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WATCH THE WIND
Temperature differences in our atmosphere create areas of high and low air pressure. Air always moves from high pressure to low pressure. Small and large differences in air pressure cause winds of different speeds.
Topics and Connections:
- Wind motion
- Seeing patterns
Materials:
- toothpicks
- tape
- old or blank cassette tape
- clay or large sheet of styrofoam
- fan or hair dryer
Directions:
Teacher:
- Have the class discuss different experiences they've had with wind. What have they seen wind do? Have any of them been in especially strong, sudden, or twisty winds?
- Cut the cassette tape into enough one inch strips that each student can make five or six flags.
Students:
- Tape each strip of cassette tape to the top of a toothpick to make tiny flags.
- Plant the flags on a two-foot-square section of a table or floor. You can do this either by putting a ball of clay at the bottom of each toothpick, or by sticking the flags into a large sheet of styrofoam.
- Place a fan or hair dryer (set on 'no heat') a few feet from the flags.
- Watch the flags and observe what happens as you experiment:
–change the speed or direction of the fan
–Put some objects (shoeboxes, books, mugs) in the path of the air, either in front or in the middle of the flags
–aim two or more fans at the flags from different directions.
Questions To Ask:
- How many different things do the flags tell you about the wind?
- Is the wind the same for all flags at the same time?
- Are some places near your home or school usually windier than others?
- What other ways have you seen the wind moving?
- Have you ever watched wind moving in a circle? Can you duplicate this with the flags?
Follow Up:
Teacher:
- Introduce the term 'wind shear'. It describes air that has very different winds (either moving in different directions or of different speeds) right next to each other.
Students:
- Try to duplicate wind shear on your flag grid. Wind shear is present during tornadoes—can you see why?
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