American Museum of Natural History: 8th Grade

American Museum of Natural History: 8^th Grade

WATER IN THE AIR

PURPOSE: Students will be able to recognize how clouds are formed and how condensation of water vapor affects weather and climate.

Previsit:

Previous learning: Students have prior knowledge of; The water cycle; humidity; condensation; clouds; precipitation.

Prior to our field trip, students will have completed the section on water in the air. This section begins with a discussion of the water cycle. It then covers humidity and the process of condensation. Students will learn how to determine relative humidity. Finally the class will be engaged in discussion on cloud types and the forms of precipitation.

Hands on Activity: Cloud in a bottle. How do clouds form? Try this simple experiment to find out.

Visit: Students will be divided into groups of four and each group will be responsible for a different objective. The various objectives for each group, A,B,C,and D are as followed:

Group A Students will be able to explain how water moves through the water cycle.
Group B students will be able to describe the three major cloud formations and their arrangement in the atmosphere.

Group C Students will be able to explain what the dew point is and its relationship to condensation.
Group D Students will be able to describe the four major types of perpetration along with the weather conditions that cause each. Each group will be armed with a worksheet specifically tailored to their objectives.

Post visit: Each group will be required to give a formal presentation of the information that they collected from their field trip that were associated with their objectives. Their homework assignment is preparing their presentation for our next class. Possible questions:

1) Names some different type of clouds and explain how and where in the atmosphere they form.

2) What causes weather?

3) Describe the difference between humidity and relative humidity

4) What are two ways that air can become saturated with water vapor?

5) How does the water cycle contribute to condensation?

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