LESSON 5 - ACTIVITY 2 - CLOUD COVER AND TEMPERATURE

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Objectives
Materials
Background Information
Key Questions
Vocabulary
Procedure
Evaluation

Objectives:

1. Recognize symbols used for various sky conditions
2. Plot sky symbols
3. Plot temperatures

Materials:

None needed.

Background Information:

A circle in a weather symbol represents the sky. There are several variations of this symbol. We will learn about three of them. An empty circle represents a clear sky. A half-filled circle represents a partly cloudy sky. A filled in circle represents an overcast sky.

Sky symbol image NOAA

Clouds reflect approximately 30% of the sun's energy. Approximately 20% of the sun's energy is used by earth's atmosphere. This means that about half of the sun's energy actually reaches the earth's surface. Clouds, earth's surface, nearby bodies of water, and the atmosphere all play a role in the distribution of the sun's energy.

Solar radiation budget image NOAA

Students will correctly plot temperature and sky data on their map based on information obtained from the internet. The link can be found in the student's page for this activity. Pay particular attention to the layout of the weather map symbol. The sky data goes in the center, and the temperature is placed in the upper left corner. It will be helpful to create a key to your weather map that explains the different symbols and numbers. Also, decide before hand if students should record temperatures in Celsius or Fahrenheit.

Key Questions:

1. How does location affect temperature?
2. How do sky conditions affect temperature?

Vocabulary:

• overcast sky
• clear sky
• partly cloudy sky

Procedure:

1. Draw and label the three different sky symbols on the chalkboard and discuss them with your students.
2. Allow your students sufficient time to access the internet to collect their data. They should become more familiar with the internet site the more times they access it, resulting in less time spent collecting data.
3. Make sure your students are using the correct sky symbol for their weather maps and using the correct description in the spreadsheet.
4. Select Celsius or Fahrenheit temperature. Add the temperature to the upper left corner. (optional: teacher's could require that students convert Celsius temperatures to Fahrenheit)
5. Have your students compare the temperatures of each city and discuss what factors might account for the differences in say, the warmest and coolest. Remember to take into account cloud conditions and nearby bodies of water. Have your students write their responses in their journal.

Evaluation:

Students should be able to correctly plot sky data and temperature, as well as explain how cloud cover and nearby bodies of water affect temperature.

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