|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lesson Plan 16 |
Earth
and space sciences
(The changing Earth) |
| Year Level: 3/4 |
Key
learning area: Science
|
Measuring Wind Speed |
| Objectives |
|
By the end of this lesson the student will:
|
| Background |
|
Heat from the sun warms air and makes it rise. This occurs mainly in tropical regions, near the equator, where the sun's energy is most intense. As warm air rises, cool air rushes in to take its place. We feel this movement of air as wind. During the day in summer, land is generally warmer than the sea. This temperature difference can set up cooling daytime sea breezes, which can penetrate many kilometres inland. At night, breezes may blow in the opposite direction, from the land to the sea. Similar daily changes in temperature occur over irregular terrain and cause mountain and valley breezes. Other winds induced by local phenomena include whirlwinds and winds associated with thunderstorms. Fact File The strongest wind ever reliably
measured on the surface of the Earth was 362 km/hr, recorded on Mt.
Washington in the United States on 12 April, 1934. Much stronger winds,
however, occur near the center of tropical cyclones. |
| Resources and actions |
|
Carry out this activity in a windy part of the school. An interesting activity could be to have students blow the ping-pong ball to get a reading. Print off the student's worksheet and photocopy one for each student. Ask students to carry out the worksheet then go over their results at the end of the class. Questions and solutions 1. What is
wind? 2. Can wind
be useful to us?
3. What damage
can wind do? 4. Does your instrument give
a measurement of wind speed that agrees with the measurement using your
observations and the Beaufort wind scale? Can you suggest any improvements
to the instrument? Extension activity Can you devise another simple instrument for measuring wind speed? |
| Time |
| 60 minutes |
| Assessment Task |
| Q1 & 4 |
|