Weather Unit Lesson 9 – Observing the Effects of Wind (weather tools)

Standard 2 Earth and Space Science. Students will gain an understanding of Earth and Space Science through the study of earth materials, celestial movement, and weather Objective 3 - Observe, describe, and measure seasonal weather patterns and local variations. 1. Compare and contrast the seasonal weather patterns during the school year. 2. Analyze and interpret data such as temperatures in different locations and different times.

Vocabulary Words A WIND VANE : is an instrument that determines the direction from which the wind is blowing. An ANEMOMETER measures wind speed. The cups catch the wind, turning a dial attached to the instrument. The dial shows the wind speed.

Wind informs us about weather? Kites flying in the wind. Sailboats sailing on the ocean. The driving snow of a blizzard. Wind plays a part in all of these activities. In this lesson you will learn more about wind, including ways to measure wind direction and wind speed. This information helps us understand and predict weather patterns.

Have you ever played outside on a really windy day? Wind is moving air, and a strong wind can push things around. Look at the picture. What is blowing the kites? Which way is the kite moving? Which way is the wind blowing? How do you know?

What makes a pinwheel move? What might we observe if we were using the pinwheel outside on a windy day? We can’t see air or wind. How does the pinwheel show that wind exist?

o This is a weather vane, meteorologists use this tool to help us understand wind direction and speed. o A weather vane. It’s an instrument that determines the direction from which the wind is blowing. o What do all these weather vanes have in common?

o One of the oldest weather-measuring tools is the weather vane. You may have seen weather vanes on top of building. In the United States, roosters and horses were favorite designs for weather vanes for many years. o Let’s make our our own weather vane and test them.

The tool that measures wind speed is called an anemometer. The anemometer spins fast or slowly depending on the speed of the wind. When the wind gets faster, what happens? Describe the parts an anemometer has? What do you think each part does? Let’s make an anemometer and use it to measure wind speed.

Lay one tag board strip over the other at the center marks, and staple the strips together so they look like a plus sign. Staple the flag cup onto the end of one of the strips. Staple the rest of the cups onto the other strips, making sure all the cups face the same direction. Stick the pushpin through the center of the tag board strips and push it into the eraser of the pencil. Stick the pencil into the bottom of the styrofoam cup.

Not long after Beaufort developed his scale, a man named Thomas Robinson invented the cup anemometer. As you know, anemometers measure wind conditions very precisely. So why didn’t people stop using Beaufort Scale and just anemometers? The Beaufort Scale lets you estimate wind conditions quickly without using a specialized tool. You can figure the wind speed or strength just by observing how the wind affects things around you.