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Grade 6 Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
2008
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Revised 2008
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Acknowledgments
ƒ Lynn Vaughan, AMSTI - GLOBE Co-Director, K-5 Writer
ƒ Jerry W. Cobbs, AMSTI - GLOBE Co-Director, 6-8 Writer
ƒ Robin Nelson, AMSTI - GLOBE Co-Director, Alabama State
Department of Education
ƒ Judy Reeves, AMSTI-GLOBE Specialist, Alabama State Department
of Education
ƒ National Space Science and Technology Center, Huntsville, Alabama;
AMSTI - GLOBE web server and network services.
www.amsti.org/globe
ƒ GLOBE Protocols, Site Definition Sheets, Data Sheets, Lab and Field
Guides, and Learning Activity Guides courtesy of The GLOBE
Program, Boulder, CO, www.globe.gov
ƒ Dichotomous Cloud Key courtesy of Dr. Tina Cartwright, West
Virginia State Climatologist
ƒ “A Key to Common Trees of Alabama”, Alabama Cooperative
Extension Service
ƒ “Environmental Education Activity Guide”, Project Learning Tree,
2006
ƒ Thanks to the numerous AMSTI-GLOBE trainers and specialists who
contributed ideas, activities, and suggestions.
ƒ “Tree Posters”, International Paper
ƒ “100 Forest Trees of Alabama”, Alabama Forestry Association
ƒ
“Long Leaf Pine Posters”, Long Leaf Alliance
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AMSTI SCIENCE SUMMER INSTITUTE FRAMEWORK
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Atmosphere – Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
Day 1
Time
Day 1 cont.
Activity
Activity A
“Everybody Talks About the Weather...”
Intro to GLOBE
Course of Study
Thematic Framework
Activity B
What is Relative Humidity?
Relative Humidity ppt
8:00-8:15
8:15-8:45
Time
Activity
11:15-12:15
Lunch
12:15-12:45
Activity I
What is Barometric Pressure?
Barometric Pressure ppt
Day 1 cont./Day2
Time
3:00-3:30
Activity
Activity P
Collect Data
Day 2
8:45-9:00
Activity C
“Do the Dew Point” (handout)
12:45-1:00
Activity J
Calibrating the Barometer
8:00-8:15
9:00-9:30
Activity D
GLOBE Relative Humidity Protocols
1:00-1:15
Activity K
Practicing the Protocol-Bar. Pressure
8:15-8:30
Activity R
"Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down"
9:30-9:45
Activity E
Calibration of Thermometers
1:15-1:30
Activity L
Solar Noon
8:30-9:15
Activity S
Develop a Research Question
9:45-10:00
Break
1:30-1:45
Activity M
Universal Time
UT handout
9:15-9:45
Activity T
Accessing GLOBE Data
10:00-10:30
Activity F
How Relative Humidity Is Measured
1:45-2:00
Break
9:45-10:00
Break
10:30-10:45
Activity G
Practicing the Protocol- Relative Humidity
2:00-2:30
Activity N
Locating our Data
“Latitude/Longitude” PowerPoint
“GPS 2008” PowerPoint
10:00-10:45
10:45-11:15
Activity H
Looking at the Data
2:30-3:00
Activity O
Define a Study Site
10:45-11:15
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
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Activity Q
Review Previous Day
Activity U
Data Entry Video
Data Entry
Computer Lab
Activity V
Feedback/Evaluation
Discuss Implementation
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6th Grade Year 1—Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
Table of Contents
Title Page …………………………………………………………………1
Acknowledgements …………………………………………………….....2
Framework ………………………………………………………………..3
Daily Overview ...……………………………………………………...6-11
A. Introduction to GLOBE
Plans for the Day A ……………………………………………….12-14
“Everybody Talks About the Weather…”...…………………………..15
Sixth Grade Course of Study ……………………………………..16-17
GLOBE Thematic Framework ……………………………………….18
B. What Is Relative Humidity?
Plans for the Day B …………………………………………………..19
C. Do the Dew Point
Plans for the Day C …………………………………………………..20
Do the Dew Point Activity and Answer Sheet …………………....21-22
D. GLOBE Relative Humidity Protocols
Plans for the Day D …………………………………………………..23
Relative Humidity Protocol ……………………………………….24-29
E. Calibration of Thermometers
Plans for the Day E …………………………………………………...30
Thermometer Calibration ……………………………………………..31
F. How Relative Humidity Is Measured
Plans for the Day F …………………………………………………...32
Learning Activity: How Relative Humidity Is Measured ………...33-34
G. Practicing the Protocol—Relative Humidity
Plans for the Day G …………………………………………………..35
Digital Hygrometer Field Guide ……………………………………..36
H. Looking at the Data
Plans for the Day H …………………………………………………..37
Relative Humidity Protocol - Looking at Your Data ..…………….38-43
Looking at the Data Worksheet and Answer Sheet..........................44-47
I. What Is Barometric Pressure?
Plans for the Day I ……………………………………………………48
J. Calibration of Barometers
Plans for the Day J …………………………………………………….49
Calibrating Your Barometer …………………………………………..50
K. Practicing the Protocol—Barometric Pressure
Plans for the Day K …………………………………………………..51
Optional Barometric Pressure Protocol ………………………………52
Data Sheet …………………………………………………………….53
L. Solar Noon
Plans for the Day L …………………………………………………...54
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M. Universal Time
Plans for the Day M ………………………..……………………..55
Universal Time Explanation…………………………………...56-58
Calculating Universal Time Activity ………………………….59-61
N. Locating Our Data
Plans for the Day N ………………………………………………62
Setting Up Your GPS Receiver …………………………………..63
O. Define a Study Site
Plans for the Day O ………………………………………………64
GPS Investigation Data Sheet ……………………........................65
GPS Protocol Field Guide...............................................................66
Documenting Your Atmosphere Study Site Field Guide ………...67
Atmosphere Investigation Site Definition Sheet …………………68
GLOBE website Data Entry …………………………………..69-70
P. Data Collection
Plans for the Day P ………………………………………………..71
Digital Hygrometer Field Guide …………………………………..72
Barometric Pressure Protocol Field Guide ……………………….73
Atmosphere Investigation Integrated 1-Day Data Sheet ………….74
Q. Review
Plans for the Day Q ………………………………………………..75
R. “Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down”
Plans for the Day R ………………………………………………...76
“Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down” Handout …………………………...77
S. Develop a Research Question
Plans for the Day S ………………………………………………..78
Develop A Research Question handouts ………………………79-82
T. Accessing GLOBE Data
Plans for the Day T ………………………………………………...83
Accessing GLOBE Data handout ………………………………….84
U. Data Entry
Plans for the Day U …………………………………………….85-86
V. Implementation/Assessment Feedback
Plans for the Day V ………………………………………………...87
Alternative Assessment Activities ....................................................88
Addendum.....................................................................................89-92
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GLOBE 6 Grade Year 1
Daily Overview
Day 1
Activity Name
Time
Brief Description
Trainer Materials Needed
Participant Materials Needed
8:00-8:15
Begin the morning with a brief
agenda of the day’s activities. Review
relevant Course of Study standards,
the AMSTI-GLOBE thematic
framework, and introduce participants
to The GLOBE Program. Use an
engagement activity to focus
participants’ minds on the concept of
weather.
“Making It All Fit Together” ppt.
6th Grade Course of Study, pp.16-17
AMSTI-GLOBE Framework, page 18
B. What is Relative
8:15-8:45
Show the “Relative Humidity”
PowerPoint to participants. Discuss
the concepts of absolute humidity,
relative humidity, saturation, dew
point.
“Relative Humidity” PowerPoint
C. Do the Dew Point
8:45-9:00
Give participants the “Do the Dew
Point” handout. Work each of the
questions together as a class.
“Do the Dew Point” handout, pages
21-22
D. GLOBE Relative
9:00-9:30
Review with participants the Relative
Humidity Protocols from the GLOBE
Teacher’s Guide.
GLOBE Relative Humidity Protocol
pages 24-29
A. Introduction
Humidity?
Humidity Protocols
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Revised 2008
Teacher handout with COS and
Thematic Framework, pp. 16-18
Pencil and paper
“Do the Dew Point” page 21
GLOBE Relative Humidity
Protocol pages 24-29
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Daily Overview
Day 1
Activity Name
Time
E. Calibration of
9:30-9:45
Break
9:45-10:00
Thermometers
F. How Relative
Humidity Is
Measured
10:00-10:30
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Brief Description
Trainer Materials Needed
Participant Materials Needed
Discuss accuracy. Why is it
important that our instruments be
accurate? How do we determine
whether they are accurate? Calibrate
a liquid-filled thermometer to 00
Celsius in an ice-water bath. Use the
Thermometer Calibration Lab Guide
from the GLOBE Teacher’s Guide.
Place the calibration thermometer and
the metal-backed thermometers in a
cup of room temperature water. After
10 minutes, compare the readings.
GLOBE Thermometer Calibration
Lab Guide, page 31
Liquid-filled (alcohol) thermometer
metal-backed thermometers
Water
Ice
cups
Each group:
GLOBE Thermometer Calibration
Lab Guide, page 31
liquid-filled (alcohol) thermometers
2 metal-backed thermometers
Water
Ice
2 cups
What is relative humidity? How is it
measured? An explanation and
demonstration of relative humidity
using the concept of sling
psychrometers. Participants will use
wet bulb and dry bulb thermometers
and a relative humidity table to
measure the relative humidity in the
room
something to fan with
metal-backed thermometers
tape
paper towels
water in squirt bottle
activity pages 33-34
Each group:
2 metal-backed thermometers
Tape
paper towel
water in squirt bottle
activity pages 33-34
something to fan with
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GLOBE 6 Grade Year 1
Daily Overview Day 1
Activity Name
Time
Brief Description
Trainer Materials Needed
Participant Materials Needed
G. Practicing the
10:30-10:45
Go over the Using the Digital
Hygrometer Field Guide from the
GLOBE Teacher’s guide.
• GLOBE Digital Hygrometer Field
Guide, page 36
• Digital Hygrometer
• GLOBE Digital Hygrometer Field
Guide, page 36
• 3 Digital Hygrometers
H. Looking at the Data
10:45-11:15
Use the handout, “Looking at the
Data" to analyze the relative
humidity data presented in the
graphs.
• “Looking at the Data” handout and
worksheet pages 38-47
• “Looking at the Data” handout and
worksheet pages 38-45
Lunch
11:15-12:15
12:15-12:45
Have participants view the
“Barometric Pressure” PowerPoint.
Show the participants how to access
current barometric pressure readings
for their area.
• “Barometric Pressure” PowerPoint
• Computer with Internet access
12:45-1:00
The GLOBE Optional Barometric
Pressure Protocol gives instructions
for calibrating the barometer. Have
participants use the protocol to
calibrate their barometers
• GLOBE Optional Barometric Pressure
Protocol - Calibrating Your Barometer,
page 50
• Barometer
• Jeweler’s screwdriver
Protocol
I. What is Barometric
Pressure?
J. Calibrating the
Barometer
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Revised 2008
• GLOBE Optional Barometric
Pressure Protocol – Calibrating
Your Barometer,, page 50
• 4 Barometers
• 4 Jeweler’s screwdrivers
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Daily Overview
Day 1
Activity Name
Time
Brief Description
Trainer Materials Needed
Participant Materials Needed
4 Barometers
GLOBE Barometric Pressure
Protocol Field Guide (1 for each
participant), page 52
GLOBE Atmosphere Integrated 1Day Data Sheet (1 for each
participant), page 53
1:00-1:15
Use the GLOBE Optional Barometric
Pressure Protocol Field Guide, and
the Atmosphere Integrated 1-Day
Data Sheet to practice collecting
barometric pressure readings.
Barometer
GLOBE Optional Barometric
Pressure Protocol Field Guide, page
52
GLOBE Atmosphere Integrated 1Day Data Sheet, page 53
1:15-1:30
Discuss the difference between solar
noon and chronological noon. Show
participants how to access the
GLOBE Solar Noon Calculator
Computer with Internet access
M. Universal Time
1:30-1:45
Use the “Universal Time” and
“Calculating Universal Time”
activities to demonstrate the concept
of Universal Time
“Universal Time” and “Calculating
Universal Time” worksheets
US and World Time Zones, pages
56-61
“Universal Time” and “Calculating
Universal Time” worksheets, pages
56-61
Break
1:45-2:00
View the “Latitude/Longitude” and
“GPS 2008” PowerPoints. Have
participants examine and become
familiar with GPS receivers. Use the
“Setting Up Your GPS” handout to
make sure the GPS receivers are set
up correctly.
“Latitude/Longitude” Powerpoint
“GPS 2008” PowerPoint
“Setting Up Your GPS” page 63
GPS receiver
“Setting Up Your GPS” handout
for each participant, page 63
paper for foldables
4 GPS receivers
K. Practicing the Protocol
L. Solar Noon
N. Locating Our Data
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GLOBE 6 Grade Year 1
Daily Overview
Day 1
Activity Name
O. Define a Study Site
P. Collect Data
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Time
Brief Description
Trainer Materials Needed
Participant Materials Needed
2:30-3:00
Define a GLOBE Atmosphere Study
site using the Atmosphere Site
Definition Protocol.
Documenting Your Atmosphere
Study Site Field Guide, page 67
Site Definition Sheet, page 68
GPS Protocol Field Guide, page 66
GPS Investigation Data Sheet, page 65
GPS receiver
Clinometer
Clipboard
3:00-3:30
Use the GLOBE Digital Hygrometer
Field Guide to collect relative
humidity data, following the GLOBE
Relative Humidity protocols as
outlined in the Field Guide. Record
the measurements on the Atmosphere
Investigation Integrated 1-Day Data
Sheet. Use the GLOBE Optional
Barometric Pressure Protocol Field
Guide to collect barometric pressure
data. Record measurements on the
Atmosphere Investigation Integrated
1-Day Data Sheet.
GLOBE Digital Hygrometer Field
Guide, page 72
GLOBE Optional Barometric Field
Guide, page 73
Clipboard
Digital Hygrometer
Barometer
Integrated 1-Day Data sheet, page 74
Revised 2008
For each group of 5 participants:
Documenting Your Atmosphere
Study Site Field Guide, page 67
Site Definition Sheet, page 68
GPS Protocol Field Guide, page 66
GPS Investigation Data Sheet,
page 65
GPS receiver
Clinometer
Clipboard
For each group of 5 participants:
Digital Hygrometer Field Guide,
page 72
GLOBE Optional Barometric
Pressure Field Guide, page 73
Clipboard
Digital Hygrometer
Barometer
Integrated 1-Day Data Sheet,
page 74
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GLOBE 6 Grade Year 1
Daily Overview
Day 2
Activity Name
Time
Brief Description
Trainer Materials Needed
Participant Materials Needed
8:00-8:15
Briefly review previous day to see if
participants have any questions or
comments.
8:15-8:30
Read the questions on the “Thumbs
Up, Thumbs Down” handout to the
participants and ask them to give a
“thumbs up” or “thumbs down” in
response to each question.
“Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down”,
page 77
8:30-9:15
Use the activity, “Our Research
Design” to have participants develop
a research question from their
understanding of relative humidity
and barometric pressure.
“Our Research Design” pages 79-82
T. Accessing GLOBE Data
9:15-9:45
Show participants how to access the
data available on the GLOBE website
to create maps and graphs. Use the
handout, “Accessing GLOBE Data”
to create a graph comparing relative
humidity and barometric pressure for
a single location.
“Accessing GLOBE Data”, page 84
Computer with Internet access
Break
9:45-10:00
“Entering Our Data” videos
Training Site:
www.training.globe.gov
GLOBE login: SGLOBE2
“Parking Lot” poster board
Q. Review Previous Day
R. "Thumbs Up, Thumbs
Down"
S. Develop a Research
Question
U. Data Entry
10:00-10:45
View the “Data Entry” videos. Use
the GLOBE training ID and login to
practice entering data into the
GLOBE website.
V. Feedback/Evaluation
10:45-11:15
Discussion of classroom
implementation, assessment, and
workshop evaluation/feedback
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Revised 2008
“Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down”,
page 77
“Our Research Design” handout,
pages 79-82
“Accessing GLOBE Data” handout,
page 84
Computer Lab
GLOBE login: SGLOBE2
Atmosphere Site Definition Sheet
Atmosphere Integrated 1-Day Data
Sheet
Sticky notes
Evaluation forms
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Plans for Day
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
“Everybody Talks About the Weather…”
Intro to GLOBE
Course of Study
Thematic Framework
15 minutes
A. Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objective
GLOBE is a hands-on international environmental
science and education program. The goals of
GLOBE are to enhance the environmental
awareness of individuals throughout the world; to
contribute to scientific understanding of the earth
and to help all students reach higher level of
achievements in science and math.
Outline/Plans
•
•
•
•
Rationale/Helpful Hints
Begin the morning with a brief agenda
of the day’s activities.
Use an engagement activity to focus
participants minds on the concept of
weather.
Give participants 30 seconds to list as
many “weather words” as they can. They
can record these in their science
notebooks. Have participants share their
“weather words” with the group and write
them on the board as they call them out.
Discuss the meaning of any unfamiliar
words.
Give participants another 30 seconds to list
all the things you can “do about the
weather.” Share them and write them on
the board
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
•
”Everybody Talks About the Weather…”
(Examples on page 15)
•
“…But nobody does anything about it”
What can you do about the weather?
•
We can observe it, study it, measure its
effects, and try to make predictions.
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Plans for Day
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
A. Continued
Time Allotment
Objective – Review relevant Course of Study
standards, the AMSTI-GLOBE thematic
framework, and introduce participants to The
GLOBE Program.
“Everybody Talks About the Weather…”
Intro to GLOBE
Course of Study
Thematic Framework
15 minutes (cont)
Course of Study correlation: Standard 1, bullets
1,2,3,4.
Outline/Plans
•
Review with participants the Course of
Study Standards (Standard 1, bullets
1,2,3,4)
Rationale/Helpful Hints
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Revised 2008
Identify global patterns of atmospheric
movement, including El Niño, the Gulf
Stream, the jet stream, the Coriolis effect,
and global winds that influence local
weather.
Predicting local weather and weather
patterns
Examples: cold and warm fronts, high and
low pressure areas
Describing the function of instruments and
technology used to investigate Earth’s
weather, including barometers,
thermometers, wind socks, weather vanes,
satellites, radar, weather balloons, and rain
gauges
Using lines of latitude and longitude to
locate areas of specific weather events
Interpreting weather data through
observations collected over time
Example: calculating annual precipitation
and average temperature
Alabama Course of Study: Science, 6th
Grade—pages 16-17
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Plans for Day
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
“Everybody Talks About the Weather…”
Intro to GLOBE
Course of Study
Thematic Framework
15 minutes (cont)
A. Continued
Time Allotment
Objective – Review relevant Course of Study
standards, the AMSTI-GLOBE thematic
framework, and introduce participants to The
GLOBE Program.
•
•
Course of Study correlation: Standard 1, bullets
1,2,3,4.
Outline/Plans
Review the AMSTI-GLOBE Thematic
Framework so that participants see how
GLOBE activities are divided among the
various grades/years.
Introduce participants to The GLOBE
Program. View the “Making It All Fit
Together" PowerPoint to see how GLOBE
is integrated into AMSTI.
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Rationale/Helpful Hints
•
AMSTI-GLOBE Thematic Framework—
page 18
•
PowerPoint is on the website or on the
CD-ROM
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Weather Words
A flood of tears
Bogged down
Break the ice
Getting your feet wet
Icy stare
Mind in a fog
On cloud nine
Raining cats and dogs
Somebody is all wet
Snowballs out of control
Steamed up
When it rains, it pours
Red sky at night, sailor's delight
A blizzard of…(whatever)
Snowed under
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Students will:
1. Identify global patterns of atmospheric movement, including El Niño, the Gulf Stream, the jet
stream, the Coriolis effect, and global winds that influence local weather.
• Predicting local weather and weather patterns
Examples: cold and warm fronts, high and low pressure areas
• Describing the function of instruments and technology used to investigate Earth’s
weather, including barometers, thermometers, wind socks, weather vanes, satellites,
radar, weather balloons, and rain gauges
• Using lines of latitude and longitude to locate areas of specific weather events
• Interpreting weather data through observations collected over time
Example: calculating annual precipitation and average temperature
2. Describe factors that cause changes to Earth’s surface over time.
Examples: earthquakes, volcanoes, weathering, erosion, glacial erosion or scouring,
deposition, water flow, tornadoes, hurricanes, farming and conservation,
mining and reclamation, deforestation and reforestation, waste disposal,
global climate changes, greenhouse gases
• Comparing constructive and destructive natural processes and their effects on land
formations
Examples: constructive—volcanic and mountain-building processes;
destructive—erosion by wind, water, and ice
• Distinguishing rock strata by geologic composition
Examples: predicting relative age of strata by fossil depth, predicting
occurrence of natural events by rock composition in a particular
strata
3. Describe water and carbon biogeochemical cycles and their effects on Earth.
4. Explain the plate tectonic theory.
Example: using terminology such as continental drift, seafloor spreading, lava,
magma, eruption, epicenter, focus, seismic wave, and subduction zone
• Describing types of volcanoes and faults
• Determining energy release through seismographic data
Example: using data from the Mercalli scale and the Richter scale
5. Describe layers of the oceanic hydrosphere, including the pelagic zone, benthic zone, abyssal
zone, and intertidal zone.
6. Describe regions of the oceanic lithosphere, including the continental shelf, continental slope,
and abyssal plain.
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7. Describe Earth’s biomes.
Examples: forests, aquatic biomes, grasslands, deserts, chaparrals, taigas, tundras
• Identifying geographic factors that cause diversity in flora and fauna, including
elevation, location, and climate
8. Describe how Earth’s rotation, Earth’s axial tilt, and distance from the equator cause
variations in the heating and cooling of various locations on Earth.
9. Identify the moon’s phases.
• Describing lunar and solar eclipses
• Relating effects of the moon’s positions on oceanic tides
10. Describe components of the universe and their relationships to each other, including stars,
planets and their moons, solar systems, and galaxies.
• Identifying the impact of space exploration on innovations in technology
Examples: MRI, microwave, satellite imagery, GPS
• Mapping seasonal changes in the locations of constellations in the night sky
• Describing the life cycle of a star
Example: H-R diagram
11. Describe units used to measure distance in space, including astronomical units and light
years.
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Thematic Framework for AMSTI-GLOBE
Grade
GPS (Global
Positioning
System)
Atmosphere
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
Yr 1
GRADE
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Hydrology
Land
Cover
Soil
Earth as
a System
Yr 2
Yr 2
Yr 1,2
Yrs 1, 2
Yrs 1, 2
Yr 1
Yr 1, 2
Yr 1
Yr 2
Yr 1
Yrs 1, 2
Yr 2
MEASUREMENTS
Cloud types, cloud cover (1), Budburst (2)
Precipitation (1), Green-up/Green-down (2)
Soil Characterization (1 and 2)
Air Temperature and Atmosphere Site (1), Clouds, Weather Maps, and Weather
Patterns (2)
Hydrology (site mapping, GPS, turbidity) (1), Temperature, Conductivity (2)
Soil & Water pH (1), Soil Temperature and Surface Temperature (2)
Atmosphere (relative humidity, barometric pressure) (1), Earth as a System (2)
Land Cover (classification) (1), Land Cover (photosynthesis & respiration) (2)
Hydrology (surface water pH, alkalinity, nitrate, DO) (1), Remote Sensing (2).
GLOBE Activities/COS Objectives (2005 COS)
Grade
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
GLOBE Activity
Clouds (Y1), Budburst (Y2)
Precipitation (Y1),
Greenup/Greendown (Y2)
Soil Horizons/Characterization (Y1,2)
Daily Temp/Atmosphere Site (Y1),
Clouds, Weather Maps, Patterns (Y2)
Hydrology Site, Turbidity (Y1),
Surface Water Temp (Y2)
Water, Soil pH (Y1), Soil Temp and
Surface Temp (Y2)
Rel. Humidity, Baro Pressure, GPS
(Y1); Earth As a System (Y2)
Land Cover (Y1,2)
Hydrology (ph, alk, nitrate, DO) (Y1),
Remote Sensing (Y2)
COS Objective
O10 (Y1), O6 (Y2)
O8 B1,2 (Y1); O4, B1,2,3 (Y2)
O1 B1,3; O7 B2 (Y1,2)
O12 B2,3,5 (Y1); O12 B1,4 (Y2)
O3,7,8 (Y1); O1 B3, O3 B1 (Y2)
O3 (Y1); O4 B10, O10 B1 (Y2)
O1 B1-4, O2, O3, O10 B1 (Y1);
O1, O5, O6, O7 B1 (Y2)
O1,6,7; O4 B1; O5 B1 (Y1,2)
O6,7 (Y1); O12 (Y2)
Y=year trained O=COS objective B=COS bullet point Example: O12 B2 (Y1) =objective 12,
bullet 2 is covered in Year 1. Refer to the COS for objective & bullet point descriptions.
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Plans for Day
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
What is Relative Humidity?
B. Activity
Time Allotment
Objective – Science content: Understand the
concepts of humidity, saturation, relative humidity,
dew point.
•
•
•
Outline/Plans
Show the “Relative Humidity” PowerPoint
to participants. Discuss the concepts of
absolute humidity, relative humidity,
saturation, dew point.
Have participants give examples of high
humidity (numerical examples). What are
some of the effects of high humidity?
What are some places known for high
humidity? For low humidity?
Practice calculating relative humidity by
using the equation in the PowerPoint and
changing the numbers to see the effects of
temperature on relative humidity.
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
30 minutes
•
•
•
•
Revised 2008
COS Standard 1, bullet 4
Rationale/Helpful Hints
Remember: Air does not “hold” water.
Participants need to visualize humidity in
terms of water vapor molecules occupying
the space between air molecules. As
temperature increases and air becomes less
dense, there is more space between the air
molecules for the water molecules.
The amount of water vapor actually in
between the air molecules (absolute
humidity), divided by the maximum
amount that could be there (saturation),
equals the relative humidity.
RH=(humidity/saturation) x 100
(expressed in percent)
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Plans for Day
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Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
C. Activity
Time Allotment
Objective – Science content: Understand the
relationship of temperature to humidity and dew
point.
•
Outline/Plans
Give participants the “Do the Dew Point”
handout. Work each of the questions
together as a class.
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
“Do the Dew Point”
15 minutes
•
COS Standard 1, bullet 1
•
Rationale/Helpful Hints
“Do The Dew Point” handout—page 21-22
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DO THE DEW POINT
The dew point is the temperature at which condensation begins to occur for air with a given water
vapor content at a given pressure.
If the temperature ↑, then the RH ↓. (if the humidity stays the same, which it will in a 24-hour period)
If the temperature ↓, then the RH ____.
If the air is saturated, the RH = 100%.
When the air is saturated, dew forms. The temperature at which that happens is the
DEW POINT
Referring to the dew point is useful, because it is only affected by an increase or decrease in water vapor.
(Relative humidity includes the effects of both water vapor and temperature.)
As the dew point rises, the relative humidity rises.
FILL IN THE RELATIONSHIPS
1. As the temperature increases, the relative humidity ________________.
2. If the relative humidity is 100%, the air is ____________________.
3. When dew forms, the relative humidity is _________%.
4. Dew forms at the (warmest, coldest) part of the day.
5. Relative humidity and temperature have an (direct, indirect) relationship.
6. Throughout the summer, as the temperature increases a little more each day, the dew point (increases,
decreases).
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DO THE DEW POINT
ANSWERS
The dew point is the temperature at which condensation begins to occur for air with a given water
vapor content at a given pressure.
If the temperature ↑, then the RH ↓. (if the humidity stays the same, which it will in a 24-hour period)
If the temperature ↓, then the RH __↑__.
If the air is saturated, the RH = 100%.
When the air is saturated, dew forms. The temperature at which that happens is the dew point.
DEW POINT
Referring to the dew point is useful, because it is only affected by an increase or decrease in water vapor.
(Relative humidity includes the effects of both water vapor and temperature.)
As the dew point rises, the relative humidity rises.
FILL IN THE RELATIONSHIPS
1. As the temperature increases, the relative humidity decreases.
2. If the relative humidity is 100%, the air is saturated.
3. When dew forms, the relative humidity is _100_%.
4. Dew forms at the (warmest, coldest) part of the day.
5. Relative humidity and temperature have a/an (direct, inverse) relationship.
6. Throughout the summer, as the temperature increases a little more each day, the dew point (increases,
decreases).
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Plans for Day
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
D. Activity
Time Allotment
Objective – Become familiar with the GLOBE
protocols for taking relative humidity
measurements
•
Outline/Plans
Review with participants the Relative
Humidity Protocols from the GLOBE
Teacher’s Guide.
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
GLOBE Relative Humidity Protocols
30 minutes
•
COS Standard 1, bullet 2
•
Rationale/Helpful Hints
Participants will be using the digital
hygrometer
•
Revised 2008
GLOBE Relative Humidity Protocols—
pages 24-29
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Relative Humidity Protocol
To measure relative humidity at an Atmosphere
Study Site
Overview
Digital Hygrometer: Students place the digital hygrometer in the instrument shelter and
return to read the value after at least 30 minutes.
Scientific Inquiry Abilities
Use a hygrometer or sling psychrometer to
measure relative humidity.
Use a thermometer to measure temperature.
Identify answerable questions.
Design and conduct scientific investigations.
Use appropriate mathematics to analyze data.
Develop descriptions and explanations
using evidence.
Recognize and analyze alternative
explanations.
Communicate procedures and explanations.
Students learn to quantify humidity and that
there is a limit to the amount of water vapor
which the air can hold.
Protocols
Time
Student Outcomes
5 minutes (digital hygrometer)
10 minutes (sling psychrometer)
Level
Students gain insight into why rain drops and
snow flakes form and why there is precipitation.
All
Science Concepts
Earth and Space Science
Weather can be described by quantitative
measurements.
Weather changes from day to day and over
the seasons.
Weather varies on local, regional, and
global spatial scales.
Water vapor content of the atmosphere is
limited by temperature and pressure.
Water vapor is added to the atmosphere by
evaporation from Earth’s surface and
transpiration from plants.
Precipitation forms by condensation of
water vapor in the atmosphere.
Condensation and evaporation affect the
heat balance of the atmosphere.
Daily, preferably within one hour of local
solar noon
Physical Science
Materials exist in different states.
Prerequisites
Materials and Tools
Digital Hygrometer
Instrument shelter
Thermometer
Watch
Atmosphere Investigation Data Sheet
Sling Psychrometer
Instrument shelter
Calibration thermometer
Psychrometric chart
Watch or timer
Bottle of distilled water
Atmosphere Investigation Data Sheet
Appendix
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Frequency
None
Relative Humidity Protocol - 1
Revised 2008
Learning Activities
GLOBE® 2003
Introduction
Sling Psychrometer: Students check that the
sling psychrometer has water in it to wet the
bulb of one of the thermometers and read the
temperature of the dry bulb thermometer. Then
they sling the thermometers around for 3 minutes and read the wet bulb temperature.
Relative humidity is determined from the wet
and dry bulb temperature readings using a table
or slide calculator.
Geography
Water vapor in the atmosphere affects the
characteristics of the physical geographic
system.
Welcome
Purpose
Atmosphere
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Relative Humidity
Protocol – Introduction
The atmosphere is made up a mixture of gases,
one of which is water vapor. Water vapor is added
to the atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration and removed when it condenses or
freezes and precipitates. Humidity is the amount
of water vapor present in the atmosphere. Relative humidity (RH) refers to this amount relative to
the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere
when the air is saturated.
The air is saturated when the liquid and gaseous
forms of water are in balance at a given temperature. At saturation, relative humidity is 100%.
When the relative humidity is over 100%, the air
is supersaturated and the water vapor will condense or freeze to form new liquid water droplets
or ice crystals.
RH =
amount of water vapor in the air
amount of water vapor
in the air at saturation
The amount of water vapor that may be present
in the air at saturation depends upon the air temperature. The amount of water vapor that can exist
in air at saturation increases as temperature increases. Table AT-RH-1 shows the relationship
between temperature, saturation, and relative
humidity. From this example you can see that if
the temperature changes relative humidity can
change even if the amount of water vapor in the
air remains the same.
On a calm, clear day, air temperature tends to rise
from sunrise until mid-afternoon and then fall
until the following sunrise. If the amount of moisture in the air remains essentially the same during
the course of the day, relative humidity will vary
inversely with the temperature. That is, relative
humidity will decrease from morning until midafternoon and rise again through the evening. See
Figure AT-RH-1.
Water vapor in the atmosphere is an important
part of the hydrologic cycle, and taking relative
humidity measurements helps us to understand
how rapidly water is moving from Earth’s surface
to the atmosphere and back again. By measuring
water vapor in the atmosphere, the climate of a
given location may be classified as arid (dry) or
humid (moist). Relative humidity influences when
clouds will form and precipitation will fall, therefore the amount of water in the atmosphere is
important in determining the weather and climate
of an area.
Relative humidity also affects the heating and cooling of the air. Since water has a significantly higher
heat capacity than air, small amounts of water vapor can make considerable changes to the rate at
which an air mass changes temperature. This accounts for the rapid cooling at night in the desert
where the relative humidity is low, and the relatively slow nighttime cooling in more humid areas.
Table AT-RH-1
Air Temperature
Water Vapor
o
( C)
Present in air (g/m3)
Water Vapor Present
at Saturation (g/m3)
Relative Humidity
30
9
30
9  30 * 100 = 30%
20
9
17
9  17 * 100 = 53%
10
9
9
9  9 * 100 = 100%
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Relative Humidity Protocol - 2
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Figure AT-RH-1
Welcome
September 28, 2001
20
12
8
Introduction
Temperature (degrees C)
Temperature
16
4
0
0:00
3:00
6:00
9:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
September 28, 2001
100
Relative Humidity
Protocols
Relative Humidity (%)
87
73
60
47
Learning Activities
34
0:00
3:00
6:00
9:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
Appendix
GLOBE® 2003
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Relative Humidity Protocol - 3
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Teacher Support
Digital Hygrometer
The hygrometer is a meteorological instrument
with a long history. Initial hygrometers used human or other strands of hair, which when
bundled, respond sensitively to moisture in the
atmosphere (Perhaps some of you have experienced this yourself!) Using ceramic and metallic
compounds, digital hygrometers which measure
electrical resistance can also measure humidity
over a wide range, thus making them ideal instruments for schools that cannot easily
accommodate the difficulties of using the sling
psychrometer for the humidity observations. No
matter which instrument is used, the relative humidity observations will be useful to scientists.
Care must be taken to avoid exposure to condensation. If condensation occurs or is expected to
occur during the time that the instrument will be
exposed to the air in the instrument shelter, please
do not place it outside. Rather, report a reading
of 100% and enter comments “condensation occurring” in the metadata , which will indicate an
inference, rather than a measurement, of relative
humidity. An example of a digital hygrometer is
shown in Figure AT-RH-2.
Most digital hygrometers may not be left in the
instrument shelter during periods of condensation
(precipitation or fog). Therefore, the instrument will
Figure AT-RH-2: Digital Hygrometer
have to be set out in the shelter at least 30 minutes before the local solar noon observations are
begun. If you are also doing the ozone protocol, a
convenient time to place the hygrometer in the
shelter may be at the time you expose the ozone
strip outside (which is one hour before your ozone
observation is made).
The hygrometer has a stand that can be used to
place the instrument on the floor of the shelter.
After the hygrometer has been in the shelter at
least 30 minutes, read the value of relative humidity to the nearest 1% on the digital display. Be
sure that the “max” or “min” indicators are not lit,
as this will indicate that the instrument is set to
show the maximum or minimum value, not the
actual value. Enter the reading on the Data Entry
Sheet while you also enter your cloud, temperature and precipitation observations, and report
the data to GLOBE.
No calibration is necessary for the instrument,
until the calibration certificate that comes with it
expires. Please send the instrument back to the
factory for recalibration at the interval that the
manufacturer recommends (usually two years).
Measurement Logistics
The digital hygrometer can be ruined by condensation within the instrument. For this reason, it
should not be left out in the instrument shelter
except in extremely dry locations and seasons. It
must be kept inside in dry conditions and left
outside only long enough to obtain a good measurement. If your building is not climate
controlled, store the instrument in an air tight
container with rice, wheat berries, or some other
item which readily absorbs water from the air and
keeps the air in the container dry. Don’t forget to
change the absorbing substance periodically
The instrument takes some time (roughly 30 minutes) to adjust to outside conditions. This presents
a logistics challenge. Generally, the daily measurements of temperature, precipitation, and clouds
can all be accomplished within 15 minutes, so
the hygrometer will need to be placed outside
during one visit to the Atmosphere Study Site and
read during a later visit.
If you are taking ozone measurements, you will
have a similar situation in that students come to
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Relative Humidity Protocol - 4
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Sling Psychrometer
Does relative humidity affect any non-atmosphere
parts of your local environment? How?
At what time of day will relative humidity normally be at a maximum? At a minimum?
Are your relative humidity and phrenology measurements related?
Figure AT-RH-3: Sling Psychrometer
Relative Humidity Protocol - 5
Revised 2008
Appendix
GLOBE® 2003
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Can you find other GLOBE sites at your latitude
which are closer to or further from large bodies
of water? Do you see any systematic differences
in relative humidity between your location and
the others?
Learning Activities
The sling psychrometer is an instrument that consists of two thermometers attached to a sturdy
housing, which can be whirled by hand. On one
side, the “dry-bulb” thermometer measures the
air temperature. On the other side, the “wet-bulb”
thermometer (with a wick attached to the bottom
of the thermometer) will be used to measure the
temperature of air which is cooling by evaporation. Both thermometers show temperature
decreasing as you go from bottom to top. The
purpose of the measurement is find how much
cooling by evaporation can take place at the time
of the observation. The larger the difference between the dry-bulb temperature and wet-bulb
temperature, the drier the air is. Using the air temperature and the wet-bulb temperature, the
relative humidity can be determined easily. A scale
for determining relative humidity is often found
mounted to the instrument, or you may use an
external psychrometric chart, which will come
with the sling psychrometer. The standard sling
psychrometer is shown in Figure AT-RH-3.
How are your relative humidity observations related to air temperature?
Protocols
Storing the Hygrometer
The hygrometer observation can be taken every
day, but if the instrument will not be used for an
extended time (i.e., one week or more), it may be
desirable to remove the batteries. Always be sure
that the instrument does not remain in the instrument shelter or anyplace else where it will be
exposed to condensation, or will get wet.
Questions for Further Investigation
Introduction
If precipitation or fog is occurring or imminent,
do not take the hygrometer outside. Instead, report a reading of 100% on your Data Entry Sheet,
and enter comments stating that the air is saturated, so the relative humidity is approximated.
Before using your sling psychrometer, make sure
that the columns of colored fluid are continuous
because the columns may sometimes separate into
segments during shipping. If there are gaps in the
liquid column, grasp the thermometer by the case,
making sure the thermometer is in an upright
position, and shake the case until the liquid forms
a continuous column. Do not press against the
stem of the thermometer as this could cause breakage. You may need to tap the bottom of the
thermometer against the palm of your hand as
well. Each thermometer should also be calibrated
against the calibration thermometer before use,
and once every three months.
Welcome
the Atmosphere Study Site and expose an ozone
strip and then come to the site one hour later to
read the strip. One approach is to put the hygrometer in the instrument shelter when the ozone strip
is exposed and to read it when the ozone strip is
read. A reading of current temperature must be
taken when the digital hygrometer is read and is
also required when the ozone strip is read, so with
this approach one current temperature reading
will serve to support the interpretation of both
the ozone and relative humidity measurements.
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Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why do you have two different methods of
measuring relative humidity?
Two methods are used to try to provide an incentive for the teacher and student to make a
determination about how much time is desired
taking the observations. One is more complex
(and fun) than the other. Observations from either method are equally valuable to the GLOBE
program and scientists, in general.
2. How come we have to take the hygrometer
inside each day, and bring it out to the
weather shelter 30 minutes before we make
our local solar noon observations?
The sensitive electronics inside the hygrometer
cannot be exposed to condensation for long periods of time, so it is best to avoid all situations
when condensation may be expected. If fog
or persistent rainfall is occurring at the time of
observation, it is best not to take the hygrometer
outside; rather, the observer should report a relative humidity of 100%, but also should make a
comment in the metadata that the observation was
inferred based on visible condensation in the air
(rain or fog).
4. Why can’t we use the sling
psychrometer below freezing?
The relationship between evaporation rate and
temperature is more complicated below freezing
than above freezing, so the sling psychrometer will
not be as practical. More expensive models that
have greater ranges are available, but are beyond
the reach of the expected school budgets for instruments. We recommend the use of a
hygrometer for locations that have frequent temperatures below freezing.
5. How accurate are these relative humidity
readings, compared to those that might be
taken with more expensive instruments?
The hygrometer will report relative humidity with
an accuracy range of 2-4%, within the desired 5%
figure. The sling psychrometer reports temperature to within an accuracy of approximately
0.5˚ C; provided the calibration on the thermometers is maintained, this also ensures accuracy
better than 5% over the most common range of
values of relative humidity, between 20-95%.
3. I see the definitions for wet-bulb and drybulb temperature; what is the dew point
temperature?
The dew point temperature is the temperature to
which air must be cooled to achieve saturation
(relative humidity = 100%) given its current water content. Dew point is a measure of the actual
water vapor content. On calm clear days followed
by calm clear nights, the temperature will fall rapidly towards the dew point. Unless dew forms, if
the air temperature reaches the dew point temperature, fog may form. Once dew or fog forms,
the dew point temperature will fall, because there
is less water vapor in the air.
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th
Plans for Day GLOBE 6 Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
E. Activity
Calibration
15 minutes
Time Allotment
Objective – Understand the procedures for
calibrating thermometers.
• COS Standard 1, bullet 2
Outline/Plans
• Discuss accuracy. Why is it important
that our instruments be accurate? How do
we determine whether they are accurate?
•
•
Calibrate a liquid-filled thermometer to 0°
Celsius in an ice-water bath. Use the
Thermometer Calibration Lab Guide from
the GLOBE Teacher’s Guide. Follow the
instructions in the lab guide to insure the
calibration thermometer reads within plus
or minus one-half degree of zero. Use it
to calibrate other thermometers .
Rationale/Helpful Hints
Lab Guides are also available on the GLOBE
Teacher’s Guide CD-ROM or at www.globe.gov
Items needed:
To calibrate the other thermometers: Place
the calibration thermometer and the other
thermometers in a cup of room
temperature water. After 10 minutes,
compare the readings. The other
thermometers and the calibration
thermometer should all agree within plus
or minus one-half degree. If they do not,
the psychrometer should be replaced.
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Revised 2008
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Calibration thermometers (blue)
Thermometers (plastic backing)
Beakers or cups
Ice
Water
Watch or timer
GLOBE Thermometer Calibration Lab
Guide--page 31
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Thermometer Calibration
Lab Guide
Task
Check the calibration of the calibration thermometer.
What You Need
❑ Calibration thermometer
❑ Crushed ice
❑ Clean container at least 250 mL in size
❑ Water (distilled is ideal, but the key is that the
water is not salty)
In the Lab
1. Prepare a mixture of fresh water and crushed ice with more ice than water in your container.
2. Put the calibration thermometer into the ice-water bath. The bulb of the thermometer must be
in the water.
3. Allow the ice-water bath and thermometer to sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Gently move the thermometer around in the ice-water bath so that it will be thoroughly
cooled.
5. Read the thermometer. If it reads between -0.5˚ C and +0.5˚ C, the thermometer is
fine.
6. If the thermometer reads greater than +0.5˚ C, check to make sure that
there is more ice than water in your ice-water bath.
7. If the thermometer reads less than -0.5˚ C, check to make
sure that there is no salt in your ice-water bath.
8. If the thermometer still does not read between
-0.5˚ C and +0.5˚ C, replace the thermometer. If
you have used this thermometer for
measurements report this to GLOBE.
0˚ +– .5
Crushed Ice
GLOBE® 2003
Multi-Day Maximum/Minimum/Current Air and Soil Temperature Protocol - 5
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
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Plans for Day
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Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
F. Activity
How Relative Humidity Is Measured
Time Allotment
30 minutes
Objective – Conduct activity to demonstrate how
relative humidity is measured.
• COS Standard 1, bullet 2
Outline/Plans
Rationale/Helpful Hints
• What is relative humidity? It is a comparison
of how much water vapor is in the air
compared to how much water vapor would be
in saturated air. One way to measure this is to
see how much more water could be evaporated
into the air. If the relative humidity is low, a
lot more water could be evaporated. If relative
humidity is high, the air is nearly saturated and
won’t take up much more. The wet bulb
temperature decreases because it takes energy
to turn liquid water into water vapor.
• Show participants how to use the table to read
the relative humidity from the wet bulb and
dry bulb temperatures.
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
• Use the thermometers you calibrated for the
wet bulb and dry bulb. Gently slide
the wet paper towel under and over
the bulb.
Tape thermometers to the desk so they don’t
slide while you are fanning.
• Before passing out the materials, ask the
participants to guess what the relative humidity
of the room might be. Then compare their
answers with the results.
• Learning Activity: How Relative Humidity is
Measured – p. 33
• Relative Humidity Table – p.34
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Learning Activity: How Relative Humidity Is Measured
A sling psychrometer measures the amount of relative humidity in the air. Relative humidity is a
comparison of how much moisture is in the air compared to how much moisture the air could hold at
that temperature before the water vapor condensed. The higher the relative humidity is (expressed in
percent of saturation); the more likely it is to rain.
Materials: (per group)
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
2 thermometers (degrees C)
masking tape
paper towels
cup
water
pipette
paper to fan thermometers
Relative Humidity Table
Procedure:
1. Calibrate the thermometers in an ice/water bath.
2. Tape the two thermometers to the desk or table with the bulbs extending over the edge.
3. Cover the bulb of one thermometer with a small piece of paper towel. Use the pipette to
moisten the paper towel with water. This is your wet bulb thermometer. The thermometer with
no covering is the dry bulb thermometer.
4. Fan the thermometers until the temperature stops changing. Write down the dry bulb
temperature and the wet bulb temperature.
5. Using the Relative Humidity Table, find the dry bulb temperature on the left. On the top, find
the difference in degrees between the dry bulb temperature and the wet bulb temperature.
Where these two numbers intersect on the chart is your relative humidity in percent.
Possible Extension: Measure the relative humidity at different times during the day.
Does it stay the same? Is there a pattern?
Reflection:
What do you think happens to the wet paper when it is exposed to air? The water begins to evaporate. It
takes heat energy to turn water into water vapor, and the temperature of the wet bulb goes down.
How does this give us relative humidity? If there is already a lot of water vapor in the air, only a small
amount of the water on the wet bulb will evaporate. The difference between the wet bulb and dry bulb
temperatures will be small, and the relative humidity percent will be high. If there is very little moisture in
the air, more water will evaporate, taking more energy, and the wet bulb temperature will drop more. In
low humidity, the difference between wet and dry bulb temperatures is large.
When are you more comfortable—in low humidity or high humidity? In the summer when temperatures
are warm, our sweat can’t evaporate in high humidity and we feel sticky and uncomfortable. In low
humidity, moisture on our skin readily evaporates. Think of Arizona folks saying, “It may be 100 degrees
but it’s a dry heat” compared to Mobile folks saying, “It’s 90 degrees and 90 percent humidity!”
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GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
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Plans for Day
th
GLOBE 6 Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
G. Activity
Practicing the Protocol- Relative Humidity
30 minutes
Time Allotment
Objective – Understand the GLOBE Protocols for
measuring Relative Humidity using a digital
hygrometer
• COS Standard 1, bullet 2
Outline/Plans
Rationale/Helpful Hints
ƒ Go over the Using the Digital Hygrometer
Field Guide from the GLOBE Teacher’s guide.
Have participants practice reading the relative
humidity.
ƒ Field guides are also available on the GLOBE
Teacher’s Guide CD-ROM or at www.globe.gov
Items needed:
ƒ digital hygrometers
ƒ GLOBE Digital Hygrometer Field Guide—page
36
Probe can go outside the window. Students can
watch relative humidity change over the course as
well as with weather changes. Does relative
humidity change inside the room? Why or why
not?
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Digital Hygrometer
Field Guide
Task
Find the relative humidity using a digital hygrometer.
What You Need
❑
Digital hygrometer
❑
Watch or timer
❑
Atmosphere Investigation Data Sheet
OR Ozone Data Sheet
❑
A thermometer properly installed
in an Instrument Shelter
In the Field
1. Place the hygrometer in the instrument shelter. (Unless it is very dry, do not leave the
hygrometer in the shelter overnight!)
2. After at least 30 minutes, read the relative humidity, and note the instrument used.
3. Read the current temperature (if your reading is not being taken at the same time as the daily
reading of maximum, minimum, and current temperature).
4. Return the hygrometer to the classroom, and store it in a dry place.
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Plans for Day
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GLOBE 6 Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
H. Activity
Looking At the Data
Time Allotment
30 minutes
Objective – Understanding how GLOBE relative
humidity data is used
• COS Standard 1, bullet 4
Outline/Plans
Rationale/Helpful Hints
ƒ Use the handout, “Looking at the Data”
and the GLOBE Relative Humidity
Protocol to analyze the relative humidity
data presented in the graphs.
ƒ Use Figure AT-RH-4 in the protocol to
answer questions 1-6 on “Looking At the
Data” concerning the relationship between
minimum and maximum temperature and
relative humidity.
ƒ Using Figure AT-RH-4, discuss and
answer questions 7 and 8 under “How
could this data be used to predict the
weather?”
ƒ Using Figure AT-RH-5, discuss and
answer questions 9-13 concerning relative
humidity, temperature, and climate.
ƒ Use Figure AT-RH-6 to answer question
14 and answer questions 15 and 16 under
“How could this data help define
characteristics of climate?”
ƒ Using Figure AT-RH-7, further discuss the
relationship between relative humidity and
climate. Answer questions 17-20.
ƒ Figure At-RH-8 graphs cloud cover and
relative humidity. Ask the participants if
they can see a relationship between the two
measurements. Use the questions in the
“Looking At the Data” handout to analyze
the data and see how the results compare to
the participants’ initial hypotheses
(questions 21-33).
ƒ The GLOBE Relative Humidity Protocol
gives useful information in determining if
the data collected are reasonable.
ƒ Relative humidity will always be a value
between 0 and 100.
ƒ The dew point will always be less than or
equal to the current temperature.
ƒ Unless there is fog or rain, relative humidity
will always be less than 100 percent.
ƒ Relative humidity can still be less than 100
percent during a rain. The precipitation is
removing water vapor from the air, thus
lowering the humidity.
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ƒ “Looking At the Data” protocol and graphs
– pp. 38-43
ƒ “Looking At the Data” worksheet – pp.4447
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dew point temperature, and relative humidity for
a three-day period at Tallahassee Florida, USA.
The temperature scale is shown on the left hand
axis.
Are the data reasonable?
Relative humidity is inversely dependent on temperature. This means that for a given air mass, as
temperature rises, relative humidity falls, as long
as the amount of water vapor contained in the air
remains the same. If your relative humidity observations are taken at local solar noon, near the
warmest part of the day, you will be measuring
relative humidity when it is likely to be near its
minimum value for the day.
These points are illustrated in figure AT-RH-4,
which shows hourly values of air temperature,
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Scientists look at trends in relative humidity over
different time periods. For instance, changes during a day may be related to sea breezes in coastal
areas. In GLOBE, relative humidity usually is
taken only once per day, near local solar noon. So
with GLOBE data scientists examine trends in relative humidity over periods of days.
Scientists use relative humidity changes to forecast the weather. For example, they might look at
temperature, relative humidity, and dew point to
predict the likelihood of showers on a given day.
In Figure AT-RH-4, note that the local solar noon
relative humidity value increased by a small
amount each day. This indicates a gradually moistening environment. That observation is more
clearly shown by the dew point temperature values that have an upward trend throughout the
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Appendix
Determination of the dew point temperature from
the air temperature and relative humidity is a complicated calculation that the GLOBE server will
do automatically for you so that visualizations and
tables of dew point temperatures may be examined.
What do scientists look for in these
data?
Learning Activities
Dew point temperature is another measure of
humidity. The dew point is the temperature at
which condensation begins to occur for air with
a given water vapor content at a given pressure.
While the relative humidity changes with temperature, the dew point remains constant because
the water vapor content is not changing. When
you look at the dew point temperature, remember that it will always be less than the air
temperature, unless the air is saturated, in which
case they are equal. If you measure relative humidity several times during the same day, the dew
point temperature should remain the same unless a weather front has moved through the area.
Your relative humidity data should always be provided as a percentage between 0 and 100%. Your
dew point temperature should always be less than
or equal to your current temperature observations.
Most importantly, unless your observations are
taken during fog or precipitation events, your relative humidity should be less than 100%.
Protocols
When relative humidity reaches 100%, the air is
said to be saturated. For air at a given temperature and pressure, any additional water vapor
added to the air will condense as rain drops (or
freeze as ice particles if the air is cold enough).
For clouds to form, the air must be saturated.
Introduction
To determine if the relative humidity data you
collect are reasonable, it is important that you
know what to expect the values for relative humidity to be.
These data were collected using a data logger and
an automated weather station at Florida State
University, a GLOBE school. Local solar noon at
Tallahassee is very near 1800 UTC each day (near
the time of maximum temperature). Note that the
temperature (shown in red) has a maximum value
slightly higher than the previous day, and that in
each case, it corresponds to the same time that
the relative humidity (shown in green) is at its
minimum. The relative humidity is at its maximum in the early morning (near 1200 UTC),
when the temperature is at its lowest. Note how
the dew point temperature (shown in blue) and
air temperature are very close to each other at this
time. These observations all indicate that the data
appear to be reasonable.
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Relative Humidity
Protocol – Looking At
Your Data
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period. Note that unlike temperature and relative
humidity, the dew point temperature does not
exhibit a strong diurnal cycle.
Figure AT-RH-5 shows a graph of temperature and
relative humidity data for Norfork Elementary
School in Arkansas, USA. These data vary considerably from day to day. Let’s try to understand
the data better by first focusing on the axes. On
the abscissa, or x-axis, time begins on 1 October
2000 and ends in September 2001, so nearly one
year of data are plotted. Data are available for each
day with few missing observations; even weekends are included! Now examine the ordinates,
or y-axes (there are two of them). On the left, we
find the scale for temperature, and on the right,
we find the scale for relative humidity.
It is difficult to see that the temperature versus
relative humidity relationship we described earlier exists here, but we can smooth such data to
illustrate the relationship. The next figure (AT-RH6) shows a smoothed graph using 5-day running
averages of the data. To calculate a 5-day running
average, you average the values for today, the two
previous days, and the two following days.
Now the relationship can be seen more clearly. In
the winter with cold mid-day temperatures, the
relative humidity is often above 60%, but in summer the relative humidity is only rarely above
60%. This can also be used as a consistency check,
to help to ensure your data are reasonable. These
observations may also be used to examine the influence of temperature on relative humidity, when
actual water vapor content does not change very
much.
We can of course observe the progression of temperature throughout the year, with the coldest
temperatures in December and January. Note how
the relative humidity is a near maximum for many
of these winter days! There can of course be dry
days during winter months as well, and scientists
use relative humidity monitoring to classify air
masses. These air mass identifications help meteorologists identify and monitor frontal systems
and provide useful weather forecasts. Climatologists also use relative humidity to classify climates
for various locations.
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One of the main climatic controls that scientists
recognize is how close a location is to a large body
of water, such as a sea or ocean. Let’s look at two
GLOBE schools’ humidity data to see if we recognize such a relationship. We will use the dew point
temperature rather than the relative humidity
here, to examine only the affect of water vapor
content. Relative humidity, remember, includes
both water vapor effects, and temperature effects.
Figure AT-RH-7 illustrates observations from two
schools in Europe, the Istituto Tecnico Industriale
Fermi, in Naples, Italy, and the Hermann LietzSchule Haubinda in Germany. Remember that the
dew point temperature will illustrate only how
the water vapor content of the air at a weather
station changes over time. The graph illustrates a
plot of three months of observations from winter
2001 (January through March), and on every day
for which observations were taken from these two
schools, you can see how the dew point temperature at Naples, located on the Mediterranean Sea,
was much higher than the dew point at Haubinda,
located far inland.
Although elevation, latitude, and air motion (the
other major climatic controls) may help to explain
some of these differences, how close a station is
to large bodies of water will play a large role, in
general, due to the large amount of evaporation
that takes place in coastal regions. A useful project
for GLOBE coastal schools is to compare the dew
point values calculated from their data with those
from a school at roughly the same latitude and
elevation that is well inland from the same body
of water. Is the relationship similar?
It is interesting to see how relative humidity is
related to other meteorological variables. Naturally, as evaporation increases, relative humidity
increases. So, we would expect to find a relationship with cloud cover, since clouds require a
relative humidity at their altitudes of 100%. We
measure relative humidity near the ground, not
at the cloud base, but in general, relative humidity increases with altitude up to 100% at the base
of the clouds. This is true for low clouds, in particular. Figure AT-RH-8 shows a plot of relative
humidity and cloud cover from Gladstone High
School in South Australia for July and August of
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Designing an Investigation
Heikki, a student at Juuan Lukio/Poikolan Koulu
in Juuka, Finland has been taking relative humidity measurements along with other students at his
school. In studying climate, his teacher mentioned
the moderating effect on air temperature of nearby large water bodies. When he asks questions
about how this works, his teacher mentions that
evaporation from the water causes higher levels
of relative humidity and that it takes more energy
to heat or cool moist air than dry air.
Learning Activities
Based on these limited observations, our hypothesis has been supported. In general scientists
would want to use equal numbers of days for such
tests and comparisons, and also would want to
use at least 30 observations for each. You could
do this for all your cloud cover and relative humidity observations to see how well this
relationship holds for your location.
Protocols
Heikki decides that this would make a good investigation. He wonders if relative humidity values
from inland schools will be lower on average than
the values from a coastal school. After looking at
the GLOBE archive he selects three inland schools
and one coastal school. He also decides to only
look at data from late spring and early summer
when ice will not be covering the water body. Table
AT-RH-2 shows the data he found for these four
schools.
Introduction
You can test the hypothesis that there is a relationship between cloud cover and relative
humidity for a school like Gladstone by averaging the relative humidity for all days for various
cloud covers. Let’s test the hypothesis that on average as relative humidity increases, cloud cover
also increases. Using data from Gladstone as an
example, let’s compute the average relative humidity for the scattered cloud cover days and the
isolated cloud cover days. These calculations are
shown in the box below.
An Example of a Student Research
Investigation
Welcome
2001 (during winter). Note that on this graph
relative humidity is shown as a red graph with
connected lines, and the cloud cover is indicated
as a single square for each day’s cloud cover observation. There are several days when the relative
humidity is at or below 50%, and on each of these
days, the cloud cover was clear or isolated. Only
when the relative humidity approaches 60% was
scattered cloud cover observed in these two
months. Broken and overcast skies occurred only
when the relative humidity was greater than 50%.
The relationship is not perfect, but for most days
it is clear that when relative humidity is high,
cloud cover is more likely to be high than not.
Scattered Cloud Cover
38 + 68 + 41 + 62 + 64 = 54.6% average relative humidity for scattered cloud cover days
Isolated Cloud Cover
54 + 55 + 27 + 42 + 43 + 36 + 31 = 41.1% average relative humidity for isolated cloud cover days
7
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LOOKING AT THE DATA
(Use with Atmosphere Protocol Relative Humidity-11 and 12 in GLOBE e-guide.)
Look at Figure AT-RH-4.
1. What is the time period covered by this graph? ____________
2. What do you observe is happening to the minimum and maximum temperature each day?
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. What is the time each day when the temperature is highest? ______________
4. When is the relative humidity at its highest point each day? ______________
5. Write a sentence that compares the temperature and relative humidity graph lines.
______________________________________________________________________________
6. What is the relationship between the dew point and the air temperature?
_____________________________________________________________________________
WHEN CHECKING TO SEE IF YOUR DATA ARE REASONABLE, REMEMBER:
• The relative humidity should always be a percentage between 0 and 100.
• The dew point should always be < or = the current temperature.
• Unless you are in fog or rain, the relative humidity should be <100.
HOW COULD THIS DATA BE USED TO PREDICT WEATHER?
7. Look at the relative humidity graph line. Each time it peaks it is a little higher. What would this
indicate about the atmosphere? ________________________________________________
8. Which of the three data types on this graph would be the most obvious indicator that the possibility
of rain is increasing? _________________________________________________________
Look at Figure AT-RH-5:
9. What do the red points represent? ____________________
10. What do the green points represent? ______________________
11. What is the scale on the left side of the graph? ________
12. What is the scale on the right side of the graph? _______________
13. What dates are included in this graph? _______________________________________________
Identify where each of the seasons falls on the graph by looking at the dates.
There are a lot of data points and they have a lot of variation. To better interpret the data, we can take an
average for every five days, thus reducing the number of data points. The result is Figure AT-RH-6.
Figure AT-RH-6:
14. Now what relationship can be determined between temperature and relative humidity?
________________________________________________________________________________
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HOW COULD THIS DATA HELP DEFINE CHARACTERISTICS OF CLIMATE?
15. What relationship is there between the seasons and relative humidity?
_______________________________________________________________________________
16. This graph is for Norfolk, Arkansas. Do you think the same relationships exist in north Alabama?
Why do you think so? ____________________________________________________________
Look at Figure AT-RH-7:
17. What data type is on this graph? _______________________
18. Against what other atmospheric measurement is this data plotted? _______________________
19. If both the orange and green lines are the dew point, why is one line higher than the other?
___________________________________________________________________
HOW COULD THIS DATA INDICATE THE EFFECT OF LOCATION ON CLIMATE?
20. Why do you think Italy generally has a higher dew point than Germany? ____________________
HOW COULD THIS DATA RELATE TO OTHER WEATHER FACTORS?
Look at Figure AT-RH-8:
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
What data type does the red line represent? _____________________
What are the units of measurement? ________
What is the time period of the graph? __________________________
Where is the location from which the data were taken? ___________________________________
What data type do the green squares represent?
___________________
Look at the units for cloud cover and be sure that you know what they mean:
OVC = ________
SCT = ________
BKN = ________
ISO = ________
SQT = _________
CLR = _________
NON = _________
27. When the cloud cover was dense (OVC or BKN), what was happening with the relative humidity?
_____________________________________________________________________________
28. When the cloud cover was light (NON, CLR, ISO, SCT), what was happening with relative
humidity? ____________________________________________________________________
29. What conclusion might you draw from this data?
______________________________________________________________________________
DO THE NUMBERS BACK UP YOUR CONCLUSION?
30. Count the number of scattered cloud days. _________
31. Find the average relative humidity for the scattered cloud cover days.
For each scattered cover day, write the percent relative humidity.
Add those numbers together.
Then divide by 5, because there were 5 scattered days. _________
This is the average relative humidity for scattered days.
32. Find the average relative humidity for the isolated cloud days.
For each isolated cover day, write the percent relative humidity.
Add those numbers together.
Then divide by 7, because there were 7 isolated days. __________
This is the average relative humidity for isolated days.
33. What does the mathematics say about the relationship of cloud cover to relative humidity? Use
numbers/equations in your response. _____________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
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LOOKING AT THE DATA
ANSWERS
(Use with Atmosphere Protocol Relative Humidity-11 and 12 in GLOBE e-guide.)
Look at Figure AT-RH-4.
1. What is the time period covered by this graph? 3 days
2. What do you observe is happening to the minimum and maximum temperature each day?
rise during the day – fall at night
3. What is the time each day when the temperature is highest? 18:00 UT
4. When is the relative humidity at its highest point each day? early morning
5. Write a sentence that compares the temperature and relative humidity graph lines.
As temperature increases, relative humidity decreases. As temperature decreases, relative humidity
increases.
6. What is the relationship between the dew point and the air temperature? temperature increases –
dewpoint increases
WHEN CHECKING TO SEE IF YOUR DATA ARE REASONABLE, REMEMBER:
• The relative humidity should always be a percentage between 0 and 100.
• The dew point should always be < or = the current temperature.
• Unless you are in fog or rain, the relative humidity should be <100.
HOW COULD THIS DATA BE USED TO PREDICT WEATHER?
7. Look at the relative humidity graph line. Each time it peaks it is a little higher. What would this
indicate about the atmosphere? increasing chance of rain
8. Which of the three data types on this graph would be the most obvious indicator that the possibility
of rain is increasing? relative humidity
Look at Figure AT-RH-5:
9. What do the red points represent? air temperature
10. What do the green points represent? relative humidity
11. What is the scale on the left side of the graph? oC
12. What is the scale on the right side of the graph? % relative humidity
13. What dates are included in this graph? 15 months by 3 month increments (10/1/2000 through
1/1/2002)
Identify where each of the seasons falls on the graph by looking at the dates.
There are a lot of data points and they have a lot of variation. To better interpret the data, we can take an
average for every five days, thus reducing the number of data points. The result is Figure AT-RH-6.
Figure AT-RH-6:
14. Now what relationship can be determined between temperature and relative humidity?
with an increase temperature there is a decrease in relative humidity – as temperature decreases,
relative humidity increases
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HOW COULD THIS DATA HELP DEFINE CHARACTERISTICS OF CLIMATE?
15. What relationship is there between the seasons and relative humidity? in cooler seasons, relative
humidity is typically higher than in warmer seasons when it is generally lower (inversely related)
16. This graph is for Norfolk, Arkansas. Do you think the same relationships exist in north Alabama?
Why do you think so? Yes, because they have similar latitudes and are not influenced by large
bodies of water or mountains
Look at Figure AT-RH-7:
17. What data type is on this graph? dew point
18. Against what other atmospheric measurement is this data plotted? air temperature (oC)
19. If both the orange and green lines are the dew point, why is one line higher than the other?
different locations, different climates
HOW COULD THIS DATA INDICATE THE EFFECT OF LOCATION ON CLIMATE?
20. Why do you think Italy generally has a higher dew point than Germany? climate is warmer
HOW COULD THIS DATA RELATE TO OTHER WEATHER FACTORS?
Look at Figure AT-RH-8:
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
What data type does the red line represent? relative humidity
What are the units of measurement? %
What is the time period of the graph? 7/01 through 9/01
Where is the location from which the data were taken? Gladstone High School, Glastone, SA, AU
What data type do the green squares represent? cloud cover
Look at the units for cloud cover and be sure that you know what they mean:
OVC = 90 – 100%
SCT = 25 – 50%
BKN = 50 – 90%
ISO = 10 – 25%
SQT = sky obscured
CLR = 0 – 10%
NON = 0%
27. When the cloud cover was dense (OVC or BKN), what was happening with the relative humidity?
relative humidity was increasing
28. When the cloud cover was light (NON, CLR, ISO, SCT), what was happening with relative
humidity?
relative humidity was decreasing
29. What conclusion might you draw from this data? they are directly proportional (direct relationship)
DO THE NUMBERS BACK UP YOUR CONCLUSION?
30. Count the number of scattered cloud days. 5 days
31. Find the average relative humidity for the scattered cloud cover days.
For each scattered cover day, write the percent relative humidity.
Add those numbers together.
Then divide by 5, because there were 5 scattered days. < 55%
This is the average relative humidity for scattered days.
32. Find the average relative humidity for the isolated cloud days.
For each isolated cover day, write the percent relative humidity.
Add those numbers together.
Then divide by 7, because there were 7 isolated days. 40 – 45%
This is the average relative humidity for isolated days.
33. What does the mathematics say about the relationship of cloud cover to relative humidity? Use
numbers/equations in your response. the higher the cloud cover, the higher the relative humidity
< 25% cloud cover, < 50% relative humidity; > 25% cloud cover, > 55% relative humidity
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Plans for Day
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
I. Activity
What is Barometric Pressure?
30 minutes
Time Allotment
Objective – Understanding the concept of
barometric pressure
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Outline/Plans
Have participants view the “Barometric
Pressure” PowerPoint, found at
www.amsti.org/globe, or on the
training CD-ROM.
Show the participants how to access
current barometric pressure readings for
their area:
Go to www.srh.noaa.gov
Click on your region of the state.
On the regional page, enter either your city
and state or your zip code. Click “GO”.
On the Local Forecast page, find the
“Current Conditions” field.
Look at the Barometric Pressure reading.
What information do you find?
Click the “3 Day History” link. Find the
barometric pressure readings in the table.
Has the pressure been rising, falling, or
steady?
Look at the “Weather” and “Sky
Condition” columns on the “3 Day
History” page.
Can you find any
correlation between weather conditions
and barometric pressure?
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
•
•
•
COS Standard 1, bullet 1
COS Standard 1, bullet 2
COS Standard 1, bullet 4
•
Rationale/Helpful Hints
Go to www.amsti.org/ globe click on
“6th Grade” then click on the name of the
“PowerPoint Presentations.”
•
Remember that we use the pressure
reading in millibars, not inches.
•
The term “Optional Barometric Pressure
Protocol” is a GLOBE term; both
barometric pressure and relative humidity
are standard AMSTI-GLOBE activities.
Sixth grade AMSTI teachers are asked to
do both activities with their classes.
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Plans for Day GLOBE 6 Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
J. Activity
Calibration
15 minutes
Time Allotment
•
Objective – Understanding the protocol for
calibrating an aneroid barometer.
•
•
•
•
•
Outline/Plans
The GLOBE Optional Barometric
Pressure Protocol gives instructions for
calibrating the barometer.
Go www.srh.noaa.gov to and find the
current barometric pressure reading as
described in “I” above.
Use the zip code that is closest to your
current location.
Use a jeweler’s screwdriver or an eyeglass
screwdriver to adjust the calibration
setscrew on the back of the barometer.
Carefully turn the screw until the
barometer needle matches the current
weather service reading. Be sure to use the
correct scale; GLOBE readings are in
millibars.
Remind participants to calibrate their
barometer if they move it to a different
location, such as to an upstairs classroom.
Otherwise the barometer should be
calibrated every six months.
Barometer check: Place the barometer in a
clear plastic bag, blow air into it and seal
tightly so the air will not escape. Gently
push down on the bag. If your registering
needle moves several millibars, it is
working as expected.
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•
•
•
•
•
COS Standard 1, bullet 2
Rationale/Helpful Hints
It is important that our measurements be
accurate, so that measurements taken in
different places can be compared. To
insure accuracy, we must calibrate our
barometer to a known value. The
barometer is calibrated by adjusting it to
match the current reading from the nearest
weather service station.
The barometer is a sensitive instrument.
Allow the students to help by looking up
the current pressure reading and helping
read the scale; however, the teacher
should do the actual adjustment.
Ask students to take three readings before
and after calibration. This will help them
be more involved in the process and learn
about calibration themselves.
Accuracy and calibration procedures are
important science concepts; be sure to
involve students in the process.
GLOBE Optional Barometric Pressure
Protocol, instructions for calibrating
barometer—page 50.
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How to Place the Aneroid Barometer or
Altimeter
In GLOBE we use a standard aneroid barometer
or an altimeter. It should be mounted securely on
a wall in the classroom, since air pressure is equal
inside and outside the building. It should not rattle
or shake back and forth. It should be mounted at
eye level on the wall so that students can read it
accurately. The barometer must first be calibrated
against a standard value, either by calling a local
government agency for assistance, or by following the instructions given in Calibrating Your
Barometer. Your barometer should be recalibrated
at least every six months.
needle will read yesterday’s value, and you can instantly compare to see whether pressure is higher
or lower now than the day before!
To calibrate your barometer, you will have to find a
local reliable weather information source, which provides measurements of pressure. A weather service
or weather bureau office, agricultural extension office, newspaper, radio, or television station may be
useful here.
Be sure that the reading is expressed as a sea level
pressure. If the units of this pressure reading are
not millibars or hectopascals you will need to convert the reading using the factors given below.
Questions for Further Investigation
Conversion of Pressure Units
After recording your pressure readings for a
month, make a graph of your pressure observations and also plot the daily precipitation. Do you
see a relationship between these observations?
What if my units of pressure are not given to me in
millibars or hectopascals?
Is there any relationship between your data from
the Cloud Protocols and barometric pressure?
This is quite likely in many locations, depending
on the source of the calibration information.
Use the table below to change the units of pressure
to millibars from the units given.
Use pressure data from several GLOBE schools
adjusted to sea level pressure to see if you can
locate where high and low pressure areas are for a
given day. How well do your findings compare
with weather maps from your local newspaper or
any other source?
Calibrating Your
Barometer
When your barometer arrives, it most likely will
have been calibrated at the factory. But it is necessary to calibrate the barometer yourself before you
install the instrument. First, inspect your barometer; it will most likely have two different scales,
one in millibars (or hectopascals) and one in millimeters (or centimeters) of mercury. All of your
measurements for GLOBE should be taken in millibars or hectopascals (remember, these are
equivalent).
Convert from
Multiply by this factor
Inches of mercury
33.86
Centimeters of mercury
13.33
Millimeters of mercury
1.333
Kilopascals
10
Pascals
0.01
Once you have obtained an accurate sea level pressure reading in millibars or hectopascals, reset your
barometer to this pressure reading using a small set
screw on the back of the barometer (this should only
be done by the teacher!).
The barometer will then display the sea level pressure at your site accurately, within the limits of the
scale on the barometer. If you move the barometer
to a site with a different elevation you will need to
calibrate the barometer based on a sea level pressure for that site.
There is a needle that can be set to the current
reading each day – you should do this each day
after you take your pressure reading. When you
take tomorrow’s reading, your barometer’s set
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Plans for Day
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
K. Activity
Practicing the Protocol
15 minutes
Time Allotment
Objective – Understanding the GLOBE Barometric
Pressure Protocol
•
•
•
•
•
Outline/Plans
Review the GLOBE Optional Barometric
Pressure Protocol. Note the following
important items:
Barometric pressure readings should be
taken within one hour (+ or -) of solar noon.
The barometer may simply be mounted in
the classroom. However, if your school’s
Atmosphere Study Site is a long distance
away from the classroom, you may wish to
define a second atmosphere site (a school
can have as many as needed). Since the
GPS receiver does not work indoors, the
latitude/longitude reading should be taken
outside, as near to the classroom as
possible.
Review the Atmosphere Integrated 1-Day
Data Sheet. Note that there is a place to
check for sea-level pressure.
Review the Barometric Pressure Protocol
Field Guide. Note the instruction to adjust
the set needle to the current reading each
day. Why is this important?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Revised 2008
COS Standard 1, bullet 2
COS Standard 1, bullet 4
Rationale/Helpful Hints
The GLOBE Barometric Pressure Protocol
sheets contain a great deal of helpful
science content regarding barometric
pressure. They can be very useful in
lesson preparation.
National Weather Service barometric
pressures are given as “sea-level pressure.”
If the barometer is calibrated to a current
NWS reading, it will not be necessary to
convert from station pressure to sea level
pressure.
It is important to adjust the set needle on
the barometer to the current reading each
time it is read. Before moving it, compare
it to the current reading. Students can
easily see if the pressure is rising, falling,
or steady.
If your school does not have an
Atmosphere Study Site (as would be the
case with a 6-8 middle school), you will
need to define a study site. Locate the site
near the classroom and use it for both
relative humidity and barometric pressure.
GLOBE Optional Barometric Pressure
Protocol Field Guide— pages 52
Data Entry Sheet—page 53
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Optional Barometric Pressure
Protocol
Field Guide
Task
Measure the barometric pressure.
Reset the “set needle” to today’s reading of barometric pressure.
What You Need
❑
A properly mounted aneroid barometer or altimeter
❑ Atmosphere Investigation Data Sheet or Aerosols Data Sheet or Ozone Data Sheet
or Water Vapor Data Sheet
❑
Pen or pencil
In the Classroom
1. Record the time and date on the Atmosphere Data Sheet. (Skip this step if you are using the
Aerosols, Ozone, or Water Vapor Data Sheet.)
2. Tap gently on the glass cover of the aneroid barometer to stabilize the needle.
3. Read the barometer to the nearest 0.1 millibar (or hectopascal).
4. Record this reading as the current pressure.
5. Set the “set needle” to the current pressure.
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GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Optional Barometric Pressure Protocol - 5
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Plans for Day- Day 2
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
L. Activity
Solar Noon
15 minutes
Time Allotment
Objective – Understand the concept of solar noon
and how to determine solar noon at your location
•
•
Outline/Plans
Discuss the difference between solar noon
and chronological noon. Ask the
participants, “Does solar noon always
come at 12:00? Why or why not?”
Show participants how to access the
GLOBE Solar Noon Calculator.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Revised 2008
COS Standard 1, bullet 2
COS Standard 1, bullet 4
Rationale/Helpful Hints
Solar noon is halfway between local
sunrise and sunset. It changes as the
sunrise/sunset times change during the
year.
To use the GLOBE Solar Noon Calculator:
Determine local sunrise/sunset times from
newspaper or Internet, if available.
Go to www.globe.gov
Click on “Enter the GLOBE site”
Click on “FAQ’s” in the left-hand menu
bar.
Click on “Data Entry” in the FAQ Menu at
the bottom of the page.
Click on the question, “How do I calculate
solar noon?”
Read the description of solar noon on the
solar noon page. There are two ways to
calculate solar noon: from your
sunrise/sunset times or from your
longitude and the date. Click the
appropriate link and enter the required
information.
Remember to convert the solar noon time
to UT, if not already done.
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Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
M. Activity
Universal Time
15 minutes
Time Allotment
Objective – Understanding Universal Time
•
Outline/Plans
Use
the
“Universal
Time”
and
“Calculating Universal Time” activities to
demonstrate the concept of Universal
Time. Blackline masters for overhead
transparencies are on the website.
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
•
•
COS Standard 1, bullet 3
COS Standard 1, bullet 4
•
Rationale/Helpful Hints
“Universal Time” handout— pages 56-58
•
Revised 2008
“Calculating Universal Time” handouts—
pages 59-61
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UNIVERSAL TIME
Universal Time divides the world into 24 time zones. On most maps, lines of longitude
are spaced at 30 degree intervals, which are equal to two time zones. The continental
United States has four time zones. (See the Time Zone Sheet.) The divisions are not
even or regular, because political and cultural considerations affected their creation.
Time is calculated from the prime meridian, which is the longitude running through
Greenwich, England. On your map trace the Prime Meridian with red. As the day begins
at 6:00AM, the sun appears to rise in the east. The United States has not yet seen the
sunrise. (Lay the grid transparency so the right edge of the grid is on the Prime Meridian.)
As the Earth turns, sunrise moves westward toward the United States. (Pull the grid to
the left until Georgia is reached.) It takes 5 hours for the Earth to turn enough for
Georgia to have sunrise. In England it is 11:00 AM. In Georgia it is 6:00AM.
(Pull the grid to the left until Alabama is reached.) An hour later it is sunrise in Alabama
(6:00AM). In Alabama it is 6:00AM, in Georgia it is 7:00 AM. In England it is
12:00PM.
(Pull the grid to the left until Arizona is reached.) An hour later it is sunrise in Arizona
(6:00AM). In Alabama it is 7:00AM, in Georgia it is 8:00 AM, and in England it is
1:00PM.
(Pull the grid to the left until California is reached.) An hour later it is sunrise in
California (6:00AM). In Arizona it is 7:00 AM, in Alabama it is 8:00AM, in Georgia it
is 9:00 AM, and in England it is 2:00 PM.
This continues until the Earth has made a complete revolution.
Using AM and PM can be confusing, because the times are used twice in a day. To avoid
confusion, Universal Time employs military time. This is a twenty-four hour clock.
Time proceeds like this:
Midnight = 0:00
7:00AM = 7:00
2:00PM = 14:00
9:00PM = 21:00
1:00AM = 1:00
8:00AM = 8:00
3:00PM = 15:00
10:00PM = 22:00
2:00AM = 2:00
9:00AM = 9:00
4:00PM = 16:00
11:00PM = 23:00
3:00AM = 3:00
10:00AM = 10:00
5:00PM = 17:00
11:59PM = 23:59
4:00AM = 4:00
11:00AM = 11:00
6:00PM = 18:00
Midnight = 0:00
5:00AM = 5:00
midday = 12:00
7:00PM = 19:00
A new day starts
6:00AM = 6:00
1:00PM = 13:00
8:00PM = 20:00
0:01AM = 0.01
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CALCULATING UNIVERSAL TIME
To calculate Universal Time in Alabama:
1. Start with local time. (6:00AM)
2. Change the local time to military time. (6:00)
3. Add 6 hours, because Alabama has to wait six hours for sunrise. (12:00)
4. If it is Daylight Savings Time, we have turned our clock forward one hour. Now we are only five
hours behind England for sunrise. In this case, add 5 hours to the time (11:00).
Practice calculating Universal Time.
Location
Local Time
Huntsville
2:30PM
Birmingham
12:00 noon
Florence
11:00AM
Salt Lake City
1:15PM
Atlanta
1:15PM
Mobile
1:15PM
Los Angeles
1:15PM
Juneau, AK
9 zones from
Eng.
Honolulu
10 zones from
Eng
Pisgah
1:15PM
Military Time
14:30
Add hours
20:30
19:30
DST
1:15PM
10:00PM
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CALCULATING UNIVERSAL TIME
Answers to Student Worksheet
Location
Local Time
Military Time
Add hours
Universal Time
DST
Universal Time
Huntsville
2:30PM
14:30
20:30
19:30
12:00 noon
12:00
18:00
17:00
11:00AM
11:00
17:00
16:00
Salt Lake City
1:15PM
13:15
20:15
19:15
Atlanta
1:15PM
13:15
18:15
17:15
Mobile
1:15PM
13:15
19:15
18:15
Los Angeles
1:15PM
13:15
21:15
20:15
1:15PM
13:15
22:15
21:15
1:15PM
13:15
23:15
N/A
10:00PM
22:00
4:00 the next day
3:00 the next day
Birmingham
Florence
Juneau, AK
(9 zones from
England)
Honolulu
(10 zones from
England)
Pisgah
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Plan for the Day
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
N: Title of Activity/Lesson
Time Allotment
Objective – Understanding the function
of the Global Positioning System (GPS)
•
•
Locating our Data
30 Minutes
COS Standard 1, bullet 2
COS Standard 1, bullet 3
Outline/ Plans
Rationale/Helpful Hints
•
•
Vocabulary words: Latitude,
Longitude, Elevation, Satellite,
Degree, Equator, Prime Meridian,
•
“Setting Up Your GPS Receiver”
Handout, page 63
Design a foldable:
•
•
•
Have participants view the
“Latitude and Longitude”
PowerPoint from the training CD or
from the website. Use a globe or
world map to identify latitude and
longitude of various locations.
Have participants view and discuss
the “GPS 2008” PowerPoint from the
CD or website. Pass around GPS
receivers to the group.
Demonstrate how to turn on the
GPS and find the main page. Have
students find and identify the screen
items. Ask the participants to
confirm that the GPS receivers are
set up correctly, in decimal degrees.
Design a foldable: Our GLOBE
Site: Take the GPS receiver
outside. Do not begin recording
data until your GPS has “locked
in”. Wait at least one minute
between recording observation. On
the inside upper flap average and
record. On the inside lower flap
illustrate or describe the site.
After learning how to use the GPS,
the teacher can determine a lat/long
location. The students will go
outside using the GPS locate the
site, describe and illustrate.
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
•
Our
Lat (N)
1.
2
3
4
5
GLOBE
Site
Long (W)
1.
2
3
4
5
Elev
1.
2
3
4
5
# of
Satellites
2D
2D
2D
2D
2D
In The
Latitude (N)
←→
Longitude (W) Elevation
Revised 2008
3D
3D
3D
3D
3D
World…
Where
↕
Message
≈≈≈
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Setting Up Your GPS Receiver
(Garmin 72)
Your GLOBE materials include one or more Garmin 72 GPS receivers. If these units have not already
been set up, you will need to set the receiver to the correct measurement units. If the unit has not been
used before, you will also need to turn it on and place it outside so that it can download current
autolocation data from the GPS satellites. This can take up to 15 minutes, but does not have to be
repeated unless the unit is stored for several months or moved more than 600 miles while turned off.
Using Your GPS For the First Time:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Remove the battery cover by turning the “D” ring on the back of the unit ¼ turn counterclockwise.
Install 2 “AA” batteries. Replace the cover.
Turn the unit on by pressing and holding the power key (looks like a red light bulb).
Press PAGE when prompted.
Take the unit outside to a location with an unobstructed view of the sky. The main information
page should have an “AutoLocate” or “Acquiring Satellites” message.
Leave the unit in place for at least 15 minutes.
When the unit completes its autolocation routine, it will default to the map page. Press the
PAGE button until the GPS Information Page appears.
GPS Information Page
To Set Up The Correct Units:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Turn the unit on by pressing and holding the power key (looks like a red light bulb).
Press the PAGE key when prompted.
Press the MENU key twice to get the main menu.
Using the rocker button (large button in the center), scroll down to “Setup” in the main menu.
Press ENTER.
Using the rocker button, scroll right to the UNITS tab.
Scroll down once to highlight the “Elevation” box. Press ENTER. Scroll down to “Meters”, and
press ENTER again.
Scroll down once to “Distance and Speed”. Press ENTER. Scroll down and select “Metric”,
press ENTER again.
Scroll up and right to “Depth.” Press ENTER. Scroll down to “Meters” and press ENTER again.
Scroll up until the UNITS tab is highlighted. Scroll right to highlight the LOCATION tab.
Scroll down to “Location Format.” Press ENTER. Scroll up once to highlight “hddd.dddddo” (it
will not be visible in the menu until you scroll up). Press ENTER.
Press QUIT twice to return to the main screen.
Your GPS should now read latitude/longitude in decimal degrees, and elevation and accuracy in meters.
These are the units required for GLOBE measurements.
Example:
N 34.82576o
CORRECT (decimal degrees)
N 34o82.576’ WRONG (degrees/decimal minutes)
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Plans for Day
th
GLOBE 6 Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
O. Activity
Define A Study Site
Time Allotment
30 minutes
Objective – Define a GLOBE Atmosphere Study
site using the Atmosphere Site Definition Protocol.
• COS Standard 1, bullet 2
• COS Standard 1, bullet 3
Outline/Plans
Rationale/Helpful Hints
• Schools which already have a 3rd grade
weather station will already have a defined
Atmosphere Study Site. You may use it or
define a second site if another location will
Use the GLOBE “Documenting Your
be more convenient, or will better suit the
Atmosphere Study Site” Field Guide and the
needs of your research question.
Atmosphere Site Definition Sheet to define
the site you have chosen.
• GLOBE “Documenting Your Atmosphere
Determine the correct latitude, longitude,
Study Site” Field Guide – page 67
and elevation using the GPS receiver and the • GLOBE Atmosphere Investigation Site
GLOBE “GPS Protocols” Field Guide and
Definition Sheet – page 68
GPS Investigation Data Sheet.
• GLOBE GPS Protocols Field Guide – page
Use the 50-meter tape measure to determine
66
distance to any buildings or obstacles (if • GLOBE GPS Investigation Data Sheet –
needed) as specified in the field guide.
page 65
Use the clinometer and compass to measure
degree and direction of slope at the study Field Guides and Site Definition Sheets may
site, as specified in the field guide.
also be downloaded from www.globe.gov
To use the clinometer: Select two people (Teacher’s Guide) or www.amsti.org/globe
about the same height. One person stands at (Teaching Materials).
the bottom of the slope and holds the
clinometer. The other person stands at the Items Needed:
top of the slope. The first person sights • Field Guides/Site Definition Sheets
through the straw in the clinometer into the
• Clipboards for each set of sheets
eyes of the person upslope. A third observer
• GPS receivers
should read the slope in degrees at the point
• 50-meter tape measure
where the weighted string hangs.
• Compass
• Clinometer
Choose a site at which to collect relative
humidity data. The barometric pressure data is
collected in the classroom.
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
ƒ
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GPS Investigation
Data Recorded By:
Data Sheet
Date Recorded: Year
Month:
Day:
Circle Site type: School Atmosphere Hydrology
Soil
Land Cover Phenology
Other
Site Name:
School Name:
School Address:
Do not begin recording data until your GPS receiver has “locked in.”
Wait at least one minute between recording observations.
Record the following data from the appropriate screens on your GPS unit.
OBS
Latitude
Decimal Degrees (N/S)
Longitude
Decimal Degrees (E/W)
Elevation
Meters
Time
H:M:S UTC
# Sats
Messages
Satellites Circle if Shown
1
2D 3D
2
2D 3D
3
2D 3D
4
2D 3D
5
2D 3D
<———Averages
GPS Unit Information
Brand Name:
Model Number:
GLOBE® 2003
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Appendix - 3
Revised 2008
GPS
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GPS Protocol
Field Guide
Task
Measure the latitude, longitude, and elevation of your school or a GLOBE study site.
What You Need
❑ GPS receiver
❑ GPS Data Sheet
❑ Watch
❑ Pen or pencil
In the Field
1. Take the GPS receiver to the exact location you would like to determine latitude, longitude,
and elevation.
2. Turn on the receiver, making sure that you are holding it vertical and you are not blocking the
antenna’s view of the sky. In most receivers the antenna is internal and is located at the top of
the receiver.
3. After an introduction message, the receiver will start to search for satellites. Some receivers
may display the previous latitude, longitude, and elevation values while it is locking onto
satellite signals.
4. Wait for the receiver to indicate that at least four satellites have been acquired and that a good
measurement is available. In most receivers, this is indicated by the appearance of a “3-D”
message.
5. At one minute intervals and without moving the receiver more than one meter, make five
recordings on a copy of the GPS Investigation Data Sheet of all digits and symbols for the
following displayed values:
a. Latitude
b. Longitude
c. Elevation
d. Time
e. Number of satellites
f. “2-D’ or “3-D” status icons
6. Turn off the receiver.
7. Average all five latitudes, longitudes, and elevations.
8. Confirm for yourself that your results make sense. You should be able to get a rough estimate
of your latitude and longitude by looking at a globe or local map.
9. Copy and submit all GPS readings as your site location to the GLOBE Student Data Archive.
10. Follow this protocol at each site you need to determine its latitude, longitude, and elevation.
GLOBE® 2003
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Protocols - 9
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Documenting Your
Atmosphere Study Site
Field Guide
Task
To describe and locate your Atmosphere Study Site
What You Need
❑ Atmosphere Site Definition Sheet
❑ GPS Receiver
❑ GPS Protocol Field Guide
❑ 50-meter Tape
❑ Compass
❑ Clinometer
❑ Pen or pencil
❑ Camera
In the Field
1. Fill in the information on the top of your Atmosphere Site Definition Sheet.
2. Locate your Atmosphere Study Site following the GPS Protocol Field Guide.
3. Describe all obstacles surrounding your site. (A building, tree, etc. is an obstacle if when you
sight its top through a clinometer, the angle is > 14˚.)
4. Describe any buildings or walls closer to your site than 10 meters.
5. If you recorded any trees or buildings in steps 3 or 4, take photographs of the surroundings of
your site looking North, East, South, and West. Identify the number of the picture for each
photograph on your Atmosphere Site Definition Sheet.
6. Choose a partner whose eyes are at the same height as yours.
7. Ask them to stand 5 meters away from you going up hill on the steepest slope at your site.
8. Look at their eyes through the clinometer and record the angle. This is the slope at your site.
9. Record the compass direction to your partner.
If you have installed a rain gauge, ozone measurement station, or instrument shelter at your
site, do the following steps:
10. Measure the height of the top of the rain gauge above the ground in centimeters.
11. Measure the height of the bulb of the maximum-minimum thermometer above the ground in
centimeters.
12. Measure the height of the clamp for the ozone strip above the ground in centimeters.
13. Record the type of ground cover that is under the instrument shelter.
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Instrument Construction, Site Selection, and Set-Up - 12
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Atmosphere Investigation
Site Definition Sheet
School Name: ___________________________Class or Group Name:_______________________
Name(s) of student(s) filling in Site Definition Sheet: _____________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Date: _________________________ Check one: ❒ New Site ❒ Metadata Update
Site name (give your site a unique name):______________________________________________
Location: Latitude: _____________˚ ❒ N or ❒ S
Longitude: _____________˚ ❒ E or ❒ W
Elevation: ___ meters
Source of Location Data (check one): ❒ GPS ❒ Other ___________________________________
Obstacles (Check one): ❒ No obstacles ❒ Obstacles (describe below)
(Obstacles are trees, buildings, etc. that appear above 14˚ elevation when viewed from the site.)
Description:______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Buildings within 10 meters of your instrument shelter (Check one): ❒ No buildings ❒ Buildings
(describe below)
Photo Number and Orientation
Description:______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
N
________________________________________________________________________________
W
E
S
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Other Site Data:
Steepest Slope: ___________________
Compass Angle (facing up slope): __________________
Height of the top of the rain gauge: _________ cm
Height of the sensor or bulb of your max/min thermometer: _________cm
Height of the clip in your ozone measurement station: _________cm
Surface Cover under instrument shelter (Check one): ❒ Pavement ❒ Bare ground
❒ Short grass (< 10 cm) ❒ Long grass (> 10 cm) ❒ Sand ❒ Roof (describe below)
❒ Other (describe below)
Description:______________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Overall comments on the site (metadata):_______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
GLOBE® 2003
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Appendix - 2
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Plans for Day
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
P. Activity
Collect Data
30 minutes
Time Allotment
Objective – Use the GLOBE protocols to collect
relative humidity and barometric pressure data.
•
•
Outline/Plans
Use the GLOBE Digital Hygrometer Field
Guide to collect relative humidity data,
following the GLOBE Relative Humidity
protocols as outlined in the Field Guide.
Record the measurements on the
Atmosphere Investigation Integrated 1Day Data Sheet.
Use the GLOBE Optional Barometric
Pressure Protocol Field Guide to collect
barometric pressure data.
Record
on
the
Atmosphere
measurements
Investigation Integrated 1-Day Data Sheet.
•
COS Standard 1, bullet 4
•
Rationale/Helpful Hints
Divide participants into teams, according
to how many instruments you have.
•
•
•
•
•
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Revised 2008
Each person should have a clipboard with
the Integrated 1-Day Data Sheet. There
should be at least one copy of the Field
Guide(s) per team. Each person should
record his/her own data.
Use the same teams to take the barometric
pressure readings.
GLOBE Digtal Hygrometer Field
Guide— page 72
GLOBE Optional Barometric Pressure
Protocol Field Guide—page 73
Atmosphere Investigation Integrated 1Day Data Sheet— page 74
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Optional Barometric Pressure
Protocol
Field Guide
Task
Measure the barometric pressure.
Reset the “set needle” to today’s reading of barometric pressure.
What You Need
❑
A properly mounted aneroid barometer or altimeter
❑ Atmosphere Investigation Data Sheet or Aerosols Data Sheet or Ozone Data Sheet
or Water Vapor Data Sheet
❑
Pen or pencil
In the Classroom
1. Record the time and date on the Atmosphere Data Sheet. (Skip this step if you are using the
Aerosols, Ozone, or Water Vapor Data Sheet.)
2. Tap gently on the glass cover of the aneroid barometer to stabilize the needle.
3. Read the barometer to the nearest 0.1 millibar (or hectopascal).
4. Record this reading as the current pressure.
5. Set the “set needle” to the current pressure.
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Optional Barometric Pressure Protocol - 5
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Plans for Day- Day 2
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Earth As A System
Q. Activity
Review
15 minutes
Time Allotment
Objective – Making sure participants understand
the concepts of the previous session.
•
Outline/Plans
Briefly review the activities from
Day 1 and ask for any questions
from participants.
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Plans for Day
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
R. Activity
“Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down”
15 minutes
Time Allotment
Objective – Understanding the effects of relative
humidity and barometric pressure on weather
conditions.
•
Outline/Plans
The questions on the “Thumbs Up,
Thumbs Down” handout can be answered
by giving a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs
down” to indicate whether the humidity or
pressure is rising or falling. Read the
questions to the participants and ask them
to give a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down
in response to each question.
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
•
•
COS Standard 1, bullet 1
COS Standard 1, bullet 4
•
Rationale/Helpful Hints
“Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down” handout—
page 77
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77
THUMBS UP-THUMBS DOWN
↑ We are in the desert of Arizona in July. The temperature at 3:00PM is 30°C. At midnight
will the relative humidity have increased or decreased?
↑ We are in Mobile on the Gulf in July. The temperature at 3:00PM is 30°C. At midnight will
the relative humidity have increased or decreased?
Which will be more humid (higher relative humidity)? (Mobile)
Which will FEEL hotter? (Mobile)
↑ We are in Chicago in March. It is unseasonably warm. The temperature at 3:00PM is 23°C.
However, a huge cold front is moving in from the north. Will the relative humidity go up or
down when the two air masses meet?
↓ After the cold front has passed through Chicago, will the relative humidity go up or down?
It’s a beautiful clear day in Huntsville in October. The temperature at 3:00PM is 25°C. The
barometric pressure is falling. Can we expect clouds tomorrow? (Yes)
↑ We are driving the car from Denver to Salt Lake City. Will the barometric pressure in our car
go up or down?
↓ We get on a plane in New Orleans. It flies up to 10,000 feet. Has the air pressure in the plane
gone up or down?
Now see if the students can create one situation that would be ↓ and one situation that would be
↑ for relative humidity, barometric pressure, or both.
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Plans for Day- Day 2
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
S. Activity
Develop a Research Question
45 minutes
Time Allotment
Objective – Using the inquiry process to develop a
research question related to relative humidity and
barometric pressure.
•
Outline/Plans
Use the activity, “Our Research Design” to
develop a research question from your
understanding of relative humidity and
barometric pressure.
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
•
•
COS Standard 1, bullet 1
COS Standard 1, bullet 4
•
Rationale/Helpful Hints
“Our Research Design” handout—
pages 79-82
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OUR RESEARCH DESIGN
1. Consider what you know about relative humidity (RH) and barometric pressure (BP).
a. In what ways do RH and BP relate to another factor in the environment; for example, rainfall,
cloud formation, temperature, water temperature?
b. What are the forcing factors for RH and BP?
c. What extreme conditions can RH and BP affect?
d. What everyday conditions can RH and BP affect?
e. Do you know anything else about RH and BP?
Create a concept map that organizes your knowledge.
2. What questions are raised by your knowledge? Make a list of questions. Organize them by questions
relating only to RH, relating only to BP, relating to another weather factor, or relating to another
environmental element.
Be prepared to present and discuss these questions in a class forum.
3. After hearing discussion of all the questions in the class, work with your team to select YOUR
question. Be careful to compose the question so that it is not too broad or too specific. This question may
be altered as necessary at any point in your research.
Our research question is:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
4. What do you need to know in order to find an answer to your question? This list will direct the entire
design of your research project. Additions may be made at any time.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Create a graphic that represents how this information relates to the question.
5. How will you find the required information in #4? Will you analyze data already collected? Is there
factual information you require? Is new data required? (Do not choose questions that will require
collecting new raw data. Use data collected by our class and/or data that is in the GLOBE data base or
other reliable site on the Internet.) On another sheet list each information requirement from #4 and write
how you plan to acquire it.
Use the attached sheet to organize the research activities of your team.
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JOB ASSIGNMENTS
Task Master: Keeps everyone on schedule. Notifies group of problems. ___________
Meeting Leader: Runs meetings; reports to teacher ____________
Communications: Keeps records of group activity; heads writing of final report/presentation
____________________
Presentation Leader: Coordinates final report/presentation _______________
WORK BREAKDOWN
Research Title: __________________________________________________________
Task #1: _______________________________________________________________
Responsible Person: _______________________ Deadline: _____________________
Task #2: _______________________________________________________________
Responsible Person: _______________________ Deadline: _____________________
Task #3: _______________________________________________________________
Responsible Person: _______________________ Deadline: _____________________
Task #4: _______________________________________________________________
Responsible Person: _______________________ Deadline: _____________________
Task #5: _______________________________________________________________
Responsible Person: _______________________ Deadline: _____________________
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ASSIGNED TASKS
Task
Due Date
Day
Turn in research question (Comm. Leader)
1
Turn in assignments, tasking, and schedule (Comm.
Leader)
2
√
Done
Mid project report to teacher (Meeting Leader)
Research complete
Set date for presentation
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WORK SCHEDULE
We have two weeks to complete the project.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Activity
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Plans for Day- Day 2
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
T. Activity
Accessing GLOBE Data
30 minutes
Time Allotment
Objective – Understand how to access data from
other GLOBE schools and create maps and graphs.
•
•
Outline/Plans
Show participants how to access the data
available on the GLOBE website to create
maps and graphs.
Use the handout, “Accessing GLOBE
Data” to create a graph comparing relative
humidity and barometric pressure for a
single location.
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
•
•
COS Standard 1, bullet 2
COS Standard 1, bullet 4
•
Rationale/Helpful Hints
“Accessing GLOBE Data” handout
page 84
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Accessing GLOBE Data
To access data from the GLOBE website:
Go to www.globe.gov
Click on “Enter the GLOBE site”
Click on “Maps and Graphs” in the left-hand menu bar
On the “Maps and Graphs” page, click on “GLOBE Graphs”
On Advanced School Search page, enter “Norfork Elementary School” in the “School,
City, or Teacher Name.” Click “GO”.
You should see a table of data for Norfork Elementary School in Norfork, Arkansas.
Click the checkmark box next to the school name.
In the green box above the school data, make sure “Make a Graph” selected, and click
“GO”
You will see a graph of maximum air temperature.
To create a relative humidity/barometric pressure graph, scroll in the “Datasets” box to
find relative humidity. Click on it to select. Find barometric pressure (sea level), hold
down “ctrl,” and click it. You should have both selections highlighted. Click “Redraw.”
You should see a graph with two lines, one for relative humidity and one for barometric
pressure. There will be too much data to easily read the graph.
Use the “Dates” fields in the box below the graph to choose a one-month period. Click
“Redraw.”
Now you should see a graph for one month’s data. Can you see any relationship
between relative humidity and barometric pressure?
Use the “Datasets” box to select relative humidity and maximum temperature. What
relationship (if any) can you see between these two measurements?
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Plans for Day- Day 2
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
U. Activity
Data Entry
45 minutes
Time Allotment
Objective – Enter the data collected into the
GLOBE database.
• COS Standard 1, bullet 2
• COS Standard 1, bullet 4
Outline/Plans
Rationale/Helpful Hints
• View the “Data Entry” video. Remind
participants that data entry can be flexible
according to classroom needs – the data sheets
can be kept and entered in batches if necessary.
• Go to www.globe.gov. For training, go to
www.training.globe.gov. Use your school ID
and the password SGLOBE2.
• Click on “Data Entry” in the left-hand menu
bar.
• On the Data Entry page, place the cursor on the
Atmosphere/Climate heading. A drop-down
menu will appear. Scroll down to “Define An
Atmosphere Study Site”.
• Fill in the fields with the data on the
Atmosphere Study Site Data Sheet. When
finished click the “Send Data” button.
• If your data is entered correctly, you will see
“smiley face” icons. If you receive an
“exclamation point” icon, follow the
instructions on the screen to make corrections
and send the data again.
• If you are using an existing Atmosphere
Study Site at your school, you will skip this
procedure and go directly to data entry.
• Enter a site name that will be easy for you to
identify; for example, “Ms. Smith’s class site”
or “soccer field”.
• Be sure to click the “GPS” button for “Source
of Data”.
• Fields with red asterisks must be completed.
For other fields, simply ignore them if they do
not apply to your data.
• For “Type of Thermometer”, select “No
Thermometer”.
• No one has a perfect study site. That is the
reason for the “metadata” field. Choose the
best site possible, and enter any significant
comments in the metadata. Anything a
researcher might need to know goes here –
buildings closer than specified, unique features.
For example, if your study site is near the shore
of a lake or ocean, that could affect the local
relative humidity. Not that in the metadata.
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Plans for Day- Day 2
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
U. Activity (Continued)
Data Entry (Continued)
Time Allotment
45 minutes
Objective – Enter the data collected into the
GLOBE database
• COS Standard 1, bullet 2
• COS Standard 1, bullet 4
Outline/Plans
• After defining a study site, return to the
GLOBE Data Entry Page.
• Place the cursor over the Atmosphere/Climate
button. When the drop-down menu appears,
choose “Integrated 1-Day.”
• Enter the date & time the data was collected.
Remember to use Universal Time. The Data
Entry page will give you Local Solar Noon
for your location. Your measurement times
must be within one hour (plus or minus) of this
time.
• For Study Site Location, select the study site
you have defined. Click “Proceed.”
• Scroll down to the Barometric Pressure
section. Enter your pressure reading. If your
barometer is calibrated to the National
Weather Service web page, click “Sea Level
Pressure.”
• Scroll down to Relative Humidity. Select
Digital Hygrometer in the “Measured With”
field. Enter the “Ambient Air Temperature”
(dry-bulb). Enter the relative humidity.
• Click the “Send Data” button. If you get
“smiley face” icons, you are finished. Scroll
down the page to review your measurements.
Rationale/Helpful Hints
• Be sure to enter any pertinent metadata.
An example might be if you calibrated your
barometer since your last entry or if you had
to replace one of your instruments.
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Plans for Day- Day 2
GLOBE 6th Grade Year 1
Relative Humidity and Barometric Pressure
V. Activity
Implementation/Assessment/Feedback
30 minutes
Time Allotment
Objective – Discussion of classroom
implementation, assessment, and workshop
evaluation/feedback
•
•
•
Outline/Plans
Lead a “brainstorming session” having
participants discusses ideas for
implementing GLOBE activities in the
classroom. List ideas on board/poster.
Review the “Alternative
Assessment/Activities” handout. Discuss
how these activities might be used in the
classroom. Ask participants for other
assessment ideas.
Allow participants to complete workshop
evaluation forms before leaving.
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
•
•
Revised 2008
Rationale/Helpful Hints
Create a “Parking Lot,” a space on a wall
or a poster, on which to put ideas as they
come up. Give each participant a few sticky
notes at the beginning of the day,
and encourage them to write down ideas as
they think of them. Place the notes in the
Parking Lot and review them during this
time.
“Alternative Assessment/Activities”
handout— page 88
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Alternative Assessment Activities
1.
Assign teams the task of communicating the physics of barometric pressure or relative humidity
to third-grade students. The method could be a play, a big book, a poem, a song , a game, or
other engaging format. Work with the class to develop an assessment rubric. Perform the results
for each other and critique the science as well as the presentation. When a high level of accuracy
and design is met, take it to the lower grade.
2. Select a current or historic weather event in your area. Students must comment on what would
be expected relative to temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity, clouds, and other
variables. Then take a look at the real statistics to see what actually happened.
3. Make a barometer. There are several websites with directions for different types of barometers.
Choose one or have groups of students construct different ones.
http://starryskies.com/try_this/baro1.html
http://www-tc.pbskids.org/dragonflytv/pdf/WackyWeather.pdf
http://kids.earth.nasa.gov/archive/air_pressure/barometer.html
http://secoora.org/classroom/hurricane/barometer
www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/pdf/245896main_MeteorologyTeacherRes-Ch5.r3.pdf
http://www.mahster.com/content/view/109/43/
4. Make a sling psychrometer. Compare it with your digital hygrometer readings.
http://nesen.unl.edu/Lessons/Atmosphere/determiningrelativehumidity.asp
5. Make a hair hygrometer. This is a simple version of your digital hygrometer.
a) http://www.essortment.com/hobbies/homemadetoolsm_syhg.htm
b) http://www.salemclock.com/weather/hair-hygro.htm
c) http://sciencebuddies.org/science-fairprojects/project_ideas/Weather_p010.shtml?isb=cmlkOjk1NjQzNixzaWQ6MSxwOjEsaWE
6V2VhdGhlcg&fave=no&from=TSW
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A clinometer is an instrument used for measuring angles. In GLOBE, you use it to find the angle
for calculating tree heights. It is also used to determine obstacles at an Atmosphere Study Site. The
calculations work by applying the principles based on the properties of right triangles. You construct
and use the clinometer by following the directions and using the formula below. The clinometer also
lends itself for additional hands-on teaching exercises of trigonometric principles.
Welcome
C. Clinometer
Figure LAND-SS-7: Homemade Clinometer
Required Material
Introduction
• Clinometer Sheet and Table of Tangents
(located in the Appendix)
• Piece of stiff cardboard at least the size of
the sheets above
• Drinking straw
• Metal nut or washer
• 15 cm of thread or dental floss
• Glue
• Scissors
• Something to punch one small hole
• Tape
1. Gather the materials for each clinometer.
2. Glue a copy of the Clinometer Sheet onto a same-size piece of stiff cardboard (cut cardboard if
necessary).
Protocols
Modified from Bennett, A. and Nelson, L. (1961) Mathematics an
Activity Approach, Allyn & Bacon, Boston
Construction
3. Glue a copy of the Table of Tangents to the other side of the cardboard.
4. Punch a hole through the marked circle on the Clinometer Sheet.
6. Tie a metal nut or washer to the other end of the thread so that it hangs in front of the
Clinometer Sheet.
7. Tape a drinking straw along the designated line on the Clinometer Sheet, to use as a sighting
device.
Note: A clinometer measures angles to determine the heights of objects without directly
measuring them. It is a simplified version of the quadrant (a medieval measuring instrument),
and the sextant (an instrument used to locate the positions of ships). Like these instruments,
the clinometer has an arc with graduated degree markings that go from 0 to 90 degrees.
Learning Activities
5. Thread one end of a 15 cm piece of thread through the hole and tie or tape it on the Table of
Tangents side of the cardboard.
Appendix
GLOBE® 2005
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Investigation Instruments - 15
Revised 2008
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Directions for Use
1. Stand up straight and measure the height of your eyes from the ground. Record this number for
future reference.
2. Stand at the same elevation (level ground) as the base of the object that you are measuring.
3. Sight the top of the object through the clinometer’s drinking straw. Have your partner read the
number of degrees of angle BVW (see Figure LAND-SS-8) by noting where the thread touches
the arc on the Clinometer Sheet. (Angle BVW is equal to angle BAC, which is the angle of
elevation of the clinometer.)
4. Measure the horizontal distance from you to the object that is being measured.
5. If you know the angle of elevation, your eye height, and your distance away from an object, as
in Figure LAND-SS-9, you can calculate the height of that object using a simple equation. Add
your eye height to the number you determine using the equation below.
BC = AC x Tan ∠ A
Height of the Tree above your eye height (BC) = Distance to the Base of the Tree (AC)
x Tan of the Angle of the Clinometer (Tan ∠ A)
(see example next page)
Note: If you would like to practice measuring heights before going to your site, find a tall outdoor object
for which you know or can directly measure the height (such as a flagpole or the school building). After
completing the above process, compare your results with the known height of the object.
GLOBE® 2005
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Investigation Instruments - 16
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Clinometer
Clinometer Sheet
45
˚
Pr
e
R fer
an re
ge d
236
GLOBE® 2003
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Appendix - 2
Revised 2008
Land Cover/Biology
Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative
2005
GLOBE®
GLOBE - Grade 6 (Year 1)
Appendix - 3
Revised 2008
.02
.03
.05
.07
.09
.11
.12
.14
.16
.18
.19
.21
.23
.25
.27
.29
1°
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Tan.
.31
.32
.34
.36
.38
.40
.42
.45
.47
.49
.51
.53
.55
.58
.60
.62
Angle
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
Tan.
.65
.67
.70
.73
.75
.78
.81
.84
.87
.90
.93
.97
1.00
1.04
1.07
1.11
Angle
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
Tan.
1.15
1.19
1.23
1.28
1.33
1.38
1.43
1.48
1.54
1.60
1.66
1.73
1.80
1.88
1.96
2.05
Angle
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
Tan.
2.14
2.25
2.36
2.48
2.61
2.75
2.90
3.08
3.27
3.49
3.73
4.01
4.33
4.70
5.14
5.67
Angle
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
Example: Assume you have established a baseline distance of 60.0 meters. Assume that you have measured the tree top to an angle of 34°.
From the Table, you will see that the tangent of 34° is 0.67. Therefore, the tree height above your eye height is 60.0 m x .67 = 40.2 meters.
By adding your eye height above the ground (1.5 m), the total tree height is 41.7 meters.
Tan.
Angle
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Table LAND-A-1: Table of Tangents
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Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative