STUDENTS AS TV METEOROLOGISTS COVERED N.Y.S. STANDARDS
 

STANDARD 2 - Information Systems:

Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information, using appropriate technologies.

Key Idea 1:

Information technology is used to retrieve, process, and communicate information as a tool to enhance learning.

        For example:

        1. Analyze weather maps to predict future weather events

        2. Use library or electronic references to obtain information to support a laboratory conclusion

STANDARD 4 Key Idea 2 Performance Indicator 2.1

Use the concepts of density and heat energy to explain observations of weather patterns, seasonal changes, and the movements of Earth’s plates.

Major Understandings:

2.1c Weather patterns become evident when weather variables are observed, measured, and recorded. These variables include air temperature, air pressure, moisture (relative humidity and dewpoint), precipitation (rain, snow, hail, sleet, etc.), wind speed and direction, and cloud cover.

2.1d Weather variables are measured using instruments such as thermometers, barometers, psychrometers, precipitation gauges, anemometers, and wind vanes.

2.1e Weather variables are interrelated.

For example:

1. Temperature and humidity affect air pressure and probability of precipitation

2. Air pressure gradient controls wind velocity

2.1f Air temperature, dewpoint, cloud formation, and precipitation are affected by the expansion and contraction of air due to vertical atmospheric movement.

2.1g Weather variables can be represented in a variety of formats including radar and satellite images, weather maps (including station models, isobars, and fronts), atmospheric cross-sections, and computer models.

2.1h Atmospheric moisture, temperature and pressure distributions; jet streams, wind; air masses and frontal boundaries; and the movement of cyclonic systems and associated tornadoes, thunderstorms, and hurricanes occur in observable patterns. Loss of property, personal injury, and loss of life can be reduced by effective emergency preparedness.

2.1i Seasonal changes can be explained using concepts of density and heat energy. These changes include the shifting of global temperature zones, the shifting of planetary wind and ocean current patterns, the occurrence of monsoons, hurricanes, flooding, and severe weather.

Standard 4 Key Idea 2 Performance Indicator 2.2

Explain how incoming solar radiation, ocean currents, and land masses affect weather and climate.

Major Understandings:

2.2a Insolation (solar radiation) heats Earth’s surface and atmosphere unequally due to variations in:

1. the intensity caused by differences in atmospheric transparency and angle of incidence which vary with time of day, latitude, and season

2. characteristics of the materials absorbing the energy such as color, texture, transparency, state of matter, and specific heat

3. duration, which varies with seasons and latitude.

2.2b The transfer of heat energy within the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and Earth’s surface occurs as the result of radiation, convection, and conduction.

1. Heating of Earth’s surface and atmosphere by the Sun drives convection within the atmosphere and oceans, producing winds and ocean currents.

2.2c A location’s climate is influenced by latitude, proximity to large bodies of water, ocean currents, prevailing winds, vegetative cover, elevation, and mountain ranges.

2.2d Temperature and precipitation patterns are altered by:

1. natural events such as El Ni–o and volcanic eruptions

Standard 6 - Interconnectedness: Common Themes - Patterns of Change

Key Idea 5:

Identifying patterns of change is necessary for making predictions about future behavior and conditions.

For example:

1. Graph and interpret the nature of cyclic change such as sunspots, tides, and atmospheric carbon dioxide

2. Based on present data of plate movement, determine past and future positions of land masses

3. Using given weather data, identify the interface between air masses, such as cold fronts, warm fronts, and stationary fronts