Name:______

Date:______

Global Wind Patterns Ocean Currents

On the Left Side, respond to the statements. After the lesson, do the same thing on the RIGHT side. Take notes on the back.

T / F / T / F
  1. All ocean current in the Atlantic Ocean moves in a clockwise direction.

  1. Ocean currents are always cold.

  1. Wind affects currents.

  1. Both the winds and the currents circle Antarctica.

  1. After examining the data, you can conclude that the direction of the wind is responsible for the direction of the current.

  1. Warm water currents only flow near the equator.

  1. Cold-water currents flow away from the poles and towards the equator.

  1. Continents affect the direction of the winds.

  • Give one specific example of how the maps of winds and ocean currents are similar, and one specific example of how they are different.

Activity: Examining the effect of wind on ocean currents.

Questions to answer before the activity.

  1. Describe what you think would happen to a body of water if you took a straw and blew across the top of it?
  2. If the body of water was held inside the pan, what do you think would happen to the water once it strikes the pan?

Materials: baking pan that is at least one inch deep and 30 cm long, water, straws, and ground black pepper.

Method:

  1. Each activity group is to fill the baking pan with one inch of water.
  2. One corner of the pan should be sprinkled with 1/2 tsp. of ground black pepper.
  3. Each person should stand in one of the four corners with a straw and blow gently across the top of the water.
  4. Record your observations on the effects of the wind (air blown through the straw) on a body of water by tracking the black pepper movement and answer the questions below.

Questions to answer after the activity:

  1. What did you observe happened when all four students blew across the top of the water in the baking pan?
  1. What happened after the water hit the edge of the pan?
  1. Why did the water reflect off of the pan?
  1. Did the wind reflect off the pan?
  1. Imagine the water in the pan represents the ocean and the side of the pan represents the edge of a continent what would happen to the water when it would hit the continent?
  1. What would happen to the wind when it came up to the continent?

Activity: CoriolisEffect

Questions to answer before the activity:

  1. Can you draw a straight line across a spinning balloon?
  2. Do you think you can draw the same line from North to South Pole as the line from South to North Pole?

Materials: balloon, permanent markers

Method:

  1. Blow up the balloon.
  2. With the permanent marker, mark the North Pole, South Pole and equator.
  3. Have partner 1 rotate the balloon like the Earth would rotate while partner 2 looks down the North Pole. Answer question number 1.
  4. Have partner 2 rotate the balloon while partner 1 looks up through the South Pole, answer question 2.
  5. While partner 1 rotates the balloon steadily from left to right, partner 2 slowly tries to draw a line straight south from the North Pole to the equator, using the other marker. While the Earth continues to rotate, partner 1 tries to draw a line straight north from the South Pole to the equator. Answer questions 3 and 4 below.

Questions to answer during activity:

  1. As you look down from the North Pole toward the equator, which way is the balloon spinning, clockwise or counterclockwise?
  2. As you look up from the South Pole toward the equator, which way is the balloon spinning, clockwise or counterclockwise?.
  3. What happened when you tried to draw a straight line from the North Pole to the equator?
  4. What happened when you tried to draw a straight line from the South Pole to the equator?
  5. Predict what would happen if you again drew lines in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres but with the Earth rotating in the opposite direction.

Name: ______

Date:______

Step 1: Access the Internet and go to

Step 2: Type in the desired city into the upper right-hand search box and press search.

Step 3: Click on the ‘monthly’ box inside the menu on the left-hand side of the page.

Step 4: Scroll down the page and click on the yellow menu box titled ‘averages’.

Step 5: Record the data into the tables below.

East Coast City / Avg. Temp in December(°F) / Avg. Temp in March(°F) / Avg. Temp in June(°F) / Avg. Temp in September(°F)
Savannah, Ga
Washington DC, MD
Augusta, Me
West Coast City / Avg. Temp in December(°F) / Avg. Temp in March(°F) / Avg. Temp in June(°F) / Avg. Temp in September(°F)
San Diego, Ca
San Francisco, Ca
Seattle, Wa
  1. Group each east coast city to one west coast city that has almost the same distance North from the equator.
  2. Example: San Diego, Ca is just as far North from the equator as Savannah, Ga.
  3. With an east coast city grouped with a west coat city, does each grouped city exhibit the same average temperatures during summer, winter, fall and spring?
  4. Which coast seems to have a higher yearly temperature and which ocean current affect this coast?
  5. Does this ocean current bring warm water from the equator or cold water from the poles?
  6. Which coast seems to have a lower yearly temperature and which ocean current affects this coast?
  7. Does this ocean current bring warm water from the equator or cold water from the poles?

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