Science Learning Packet Grade 6: Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate, Lesson 7 science learning activities for SPS students during the COVID-19 school closure. Seattle Public Schools is committed to making its online information accessible and usable to all people, regardless of ability or technology. Meeting web accessibility guidelines and standards is an ongoing process that we are consistently working to improve. While Seattle Public Schools endeavors to only post documents optimized for accessibility, due to the nature and complexity of some documents, an accessible version of the document may not be available. In these limited circumstances, the District will provide equally effective alternate access. Due to the COVID-19 closure, teachers were asked to provide packets of home activities. This is not intended to take the place of regular classroom instruction but will help supplement student learning and provide opportunities for student learning while they are absent from school. Assignments are not required or graded. Because of the unprecedented nature of this health crisis and the District’s swift closure, some home activities may not be accessible. If you have difficulty accessing the material or have any questions, please contact your student’s teacher. Grade 6 Science Learning Activity Ocean, Atmosphere, & Climate Unit Lesson 7 Optional Instructional Materials Lesson 7: Explaining the Change in Air Temperature in Christchurch 1 Hello Families, We hope you and your family are well and safe during this time. During this unprecedented out-of-school time, the SPS middle school science team will be offering instructional opportunities for students that align with the district’s adopted middle school science instructional materials. This work is optional and non- graded. This investigation packet is the first part in a series of district-aligned lessons about Oceans, Atmosphere, & Climate, a 6th grade life science unit developed by AmplifyScience. While Amplify Science lessons are designed to be done in the classroom with peers, there are some activities that students can complete at home. In this packet you will find activities to accompany lessons 1 and 2 of the unit. Accompanying lesson videos will be aired on SPS TV and posted the SPS webpage under Grade 6, however this packet can be used with or without the accompanying video. The videos can be accessed either online or through Seattle’s Public television programming on SPS TV (local channel 26), social media (Facebook and Instagram: @SeattlePublicSchools, Twitter: @SeaPubSchools), and our SPSTV YouTube channel. KOMONews.com will also host on-demand videos under the tab “Lesson Plan” and broadcast on channel KOMO 4.3. These supplemental learning videos feature short segments supporting a variety of subjects and grade levels. All videos will be close captioned on YouTube. For more information regarding the SPS TV broadcast schedule and to find the videos, please visit the following website: https://www.seattleschools.org/departments/media_operations_center___sps-tv/broadcast_schedule For students who have access to the internet and the following devices and browsers may wish to log-in to their AmplifyScience account from home are welcome to do so. See below for guidance on which browser ● Desktops and Laptops (Windows 7+, Mac OS 10.11+) - Suggested browsers: Chrome & Safari ● Chromebooks - Suggested browser: Chrome ● iPads that support iOS11.3+ (iPad5+) - Suggested browser: Safari Sincerely, Seattle Public Schools Science Department 2 Lesson 7 You are close to completing your investigation into why Christchurch’s air temperature is cooler than usual during El Niño years. In this lesson, you will use the Sim to investigate how changes to prevailing winds can affect the air temperature of a location. This will help you to solve the mystery of the changes in Christchurch’s air temperature during El Niño years. Vocabulary Review from Previous Lessons: CLIMATE: General weather patterns over a long period of time ENERGY: the ability to make things move or change TEMPERATURE: a measure of how hot or cold something is; a measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules of a thing TRANSFER: to move from one object to another or one place to another LATITUDE: the distance of a place north or south of Earth's equator EQUATOR: the imaginary line that divides Earth into northern and southern hemispheres OCEAN CURRENT: ocean water flowing in a continuous path GYRE: a giant pattern of moving water that spans whole oceans and moves water from place to place in a circle PREVAILING WINDS: winds that move in one direction and are strong enough to push ocean currents CONTINENTS: any of Earth’s main continuous areas of land, such as Africa, Asia, and North America Unit Question: During El Nino years, why is Christchurch, New Zealand’s temperature cooler than usual? Location of Christchurch, New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean 3 Lesson 7 – Part 1: Investigating the Effect of Changing Winds What affects ocean currents? You may select more than one answer. prevailing winds the Moon rivers continents Explain your choice. 4 What Happens When Prevailing Winds Change? Now that we have explained the air temperature of Christchurch during a normal year, we will consider what can make the air temperature change during an El Niño year. We know that the direction of currents is determined by prevailing winds and that the current near Christchurch changes during El Niño years. Let’s see if a change in the prevailing winds could have caused this change. Use the Sim to learn more about how changes to the prevailing winds can affect the amount of energy in the air. Launch the Ocean, Atmosphere, and Climate Sim, go to Wind Map mode, and select SURFACE for Temperature View. Press PLAY to observe the currents, and then read about the two missions: Mission 1: Find a location that has a warm ocean current passing by. Make a change to the wind so the air temperature of the location becomes cooler. Mission 2: Find a location that has a cold ocean current passing by. Make a change to the wind so the air temperature of the location becomes warmer. Mission 1: Find a location that has a warm ocean current passing by. Mission 2: Find a location that has a cold ocean current passing by. 5 Mission Planning: Make a plan to complete the missions. • Where will you place your sensor? • What changes will you make to the wind? Once you have a plan, complete the mission you agreed on. Follow these steps, record your data, and finally, answer the questions about your results. 1. Place your sensor on the location you selected. Press PLAY if you paused the Sim. 2. Wait for the air temperature to stabilize. 3. Record the Initial Air Temperature. 4. Make a change to the wind. 5. Wait for the air temperature to stabilize again. 6. Record the Changed Air Temperature. 7. Share your results with your partner. 8. If your mission was not successful, make a new plan and try again. 9. Answer the questions on the next page. Initial Air Changed Air Location Temperature (oC) What changes you made Temperature (oC) (latitude/longitude) (after it’s stable) (after it’s stable) Increased Wind Strength Decreased Wind Strength Turned off Wind Reversed Wind 6 If you do not have access to the Oceans, Atmosphere, and Climate Sim you can use the images on the next three pages to collect data and observations. Before the change to wind: 7 Increased Wind Strength: Decreased Wind Strength: 8 Turned off Wind: Reversed Wind: 9 What change did you finally make that changed the air temperature of your location? State which mission you completed, and then answer this question: Why did changing the wind affect the air temperature? The map shows the movement pattern for major ocean currents. What ideas do you have about what might make ocean currents move? 10 Lesson 7 – Part 1 Continued: Investigating the Effect of Changing Winds From our Sim missions, we learned that the air temperature of a location can change when the prevailing winds change because a change to the prevailing winds causes a change to ocean currents. Ocean currents affect how much energy is transferred to or away from the air at a location. If the ocean currents change, that means the amount of energy transferred to or away from a location will be affected. KEY CONCEPT: Changes to prevailing winds affect ocean currents. Changes to ocean currents affect how much energy is brought to (or taken away from) a location. If Christchurch’s air temperature was cooler than usual, what changes would have caused this? You will get a chance to explain in the next part of Lesson 7. 11 Lesson 7 – Part: Analyzing Evidence Reasoning about Air Temperature in Christchurch, New Zealand during El Niño Question: During El Niño years, why is Christchurch, New Zealand’s air temperature cooler than usual? Claim: The air temperature is cooler during El Niño years because ocean currents and prevailing winds change. Reasoning: With your partner, carefully read, annotate, and discuss the following evidence. Then, explain why each piece of evidence matters in supporting the claim. Example of what you and your partner could discuss for this first piece of evidence: This evidence supports the claim because it shows that… during normal years warm currents usually flow near Christchurch. During normal years energy transfers from the ocean to the air. However, during El Nino years, the current is not as warm, so less energy will transfer from the current to the air, making Christchurch cooler than usual. 12 Evidence Card B: Prevailing Winds and Ocean Currents During Normal Years This evidence supports the claim because it shows that… During normal years the ocean current that goes by Christchurch comes from: (Circle one) The Equator The South Pole The North Pole This current carries (circle one) Cold Water Warm Water The same temperature Water Energy would transfer from (circle one) Air to Water Water to air 13 Evidence Card C: Wind Changes During El Niño Years During El Niño years, the normal prevailing winds are disrupted.