Introduction
Congratulations! You are an employee of a company
named “Weather Or Not?”. Your company manufactures
meteorological instruments. You are up for a job
promotion and have your choice of one of the following
jobs: manufacturer (responsible for manufacturing tools),
graphic designer (responsible for creating brochures), sales
representative (responsible for presenting materials to potential
buyers), or a community involvement director (responsible for
designing educational aids for schools). This WebQuest
is your first major assignment in your newly acquired position.
Give your best effort. You never know when your supervisors
are watching over you.
Task
During this
WebQuest you will explore many websites that will enhance
your knowledge of the different meteorological tools
that are used in predicting weather. You will
also learn what these tools measure. As you explore the
assigned Websites you will be required to complete the questions
on your worksheet.
After you
familiarize yourself with the different meteorological
instruments, you will choose one of the following
jobs from the company “Weather Or Not?”.
These jobs are: manufacturer (responsible for manufacturing
tools), graphic designer (responsible for creating brochures),
sales representative (responsible for presenting materials
to potential buyers), or a community involvement director
(responsible for designing educational aids for schools).
The job you choose will decide which project you will
complete.
Manufacturer:
Create a working model of a meteorological instrument.
Your model should include a diagram and explanation
of how your instrument aids in weather forecasting.
If you need step by step directions click on
the resources page of this WebQuest.
Graphic Designer:
Design a brochure that displays meteorological instruments,
how they work, and why our products are superior. In
addition, all instruments should include accurate prices.
Sales Representative:
Create a PowerPoint presentation that you will
use to sell your chosen instruments. You should include
pictures of your instruments as well as the features that
makes these products superior. In addition, all instruments
should include accurate prices.
Community
Involvement Director: Design a children's book
that can be used to teach young children about the uses
of some of the meteorological tools you learned about.
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Process
Before you begin to learn about the different
types of meteorological instruments it is important to
understand why we need them. The first part of this
WebQuest will conquer the goal of introducing you to the different
types of weather. If you need an additional WebQuest worksheet click on
PDF or
Word.
Let's begin!
Snow is something that we experienced many times this past winter. On
one occasion we had the pleasure of being apart of the first blizzard since
1978. To learn more about blizzards
click on this link.
Read this link on precipitation
and answer the following question.
What causes precipitation?
Next, click on this hurricane
link to see why hurricanes occur.
What are five events that need to take place
for a hurricane to form?
How is the energy
of a warm sea transferred to a hurricane?
Thunderstorms are an element of
weather that occur often, especially in the summer.
Click on this thunderstorm
link to learn why thunderstorms occur.
How do thunderstorms form?
Tornadoes are a type of weather
that we do not often see in the northeast. These
violent storms occur quite often in the other regions of the
United States. Read the following link on tornadoes and
answer the following questions.
What type of storm, if it produces enough energy,
forms a tornado?
At which speed does
the wind have to travel to be considered a tornado?
Describe how it would
look outside if a tornado were approaching?
Now it is time to
learn about some meteorological tools and what they
measure.
The following site will supply
you with a brief overview of some meteorological
tools. Read it closely because this will
be the only site in which these instruments will appear
together.
An anemometer, also known
as a wind vane, is an instrument that measures wind
speed. Read this link to see the different ways in which
an
anemometer
measures wind speed. Make sure you click
on the diagram of the anemometer to see how you might
construct a model.
What are the two ways in which an anemometer (wind
vane) measures the wind speed?
Thermometers are an instrument
that measures the temperature of an object or location.
There are several different types of
thermometers
that calculate temperature in many ways.
A thermometer really does not measure the temperature
of something; rather it measures the temperature of itself.
Explain this statement.
Name the four different
types of thermometers that are explained on this
link.
Explain how a liquid-in-glass
thermometer works? What two substances are
used in the thermometers glass tube?
Explain how a deformation
thermometer measures temperature?
A barometer is an instrument used to calculate
atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric pressure is the
force that the air excerpts on us. To learn more about
how a barometer calculates atmospheric pressure click on
this site dealing with the barometer.
How does a mercury barometer calculate the atmospheric
pressure?
Next, click on aneroid barometer,
read the page, and answer the following question.
How does an aneroid barometer work?
What are some advantages
that an aneroid barometer has over a mercury barometer?
A rain gauge is another meteorological
instrument that is used today. A rain gauge is a
device that measures the amount of rain fall that an area gets. To
ensure accuracy, this instrument has a scale to calculate
rain fall. To learn more click on the above link.
Describe the dimensions of an official rain gauge?
Why does one inch in an
official rain gauge actually measure only one - tenth
of an inch of rain?
How is rain fall measured
if it exceeds two inches?
Over the course of the hot summer we have all experienced
a humid day. A device called a hygrometer
informs us on the humidity level each day.
A hygrometer measure the humidity level in air
and other gases. What is humidity?
Why can human hair
(blond) be used to measure humidity using a mechanical
hygrometer?
Today meteorologists have
many advanced
instruments to predict and calculate weather.
These instruments are so advanced that they can
calculate wind speed, atmospheric pressure, and humidity
from a distance high above Earth's surface. Three of
these instruments are weather balloons, the doppler radar, and
satellites.
Weather balloons are launched twice a day all over
the world. What types of data do weather balloons
gather?
The Doppler
radar and satellites are two advanced meteorological
instruments that prepare us for threatening weather.
These instruments allow us to prepare ourselves hours,
even sometimes days, before a storm strikes.
Why are satellites
useful in predicting the weather?
What does a Doppler radar
do that makes it so important in predicting weather?
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Conclusion
Great Job! Your employer is extremely
happy with the work that you have just done. You
are definitely "Weather Or Not?" material. This
was only the beginning to your newly acquired position. Now
it is time to choose a project that you would like to conquer.
You may choose to construct a model of a meteorological
instruments, design a brochure that will help "Weather Or Not?"
sell types of meteorological instruments, design a PowerPoint
presentation of some instruments that will impress potential
buyers, or write and illustrate a children's book that will
teach young children about meteorological instruments.
Good
luck, have fun, and do your best!
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Evaluation
On the day
of the WebQuest, your worksheets will be collected
and graded. The WebQuest will be weighted as a test
grade. At the conclusion of our weather unit each
of you will pass in your meteorological tool projects.
The following rubric will be used to assess the project.
The rubric will be translated into a test grade.
Project Rubric
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
Score
|
Meteorological
Instrument
|
Your instrument is accurate,
is working, demonstrates exceptional craftsmanship,
and your diagram and explanation shows complete understanding.
|
Your instrument is fairly
accurate, somewhat works, demonstrates good craftsmanship,
and diagram and explanation show understanding.
|
Your instrument is not quite
accurate, shows little evidence of working, demonstrates
fair craftsmanship, and diagram and explanation show some understanding.
|
Your instrument is inaccurate,
is not working, does not display good craftsmanship, and
shows inadequate or incorrect explanation.
|
|
Brochure
|
All of your facts are accurate,
text is grammatically correct,
and your graphics
and content
are exceptionally
neat. You have also researched and have included accurate prices
for each
instrument.
|
Most of your facts are accurate,
text has few grammatical errors, and your graphics
and content are neat. You have also researched and have included
prices for
each
instrument.
|
Some of your facts are accurate, text has many
grammatical
errors,
and your
graphics
and
content
are not
neat.
You have
included
inaccurate
prices for
each
instrument.
|
Your facts are not accurate,
text was not proof-read,
and your graphics
and content are messy. You did not include prices for your
chosen
instruments.
|
|
PowerPoint Presentation
|
All of your facts are accurate,
your text is grammatically correct, and you import
graphics of the instrument, and is appealing. You have also
researched
and have
included
accurate
prices for
each
instrument.
|
Most of your facts are accurate,
your text has few grammatical errors, and you use appealing
styles. You have also researched and have included prices for
each
instrument.
|
Some of your facts are accurate,
your text contains many grammatical errors, and
presentation is not appealing. You have included inaccurate
prices for
each
instrument.
|
Your facts are not accurate,
text was not proof-read, and presentation is not appealing.
You did
not
include
prices for
your
chosen
instruments.
|
|
Children's Book
|
All of your facts are accurate,
text is grammatically correct, and text is appropriate
for an early elementary school student.
|
Most of your facts are accurate, text has
few grammatical errors, and text is mostly appropriate for
an early elementary school student.
|
Some of your facts are accurate, your text
contains many grammatical errors, and text is not quite
appropriate for an early elementary school student.
|
Your facts are not accurate, text was not
proof-read, and text is not appropriate for an
early elementary school student.
|
|
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Additional Resources
What
Happens When A Storm Comes
Discoveryschool.com
Zeus' Web Weather
Lore
Tools of the Atmospheric Scientist
Weather For Kids
Make
Your Own Weather Station
Weather Instruments
© T. Conant 2003
Memorial Middle School
Beverly, MA