Download Task 2 - Hurricanes

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Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Earth Science/ Hurricanes– 6th Grade
Subject Area: Earth Science/ Hurricanes
Standards (Content and Characteristics):
S6E4. Students will understand how the distribution of land and oceans affects climate and
weather.
c. Relate how moisture evaporating from the oceans affects the weather patterns and
weather events such as hurricanes.
S6CS5. Students will use the ideas of system, model, change, and scale in exploring
scientific and technological matters.
a. Observe and explain how parts are related to other parts in systems such as weather
systems, solar systems, and ocean systems including how the output from one part of a system
(in the form of material, energy, or information) can become the input to other parts. (For
example: El Nino’s effect on weather)
b. Identify several different models (such as physical replicas, pictures, and analogies)
that could be used to represent the same thing, and evaluate their usefulness, taking into account
such things as the model’s purpose and complexity.
S6CS10. Students will enhance reading in all curriculum areas by:
c. Building vocabulary knowledge
Demonstrate an understanding of contextual vocabulary in various subjects.
Use content vocabulary in writing and speaking.
Explore understanding of new words found in subject area texts.
Enduring Understanding:
Hurricanes form as a result of major global wind patterns and the Coriolis effect, but their paths
are determined by local weather systems.
Hurricanes form as a result of evaporation in warm oceans and seas in tropical regions of the
northern and southern hemispheres.
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Natural Disasters  6th Grade  Hurricanes
July, 2008  Page 1 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Earth Science/ Hurricanes– 6th Grade
Essential Questions:
Where are hurricanes most likely to occur?
Are natural disasters randomly or evenly disbursed?
ADMINISTRATION PROCEDURES
Outcome /
Performance
Expectations:
Students will be able to locate the major global wind belts on a map and indicate
the direction of the winds in each belt.
Students will be able to explain why the winds within the major wind belts curve.
General
Teacher
Instructions:
Teacher Background Information:
HURRICANE FORMATION: Hurricanes need warm water and moist warm
air in order to form. For this reason, hurricanes often form in the tropics. Most
Atlantic hurricanes begin as thunderstorms along the west coast of Africa that
drift out over warm ocean waters that are at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27
degrees Celsius). Here, they encounter converging winds from around the
equator. Hurricanes start when warm, moist air from the ocean surface begins to
rise rapidly and encounter cooler air causing the warm water vapor to condense.
The condensation also releases heat, which warms the cool air above, causing it
to rise and allow for more warm humid air from the ocean below. This
continuing heat exchange creates a wind pattern that spirals around a relatively
calm center, or eye. Converging winds near the surface of the water collide,
pushing more water vapor upward, increasing the circulation of warm air, and
accelerating the speed of the wind. At the same time, strong winds blowing at
higher altitudes pull the rising warm air away from the storm’s center and send it
swirling creating the hurricane’s classic cyclone pattern. High-pressure air at
high altitudes, usually above 30,000 feet (9,000 meters), also pull heat away from
the storm’s center and cool the rising air. As high-pressure air is drawn into the
low-pressure center of the storm, the speed of the wind continues to increase. As
the storm builds from thunderstorm to hurricane, it passes through three distinct
stages based on wind speed. These are tropical depression, tropical storm, and
finally hurricane with wind speeds greater than 74 mph (119.09 kph).
WHY HURRICANES FOLLOW A PRESCRIBED PATH: Hurricanes move
with the wind from larger storm systems surrounding it and as a result of the
easterly trade winds close to the equator and the westerly winds further north.
They are also steered by areas of high and low pressure.
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Natural Disasters  6th Grade  Hurricanes
July, 2008  Page 2 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Earth Science/ Hurricanes– 6th Grade
CORIOLIS EFFECT: Pressure differences tend to push
winds in straight paths from the poles toward the equator.
However, on Earth, winds follow curved paths due to the
Coriolis force. As air begins flowing from high to low
pressure, the Earth rotates under it, making the wind follow
a curved path. The Coriolis force is zero at the equator.
The Coriolis force turns winds to the right in the Northern
Hemisphere, but winds go counterclockwise around large
systems, such as hurricanes, north of the equator. The
opposite is true in the Southern Hemisphere. The fact that
the Coriolis force is zero at the equator and very weak near
the equator explains why tropical cyclones such as
hurricanes and typhoons won't form on the equator, despite
the presence of warm ocean water and moist air.
WIND BELTS: The region of Earth receiving the Sun's direct rays is the
equator. At approximately thirty degrees north and south of the equator, the
warm air from the equator begins to cool and sink. Between thirty degrees
latitude and the equator, most of the cooling sinking air moves back to the
equator. The rest of the air flows toward the poles. The air movements toward the
equator are called trade winds. The Coriolis Effect makes the trade winds appear
to be curving to the west, whether they are traveling to the equator from the south
or north.
The trade winds coming from the south and the north meet near the equator.
These converging trade winds produce general upward winds as they are heated,
so there are no steady surface winds. This area of calm is called the doldrums.
Between thirty and sixty degrees latitude, the winds that move toward the poles
appear to curve to the east. Winds are named from the direction in which they
originate; therefore, these winds are called prevailing westerlies.
At about sixty degrees latitude in both hemispheres, the polar easterlies form
when the atmosphere over the poles cools. As the air flows away from the poles,
it is turned to the west by the Coriolis effect. Again, because these winds begin in
the east, they are called easterlies.
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Natural Disasters  6th Grade  Hurricanes
July, 2008  Page 3 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Earth Science/ Hurricanes– 6th Grade
Teacher Demonstration:
1.) This demonstration will illustrate the sinking of cold air and the rising of
warm air as a result of density. Heat approximately 500 mL of water to
65ºC and pour it into a glass beaker. Use another beaker to mix water and
ice to make very cold ice water. Color this water with food coloring
(preferably blue). Use a dropper to squeeze small amounts of the colored
ice water into the hot water. Be sure to hold the dropper to the edge of the
glass beaker so that students can observe the colored water moving down
the edge of the glass and along the bottom. Discuss the effects of
temperature on density and help students make the connection between
the behavior of the cold and hot water and cold and hot air masses.
2.) This demonstration will illustrate the Coriolis Effect. Put a piece of paper
on a lazy susan or a microwave turn plate. Without spinning the plate,
draw a straight line from the middle of the plate to the edge. Now, spin
the plate in a counterclockwise direction and draw a straight line. Your
line will end up curved. Discuss the coriolis effect with students, being
sure to indicate that wind travels in a straight line from areas of high
pressure to areas of low pressure; the rotation of the Earth causes the
curve to occur. On Earth, objects curve in one direction in the northern
hemisphere and the opposite direction in the southern hemisphere.
Materials
Needed:
Safety
Precautions:
Task with
Student
Directions:
Demonstration 1: Thermometer, warm water, glass beaker, ice water, food
coloring, dropper.
Demonstration 2: Lazy susan or microwave turn plate, paper, writing utensil
Student Task: computer with internet access, Hurricanes Webquest Handout
(see end of Task Template), physical outline map of the United States
Be sure students do not touch the warm water in Demonstration 1.
1.) Students may visit http://www.weatherwizkids.com/hurricane1.htm to
read about hurricane formation, other names for hurricanes, and locations
of hurricanes. The website has questions students can record in learning
journals.
2.) Use http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/nino/global.html to color and label
a map of global wind patterns.
3.) Students will create of map of historical hurricane activity in the United
States using the following physical outline map
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/americas_phys.pdf. Students will
illustrate the paths of the following major US hurricanes: Katrina (2005),
Opal (1995), Andrew (1992), Hugo (1989), and Camille (1969) using the
“Tropical Cyclone Tracker” on the following website:
http://weather.about.com/od/hurricanes/ht/hurricanetracks.htm
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Natural Disasters  6th Grade  Hurricanes
July, 2008  Page 4 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Earth Science/ Hurricanes– 6th Grade
Resources:
Homework /
Extension:
4.) Students can visit http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/pdf/canelab.htm to
create their own hurricanes and take an interactive quiz on ideal
conditions for hurricane formation.
5.) Students can visit
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/kids/movncane.htm to aim their
hurricanes by using knowledge of how a hurricane’s path is affected by high
and low pressure areas.
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/hurricane1.htm
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/pdf/canelab.htm
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/kids/movncane.htm
http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/americas_phys.pdf
http://weather.about.com/od/hurricanes/ht/hurricanetracks.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/basics/coriolis-understanding.htm
http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/nino/global.html
Students can conduct internet research on the geographical and financial impact
of historical U.S. hurricanes.
Students can create a hurricane safety flipbook.
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Natural Disasters  6th Grade  Hurricanes
July, 2008  Page 5 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Earth Science/ Hurricanes– 6th Grade
Hurricanes Webquest Handout
Use the following website to learn about hurricanes:
http://www.weatherwizkids.com/hurricane1.htm
1. What is a hurricane? How fast do the winds have to be
moving for a storm to be categorized as a hurricane?
2. How long do hurricanes generally last?
3. How fast do hurricanes move?
4. How do hurricane’s form? You can use pictures and words to explain your answer.
5. Go to the following site to create your own hurricane:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/pdf/canelab.htm. Record your score from the game
here: _______________
6. When does hurricane season start in the Atlantic Ocean?
7. In which months is a hurricane most likely to strike the United States? Use the map to
determine the months of the most danger.
8. In the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Eastern Pacific Ocean, we call them
hurricanes? What do people who live around the Western Pacific Ocean?
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Natural Disasters  6th Grade  Hurricanes
July, 2008  Page 6 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Earth Science/ Hurricanes– 6th Grade
9. What about people who live around the Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal, and Australia?
10. Use the Hurricane Finder to see if there are any active hurricanes across the world right
now. Are there any? If so, where?
11. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the United States. Use the Past Hurricane Info link to
determine what category storm Katrina was.
12. Use the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale to determine how high the storm surge was
during Katrina.
13. What degree of damage is associated with a storm of Katrina’s category?
14. What is the difference between a hurricane watch and a hurricane warning?
15. Are there any storm warnings in your area today? If so, what kind?
16. What is the difference between a tropical depression and a tropical storm?
17. What is the difference between a tropical storm and a hurricane?
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Natural Disasters  6th Grade  Hurricanes
July, 2008  Page 7 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved
One Stop Shop For Educators
Georgia Performance Standards Framework for Earth Science/ Hurricanes– 6th Grade
18. Go to the following link to aim a hurricane:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/kids/movncane.htm . Aim several hurricanes
and then make a general statement about the relationship between the presence of high
and low pressure areas and the path a hurricane takes.
19. If a hurricane falls on land where you are, what should you do?
20. Why do hurricanes die when they make landfall?
Georgia Department of Education
Kathy Cox, State Superintendent of Schools
Natural Disasters  6th Grade  Hurricanes
July, 2008  Page 8 of 8
Copyright 2007 © All Rights Reserved