Name: ______#: ______Spheres of the Earth Modeling Clouds and Wind New Words Estimated Time: 30 minutes The atmosphere is the layer of gases Age range: 3rd – 5th that surrounds Earth; the air around What you need: clear glass jar with a lid, hot water, aerosol spray us. (hairspray, dry shampoo, etc.), ice cubes, black or dark color Condensation is the process in which construction paper (optional), clear tray (ex: glass casserole dish), something changes from a gas to liquid. When water vapor condenses it tape, thin paper (not construction paper), scissors, water changes from a gas to liquid form in a cloud. Background Information: A rain shadow is a dry area of land on Clouds form when water vapor in the air cools as it rises and the back side of a mountain or condenses around tiny dust particles in the atmosphere. When there mountain range where little rain falls are a bunch of these condensed droplets together in a group, they Precipitation is water release from become a cloud that you can see! In the following activity, the clouds in the form of snow, rain or hail. aerosol will act as tiny dust particles in the formation of our clouds. The windward side of a mountain faces the direction that the wind is coming from. Now it’s time to make some clouds of our own! The leeward side of a mountain is the side that does not face the wind. Follow the directions on the next page to get started.
Name: ______#: ______
Cloud in a Jar Activity
Instructions: 1. Carefully fill your jar ⅓ of the way full with hot water. Swirl the water around to warm the jar up. Have an adult help you with this step.
2. Spray one spray of hairspray into the jar.
3. Turn the lid over and place it on top of the jar. Stack several ice cubes on the turned over lid.
4. Watch a cloud form! Take the lid of the jar off to watch the cloud you created escape the jar.
Consider the following questions:
Clouds in the atmosphere need dust particles to form around. What acted as dust particles in your jar? ______
Why do you think that the clouds formed as the water vapor got closer to the ice cubes? ______
Name: ______#: ______
Background information (continued): A rain shadow is a dry area of land on the back side of a mountain or mountain range, where little rain falls. A rain shadow is the result of mountains “blocking” weather from reaching that area. When warm and moist wind encounters a mountain or mountain range, it is quickly forced upward, cooling and condensing to form clouds. The colder that these clouds become the less moisture that they can hold, and eventually they are forced to release their moisture as precipitation. The side of the mountain facing the wind is known as the windward side, and gets lots of rain and weather for this reason. The descending air on the other side of the mountain is dry, and results in a rain shadow forming. This side of the mountain is known as the leeward side.
We are now going to use our new knowledge in a rain shadow activity!
See instructions for this activity on the following page.
Name: ______#: ______
Rain Shadow Activity
Before you begin, consider the following questions:
What do you think happens to wind when it encounters a mountain? ______
Using what you learned from the previous activity, what do you think happens to water vapor (in moist air) as it cools? ______
Instructions: 1. Fill the tray with enough water to cover the bottom surface in about ½ inch of water. You’ve created a large lake or ocean.
2. Cut or tear the thin paper into 3 or 4 narrow strips. These strips should be approximately 2 inches long.
3. Tape the paper strips to one end of the tray in a line. Apply the tape to the outside of the tray so that the paper hangs into the tray, over the water. These paper strips represent the windward side of mountains!
4. Acting as the wind, blow along the bottom of the tray toward the paper strips. Observe what happens to both the water in the tray and the paper strips.
Name: ______#: ______
Consider the following questions:
What happened to the paper strips when you blew across the water? ______How did the “ocean” in this model affect the moisture in the air that was rising up your mountain range? ______In your model, which side of your imaginary mountains would receive the most precipitation? Why? ______On which side of the mountains might there be a desert? ______Imagine that you wanted to start a small farm. On which side of a mountain range would you choose to plant your vegetables? The windward side or the leeward side? Why? ______
Sources: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/rain-shadow/ Rain shadow image: https://www.britannica.com/science/orographic-precipitation