Convection Cell Activity

You need:

• convection cell snake
• colored pencils
• thread
• information sheets
• scissors
• tape
• heat source (??? Candle)

Directions:

1. On a piece of paper, cut out a big circle.
   
2. Starting from the outside edge, draw a line that spirals in to the center.
   
3. Cut on that line. It should now look like a coiled snake. 
4. Tape one end of the thread to the snake’s head and attach the other end to the ceiling or top of a doorway.
5. If it does not spin, place the heat source (at a safe distance) below the snake.
   

Watch it spin! Which way is it spinning? Up or down? __________

Therefore, is the air in that location is warm or cool? _________

So, what does hot air do, rise or sink? __________

Convection Cell Information Sheet

According to the radiation activity (this activity preceeds this activity in the course), the heat from the sun heats up the Earth’s surface. When that happens, the air that is touching the land gets hot. This is called conduction. As we saw with the snake, that hot air moves.

What phrase would you put on the right where the arrow is pointing down? ________________________

You will notice that the rising air and sinking air can’t happen in the same place. Air gets moved around and pushed out of the way. That is why the air make a loop or cell! When air or water moves the heat around by flowing, that is call convection. So, we just made a convection cell.

If you have ever experienced a thunder storm on a hot, sticky day, there is usually a plow wind just before the rain comes. The hot air is full of evaporated water. As it rises, it cools and forms big thunder clouds. There is a lot of air movement on these sweltering days because there are big temperature differences in the air masses. Hot is moving to cool and cool is moving to hot. Moving air is wind.

Coriolis Effect Information Sheet

Convection cells happen at all levels - in your pot of boiling water and across the whole Earth. When studying the earth, it is not surprising that the hot air at the ________________ rises and the _______ air at the North and South Poles ________. So there are 2 big convection cells in the atmosphere above the Earth – one in the Northern hemisphere and one in the Southern hemisphere, right?

Unfortunately, not quite. The air does not travel that far, so the convection cells are actually smaller. There are usually about 3 bands of cells in each hemisphere. That makes a total of ________ convection cells across the Earth’s surface. Finish the picture below. Note how the air is rising or sinking between the cells.

As you can see in the pictures, the bottom of these bands of cells is air moving across the Earth’s surface. These are called wind belts.

Now, if we look at the Earth from the view of a spaceship, we might draw only the direction of the wind as it goes across the earth's surface (and not the top of the loop). The wind belts might look like this. (Compare the wind direction of the bottom of the convection cells in the previous picture. The arrows in the picture to the right should be showing the direction of the wind on the bottom of the loops as it crosses the earth's surface.) We would expect the air to move North and South, directly toward and away from the poles, like this:

However, there is one other effect that we need to add to the picture to see the true wind patterns on Earth - the Coriolis Effect. The course, "I Wish I Could Do That!" includes directions for learning about the Coriolis Effect.

Our new course, I Wish I Could Do That!, focuses on some young adventurous characters who develop a deep appreciation for nature, its wonders and its power. This course is best for grades 5-8. It only requires some good novels and lots of hands-on activities. You may do this course at your own pace as you savor the books and accompanying activities.

How the course works:

• The student will choose 4 out of 5 novels to read.
• Before, during and after each novel, there are activities that encourage the student to explore background knowledge of the science, culture, and math behind each story and setting.
• The student will conduct activities and practice several writing styles throughout the course.
• This is a completely self-paced course. There is even some flexibility as to the order of the novels and the accompanying activities.

Interdisciplinary design:

• The object of the course is to approach the material from many subject areas so that any middle school student can find something he or she will like.
• By addressing such a variety of subjects, students can see how subjects are all connected in the real world. For example, one of the assignments is to design and advertise a fish trap. This includes some knowledge of fish traps from other cultures, some basic physics and math, and the ability to write persuasively.

Material covered:

• All of the materials and resources necessary for the activities and writing assignments are easily accessible in your home, at a craft store, at a discount store, in the library or on the Internet.
• The National Science Education Content Standards has 51 standards for all 6th, 7th and 8^th grades. This course covers at least 20, which is equivalent to more than one year’s worth of content. If you have specific standards your student needs to meet, please let us know and we can help you determine which standards the course covers.
• The course is expected to take approximately 20 weeks or 40 hours, not including reading time. The number of hours varies with each student.

Grading the learning:

• All assignments are graded with carefully-designed rubrics (Did the student meet each of the standards for that activity that demonstrates learning has occurred?)
• If you are not interested in grades, the course may be audited.

If you are interested in registering for this course, please contact us. We are offering a special discount this month.