure at a location isdetermined by all of the air particles that are above thatlocation. Since there are more air particles above a locationat sea level than there are above a location on a mountain,the location at sea level will have a greater air pressure thanthe location on the mountain.

THE BIG IDEAAir pressure decreases with distance from the Earth’s surface.

OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITY (60 minutes)Students use data from the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System Website to see how air pressure varies with elevation.

SCIENCE STANDARD4.e. The Earth’s atmosphere exerts a pressure that decreases with distance above

Earth’s surface and at any point it exerts this pressure equally in all directions.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVEStudents will be able to use scientific data from a Web site to explain that air pressuredecreases with distance from the Earth’s surface.

RECOMMENDED ASSESSMENT STRATEGYUse the CONCLUSION section and the LINE OF LEARNING discussion to assessconceptual comprehension and investigation strategies.

MATERIALS (* included in kit) Overhead projector Science Notebook transparencies

(optional) Screen capture transparencies

(optional)

(1) Set of Science Notebook pagesper student

Computer(s) with Internet access Digital projector (optional)

ADVANCE PREPARATION1. Make copies of the Science Notebook pages for each student.



2. Make transparencies of the Science Notebook pages and screen capture pages.(Optional)

3. Turn on the computers and make sure that you have access to the SouthernCalifornia Coastal Ocean Observing System Web site at:http://www.sccoos.org/outreach/dana/mets.

4. Divide students into investigation teams based on the number of availablecomputers.

TEACHING TIPS1. If it is not possible to do this activity in the computer lab as a student investigation,

you can also do this as an all-class activity if you have a computer with Internetaccess connected to a digital projector.

2. Remind the students that the date is listed as year, month, day (e.g., 2006-10-26 isOctober 26, 2006).

3. Remind the students to record the local time. The local time is listed in military time,and the students can use the table on the Science Notebook page to convert thetime to standard time.

PROCEDURE (60 minutes)1. Show the students the map on the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing

System page, and ask them if they can predict which general area will have thehighest air pressure. The students should be able to predict that the areas closest tosea level should have the greatest air pressure. Why do they think so? Discusstheir predictions. Can they use the data on the Web site to prove their prediction?(5 minutes)

2. If you have a digital projector, show the students how to access the data on the Website. You can also show them the screen capture transparencies. (10 minutes)

3. Hand out the Science Notebook pages to each of the students. Review the inquiryquestion and the testable question with the students. Tell the students to write theirprediction in their Science Notebooks. Direct the students to follow the steps in theprocedure to complete the investigation. While the students are collecting the data,walk around the room to help them navigate the Web site. (35 minutes)

4. After the students have completed their investigation, they will answer the followingquestions in the CONCLUSION section of their Science Notebooks. (10 minutes)

• Which station had the greatest air pressure? What is the elevation there?(Answers will vary depending on the stations that the students choose. Reviewthe data table to confirm that the correct station has been included in theanswer.)


• Which station had the least air pressure? What is the elevation there? (Answerswill vary depending on the stations that the students choose. Review the datatable to confirm that the correct station has been included in the answer.)

• After reviewing the data, what is the relationship between air pressure andelevation? Why do you think that is? (Air pressure decreases with elevation.The air pressure at a location is determined by all of the air particles that areabove that location. Since there are more air particles above a location at sealevel than there are above a location on a mountain, the air pressure will begreater at the location at sea level.)

5. Line of Learning: As a class, discuss the answers to the CONCLUSION questions.Remind the students to record any additional questions that are generated orinformation that is learned below the LINE OF LEARNING in their ScienceNotebook. You can use this section to assess student progress.

6. Looking Ahead: What happens when there are exteme differences in air pressurein the same region? Can differences in air pressure lead to severe weather?

EXTENSIONHave the students use the Web site to monitor the air pressure at a local station over aperiod of time to see how the air pressure changes. Can they find a correlationbetween the air pressure at the station and weather conditions?

RESOURCESBooks

WSh


Houghton Mifflin Science DiscoveryWorks Grade 5. Unit E, chapter 1,pages E31-E32.

Harcourt Science Grade 5. Unit B, Chapter 1, page B7.

eb Siteouthern California Coastal Ocean Observing Systemttp://www.sccoos.org/commclass.html



Real-Time Air Pressure Data

A. Scientist: ____________________Date: _______________________Time: _______ (include AM or PM)

B. INQUIRY QUESTIONDoes elevation affect air pressure?

C. TESTABLE QUESTIONIs the air pressure near sea level greater than the air pressure athigher elevations?

D. PREDICTIONI predict that…____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________E. MATERIALS

Computer with Internet access Pencil

F. PROCEDURE1. Go to http://www.sccoos.org/outreach/dana/mets

2. Scroll down the page and look below the map at the “NowShowing” section. Click on the arrow next to the channel toview the menu of options. Select “Atmospheric Pressure” fromthe menu.

3. Once all of the data has loaded, choose a station and click onthe circle to select it.



4. Record the following information for the station in the datatable:

• Station Location

• Date – The date is listed as year, month, day(for example, 2006-10-26 is October 26, 2006)

• Time (local time) – The time is listed in military time. See thetable below to help you convert it to standard time.

• Elevation (meters)

• Air Pressure (millibars)

5. Choose nine other stations and complete the data table.

6. After you have completed the data table, create a line graphthat compares elevation with air pressure.

Military Time Converted to Standard TimeMilitary Time Standard Time Military Time Standard Time

01:00 1 AM 13:00 1 PM02:00 2 AM 14:00 2 PM03:00 3 AM 15:00 3 PM04:00 4 AM 16:00 4 PM05:00 5 AM 17:00 5 PM06:00 6 AM 18:00 6 PM07:00 7 AM 19:00 7 PM08:00 8 AM 20:00 8 PM09:00 9 AM 21:00 9 PM10:00 10 AM 22:00 10 PM11:00 11 AM 23:00 11 PM12:00 12 PM (Noon) 00:00 12 AM (Midnight)



G. DATA AND OBSERVATIONS

StationLocation

Date Time Elevation(meters)

StationPressure(millibars)



Air

Pres

sure

(mill

ibar

s)

0

Elev

atio

n (m

eter

s)

Gra

ph: E

leva

tion

vs. A

ir Pr

essu

re

0



H. CONCLUSIONToday I learned that…Be sure to include the answers to the following questions.

1. Which station had the greatest air pressure? What is theelevation there?__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

2. Which station had the least air pressure? What is the elevationthere?__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

3. After reviewing the data, what is the relationship between airpressure and elevation? Why do you think that is?__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________



___________________________________________________

I. LINE OF LEARNING____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

J. NEW VOCABULARYList any new vocabulary words you learned from doing this investigation. Use theglossary to write the definitions of each word.



Screen Captures forSouthern California Coastal Ocean Observing System Web Site

Choose “Atmospheric Pressure”in the “Now Showing” Section.

Station Location

Elevation

Date and Time

Air Pressure

week 5: real-time air pressure data - welcome …sccoos.ucsd.edu/docs/real-time air pressure...

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