Materials:
1. Balloon (round)
2. Permanent marker (different colors, readable when applied to balloons)
Instructions:
1. Blow up a balloon (one each pair of students).
2. With a marker, draw the equator on the balloon and label the North and South Poles.
3. Hold the balloon at eye level and rotate it left to right, simulating the rotation of the earth. While one partner rotates the balloon, the other examines the movement of the earth from the North Pole perspective and the South Pole perspective.
4. While one partner continues to rotate the balloon steadily from left to right, the other slowly tries to draw a line straight south from the North Pole to the equator, using the other marker. While the earth continues to rotate, one partner tries to draw a line straight north from the South Pole to the equator.
1. Balloon (round)
2. Permanent marker (different colors, readable when applied to balloons)
Instructions:
1. Blow up a balloon (one each pair of students).
2. With a marker, draw the equator on the balloon and label the North and South Poles.
3. Hold the balloon at eye level and rotate it left to right, simulating the rotation of the earth. While one partner rotates the balloon, the other examines the movement of the earth from the North Pole perspective and the South Pole perspective.
4. While one partner continues to rotate the balloon steadily from left to right, the other slowly tries to draw a line straight south from the North Pole to the equator, using the other marker. While the earth continues to rotate, one partner tries to draw a line straight north from the South Pole to the equator.
Questions:
1. As you look down from the North Pole toward the equator, which way is the balloon spinning, clockwise or counterclockwise? Explain what you see and why.
A1: When you look down at the North Pole, it spins counterclockwise because, it's in the northern hemisphere with the rotation of west to east.
2. As you look up from the South Pole toward the equator, which way is the balloon spinning, clockwise or counterclockwise? Explain what you see and why.
A2: The south pole spins clockwise , because it rotates from the east to west in the southern hemisphere.
3. What happened when you tried to draw a straight line from the North Pole to the equator? Explain what you see and why.
A3: When we were drawing the North Pole line to the equator line, it moved to the left because of the counterclockwise rotation.
4. What happened when you tried to draw a straight line from the South Pole to the equator? Explain what you see and why.
A4: The line curved to the right because of the clockwise rotation.
5. Predict what would happen if you again drew lines in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres but with the earth rotating in the opposite direction.
A5: The line would move in the opposite direction than if the balloon was spinning in the other direction.
1. As you look down from the North Pole toward the equator, which way is the balloon spinning, clockwise or counterclockwise? Explain what you see and why.
A1: When you look down at the North Pole, it spins counterclockwise because, it's in the northern hemisphere with the rotation of west to east.
2. As you look up from the South Pole toward the equator, which way is the balloon spinning, clockwise or counterclockwise? Explain what you see and why.
A2: The south pole spins clockwise , because it rotates from the east to west in the southern hemisphere.
3. What happened when you tried to draw a straight line from the North Pole to the equator? Explain what you see and why.
A3: When we were drawing the North Pole line to the equator line, it moved to the left because of the counterclockwise rotation.
4. What happened when you tried to draw a straight line from the South Pole to the equator? Explain what you see and why.
A4: The line curved to the right because of the clockwise rotation.
5. Predict what would happen if you again drew lines in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres but with the earth rotating in the opposite direction.
A5: The line would move in the opposite direction than if the balloon was spinning in the other direction.