Procedure: Part 1 - Setup A
1. Fit two plastic lids on each of 4 Styrofoam cups. Set up the clear plastic box onto the four Styrofoam cups. Carefully fill the box with cold tap water to within 3-4cm from the top. Let the water become calm before proceeding.
2. Using the pipette, carefully place 3 spots of red food coloring onto the bottom of the box. Insert the pipette all the way down to the bottom of the box before squeezing out the dye. Each spot should be about 2-4cm in diameter. Try to minimize disturbing the water as you insert and remove the pipette.
3. Fill one empty Styrofoam cup with hot tap water, and then carefully position it beneath the center dye spot in the box. The plastic lid spacers you fitted on the comer cups should provide you with enough clearance to gently slide the cup with hot water under the spot.
4. Now position yourself so that you can view the box from the side at eye level. Observe what happens to the 3 spots over the next 5 minutes. Be sure to look for changes in all 3 spots. Write your observations below.
5. Describe what you observed.
6. Using two hands under the box, carefully, empty the water into a sink and begin Setup B.
1. Fit two plastic lids on each of 4 Styrofoam cups. Set up the clear plastic box onto the four Styrofoam cups. Carefully fill the box with cold tap water to within 3-4cm from the top. Let the water become calm before proceeding.
2. Using the pipette, carefully place 3 spots of red food coloring onto the bottom of the box. Insert the pipette all the way down to the bottom of the box before squeezing out the dye. Each spot should be about 2-4cm in diameter. Try to minimize disturbing the water as you insert and remove the pipette.
3. Fill one empty Styrofoam cup with hot tap water, and then carefully position it beneath the center dye spot in the box. The plastic lid spacers you fitted on the comer cups should provide you with enough clearance to gently slide the cup with hot water under the spot.
4. Now position yourself so that you can view the box from the side at eye level. Observe what happens to the 3 spots over the next 5 minutes. Be sure to look for changes in all 3 spots. Write your observations below.
5. Describe what you observed.
6. Using two hands under the box, carefully, empty the water into a sink and begin Setup B.
Setup B
1. Repeat procedures 1 and 2 from Setup A to set up the box once again.
2. This time, fill two cups of hot water and position them beneath the two outside spots. Observe what happens over the next 10 minutes, and then describe what you observed. Be sure to look for changes in the middle spot. Use arrows to show direction of flow.
3. Carefully empty the water from the box into a sink, and begin Setup C.
1. Repeat procedures 1 and 2 from Setup A to set up the box once again.
2. This time, fill two cups of hot water and position them beneath the two outside spots. Observe what happens over the next 10 minutes, and then describe what you observed. Be sure to look for changes in the middle spot. Use arrows to show direction of flow.
3. Carefully empty the water from the box into a sink, and begin Setup C.
Setup C
1. Set up the plastic box once again as in Setups A and B and fill with cold tap water to within 3-4cm of the top. Let the water become calm. Next place two spots of food coloring near one end of the box. Position one cup full of hot water beneath each spot.
2. Use a plastic spoon to obtain a blur ice cube from your instructor. Carefully set the cube into the water at the opposite end of the box from your dye spots. Use the spoon to steady the cube until it stops moving.
3. Position yourself at eye level with the side of the box and observe the water as the ice cube melts. Sketch your observations in Diagram 3 below. Use arrows, once again, to indicate flow direction.
1. Set up the plastic box once again as in Setups A and B and fill with cold tap water to within 3-4cm of the top. Let the water become calm. Next place two spots of food coloring near one end of the box. Position one cup full of hot water beneath each spot.
2. Use a plastic spoon to obtain a blur ice cube from your instructor. Carefully set the cube into the water at the opposite end of the box from your dye spots. Use the spoon to steady the cube until it stops moving.
3. Position yourself at eye level with the side of the box and observe the water as the ice cube melts. Sketch your observations in Diagram 3 below. Use arrows, once again, to indicate flow direction.
1. During the lab, what effect did the cups of hot water have on the density of the water directly above them?
> It makes the water less dense by heating it up.
2. What happened as a result of this change?
> The swirls of red food coloring
3. A house has a glass "sun space" attached to its south side, which is just a small space all around the house, next to the outside wall, that holds air. Vents allow air to flow from the house into the sun space, and vice versa. Describe the direction air flow as the air in the sun space is warmed by the sun.
> The warm air goes up and the cold air fans out.
4. You may have noticed convection cells in a pot of boiling macaroni. Describe the direction of water flow in the pot. The hottest part of the burner is beneath the center of the pot.
> The water flows from the middle out.
5. Which situation would result in a decrease in atmospheric pressure at the earth's surface? Identify the correct answer.
> A - air gels hot and begins to rise.
6. Go back to the three diagrams you constructed in your lab. Label the spots in each diagram that became areas of lower pressure.
>
7. Above which area would the air become hotter in the afternoon? Identify the correct answer.
> A - a parking lot with lots of blacktop pavement.
8. Above which area would you find the lowest air pressure?
> A - the parking lot
9. Based on this arrangement, would you expect a breeze to blow toward the parking lot, or away from it? Why?
> It'll go toward the parking lot because the cold closes the gap while the heat travels up.
10. From your knowledge of onshore and offshore breezes, explain why the wind would blow in from the sea toward the land during the afternoon.
> The land is hot, the sea air is cold. The hot air from the land goes up while the air from the sea goes to the land.
11. A "monsoon effect" may happen in the summer as air over a continent becomes much warmer than air over the ocean. Fill in the blanks in the following statements:
11A) As air over the continent becomes hotter, it will begin to rise. (sink, rise)
11B) This causes lower pressure over the continent. (lower, higher)
11C) The flow of air will be toward the center of the continent. (away, toward)
12. Think globally now. Which region in our atmosphere is heated most intensely by the sun? Identify the correct answer.
> C - the equatorial region
13. As air nears the equator rises, does this become an area of higher or lower pressure?
> lower pressure
14. What moves in to replace the rising air?
> Cold ocean air
15. Number the following stages of atmospheric circulation (1-4) in the order in which they are most likely to occur.
> 1. C - uneven heating
2. D - area of low pressure develops
3. B - convection (air rises)
4. A - wind (movement of air)
16. If hotter air rises, why is air that is closer to the Earth's surface warmer than the air high above it?
> Conduction and the layers of the surface cause it to be warmer.
17. Wind is considered to be a form of " solar energy". Explain why.
A17: the sun heats the Earth unevenly and causes convection.
> It makes the water less dense by heating it up.
2. What happened as a result of this change?
> The swirls of red food coloring
3. A house has a glass "sun space" attached to its south side, which is just a small space all around the house, next to the outside wall, that holds air. Vents allow air to flow from the house into the sun space, and vice versa. Describe the direction air flow as the air in the sun space is warmed by the sun.
> The warm air goes up and the cold air fans out.
4. You may have noticed convection cells in a pot of boiling macaroni. Describe the direction of water flow in the pot. The hottest part of the burner is beneath the center of the pot.
> The water flows from the middle out.
5. Which situation would result in a decrease in atmospheric pressure at the earth's surface? Identify the correct answer.
> A - air gels hot and begins to rise.
6. Go back to the three diagrams you constructed in your lab. Label the spots in each diagram that became areas of lower pressure.
>
7. Above which area would the air become hotter in the afternoon? Identify the correct answer.
> A - a parking lot with lots of blacktop pavement.
8. Above which area would you find the lowest air pressure?
> A - the parking lot
9. Based on this arrangement, would you expect a breeze to blow toward the parking lot, or away from it? Why?
> It'll go toward the parking lot because the cold closes the gap while the heat travels up.
10. From your knowledge of onshore and offshore breezes, explain why the wind would blow in from the sea toward the land during the afternoon.
> The land is hot, the sea air is cold. The hot air from the land goes up while the air from the sea goes to the land.
11. A "monsoon effect" may happen in the summer as air over a continent becomes much warmer than air over the ocean. Fill in the blanks in the following statements:
11A) As air over the continent becomes hotter, it will begin to rise. (sink, rise)
11B) This causes lower pressure over the continent. (lower, higher)
11C) The flow of air will be toward the center of the continent. (away, toward)
12. Think globally now. Which region in our atmosphere is heated most intensely by the sun? Identify the correct answer.
> C - the equatorial region
13. As air nears the equator rises, does this become an area of higher or lower pressure?
> lower pressure
14. What moves in to replace the rising air?
> Cold ocean air
15. Number the following stages of atmospheric circulation (1-4) in the order in which they are most likely to occur.
> 1. C - uneven heating
2. D - area of low pressure develops
3. B - convection (air rises)
4. A - wind (movement of air)
16. If hotter air rises, why is air that is closer to the Earth's surface warmer than the air high above it?
> Conduction and the layers of the surface cause it to be warmer.
17. Wind is considered to be a form of " solar energy". Explain why.
A17: the sun heats the Earth unevenly and causes convection.