Explore 1: Where do air masses come from? How do they get their moisture and temperature characteristics?
Global Average Surface Air Temperature DataExamine the map of the world with different colors representing average temperatures across the globe January. The legend below the map indicates a temperature range that corresponds to each color.
1. What patterns do you see in the temperature and latitude data?
How does energy received from the Sun vary on Earth?
Tropic of Capricorn
Tropic of Cancer
North Pole
South Pole
EquatorSouth America
Canada
USA
90°S
60°S
30°S
90°N
60°N
30°N
0°
degree Fahrenheit
1. Use this simulator to investigate how the energy received from the Sun varies on Earth. For this activity, you can leave ‘select month’ box on March. Record your observations in Table 1.
Table 1: Energy from Sun
LocationEnergy from the Sun
Watts per meter squared (W/m2)
Energy received on EarthWatts per meter squared
(W/m2)
North Pole
Tropic of Cancer
Equator
Tropic of Capricorn
South Pole
2. What patterns do you notice in the ‘Energy from the Sun’ data and the ‘Energy on Earth’ data?
3. Continue make observations of the way sunlight hits the Earth at different locations and pay close attention to the spread of sunlight. What patterns do you notice?
4. Do you see any connections between the patterns in spread of sunlight and the data that you recorded about Energy on Earth in the table above?
See-Think-Wonder
SeeWhat did you observe?
ThinkWhat does each observation
make you think?
WonderWhat questions do you have
about each observation?
What pattern(s) did you notice in the global average temperature data?
What do you think explains the pattern(s)?
What pattern(s) did you notice in the amount of energy received at different parts of the globe?
What do you think explains the pattern(s)?
What pattern(s) did you notice in the spread of sunlight at different parts of the globe?
What do you think explains the pattern(s)?