Student Worksheet

Overview:
For this activity, you are going to draw on your own knowledge and experience with weather to predict the current temperatures around the world and in your country and then compare your predictions with real-time weather data. You will then be provided with several factors that affect both daily changes in temperature and climatological temperature and develop hypothesis regarding how and why you think these factors affect temperature.

Materials:

Weather Learning Log or Student Worksheet World map: world-dw.pdf (809KB) or world-dwl.gif (42KB) Country Map: download maps are available from National Geographic Xpeditions Color pencils/crayons (see below for colors) Computer with Internet access.

Instructions:

Part 1: Annual temperatures in your city / town Discuss and answer the following questions: Think of the hottest day you can remember. What were the weather conditions like (temperature, sky conditions, wind, etc.)? What time of year was it? Why do you think it was so hot that day? Now, think of the coldest day you can remember. What were the weather conditions like? What time of year was it? Why do you think it was so cold that day? Now think about the annual trends and seasonal changes in temperature for the year. How does temperature change during the year? List three factors you think might affect these changes in temperature? Part 2: Temperatures around the world Discuss and answer the following questions: Do you think the temperature is the same or different in other parts of the world? Why or why not? Where do you think the hottest temperature will be? Why? Where do you think the coldest temperatures will be? Why? List three factors that you think might be responsible for these differences in temperatures. Create a world and country temperature map Take out a copy of a world map. Temperature Color less than -10 ºC   -10 - 0 ºC   0 - 10 ºC   10 - 20 ºC   20 - 30 ºC   30 - 40 ºC   greater than 40 ºC   Illustrate the land masses (continents) in your world map according the to temperature using the color key to the right and your color pencils / crayons. For example, you should illustrate the coldest regions purple and the hottest region the dark red.   Take out your country map and similarly illustrate the land area according to temperature (you will analyze this map for homework). Compare your world map to real-world temperatures. Look at this world temperature map Compare the world map you just created with the world temperature map and identify at least two places where the maps are the same and two places where they are different. Write three reasons why you think they were similar or different. Part 3: Factors that influence the annual temperature pattern of a region Every geographic location has a combination of factors that influence the annual patterns of its temperature, i.e. its climatological temperature. Below is a Venn diagram that illustrates how the three main factors (latitude, local geography, and elevation) contribute to influence the annual temperature pattern of a region. On a separate page of your Weather Learning Log, make the following table and follow the directions below: Given each of the three factors, write HOW you think the temperature changes and WHY you think it changes based on each of individual factors and your ideas or plans on how you might investigate each factor. One example for the effect of Day and Night has on daily changes in temperature has been completed to serve as an example NOTE: This is NOT a factor that contributes to the annual temperature pattern of a region but rather has been provided to only serve as an example of HOW to complete the others. Factor How Why Investigative Plan Day and night: Example: I think that during the day, it will be hotter while during the night, it will be cooler. Example: That's because the sun is out during the day and heats up the earth. Example: I plan to record the temperature at night and day over a series of weeks to determine if there is any relationship. Latitude:       Elevation:       Local Geography: (distance from large bodies of water, ocean currents, etc.)       In the Venn diagram, each of the factors overlap with each other. Explain how you think the combination of these factors influences the annual temperature pattern of a region and the annual temperature of your city / town. Homework: Compare your country map to current temperatures Get a copy of today's newspaper and open it to the current weather section. Look at the major cities and locate them on your map. Write the high temperatures near the major cities on the country map. Illustrate the map according the to temperature using the color key above and your color pencils / crayons. Identify at least two places where the map and the temperatures of the cities are the same and two places where they are different. In your Weather Learning Log, write three reasons why you think they were similar or different.