Swirling WaterSwirling Air

Lab

• You’ve seen convection cell pictures in your book.• You know they cause wind.• You know they come from the SUN!• You know they are caused by uneven heating and cooling of land and water.

Focus Question:How could we create a convection current in our science lab? Discuss!

• One clear plastic container about the size of a shoebox.

• Red food coloring.• Ice cubes made with water dyed with blue food

coloring.• Colored pencils.• Your science notebook and a pencil!

MaterialsWe’re going to do it! You will need:

1. Fill the plastic container 2/3 full of room temperature water.

2. Let the water sit for 30 seconds or until it is completely still.

3. Place a blue ice cube at one end of the plastic container.

4. Add two drops of red food coloring to the water at the opposite end of the plastic container. Be careful not to disturb the water.

5. Observe where the red and blue food coloring goes.

Read the Procedure/Make a HypothesisWhat do you THINK it will look like in the box?

NOW DO IT AND FIND OUT!

1. Draw a diagram that shows what you saw. Start by drawing a picture of the box.

2. Draw in the red and blue swirls that show where the currents went.3. Did the red (warm) currents go higher? Did the

blue (cold) currents go higher?

ResultsWrite and Draw!

1. What type of air mass does the red water represent? (warm or cold)

2. What type of air mass does the blue water represent?

3. How does this relate to a thunderstorm?

ConclusionWhat does this experiment have to do with air masses and weather?

1. What type of air mass does the red water represent?(a warm air mass)

2. What type of air mass does the blue water represent? (a cold air mass)

ConclusionWhat does this experiment have to do with air masses and weather?

3. How does this relate to a thunderstorm? (A thunderstorm is caused by unstable air. A body of warm air is forced to rise by an approaching cold front. A strong, persistent updraft of warm moist air is formed. The approaching cold front helps build the updraft into a cumulus cloud. Speeds of an updraft have been recorded at 90 miles per hour. When the warm air rises and meets the cold air, it condenses (releases latent heat). The heat helps fuel the thunderstorm. The next stage is when the cumulus cloud has grown into a cumulonimbus cloud rising above 30,000 feet. Then a downdraft forms, bringing cold air and precipitation down to the Earth's surface.)

ConclusionWhat does this experiment have to do with air masses and weather?

4. Show video clips: www.discoveryeducation.com username: whitneyh.godfrey password: 09280

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=29B8E5B6-8E72-4375-9EA0-24C3D4B0283B&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=DSCE

http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=C92D703D-8DA6-407B-997F-0DEF9729537C&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=DSCE

ConclusionWhat does this experiment have to do with air masses and weather?