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Summary:
We did an experiment today where students investigated how the temperature of Earth’s surface can change. Students used a small tray that contained water (the ocean), sand (the beach), and grass (the forest). Then they turned on a small light to simulate the sun. Over the course of the lab, they kept track of how the temperature of each surface changed. The temperature of the forest changed slightly, while the temperature of the ocean was fairly constant. The temperature of the beach changed drastically. This is similar to what happen’s in real life on a hot summer’s day. After the lab, students were asked to determine how convection currents might have formed over each of the surfaces. Would it have been windy? In which direction would the wind have blown? And at what time would the wind have been the strongest?

Resources:
April 3 – Heating Earth’s Surface Lab (pg609).docx
April 3 – Heating Earth’s Surface Post-Lab (pg610).docx