The Virginia Standard of Learning
This unit will follow the SOL strand for "Interrelationships in Earth/Space Systems":
2.6 The student will investigate and understand basic types, changes, and patterns of weather. Key concepts include
a) identification of common storms and other weather phenonmena;
b) the uses and importance of measuring, recording, and interpreting weather data
2.6 The student will investigate and understand basic types, changes, and patterns of weather. Key concepts include
a) identification of common storms and other weather phenonmena;
b) the uses and importance of measuring, recording, and interpreting weather data
Understanding the SOL (background information for Teacher use only)
- Earth's weather changes continuously from day to day
- Changes in the weather are characterized by daily differences in wind, temperature, and precipitation.
- Precipitation occurs when water, previously evaporated, condenses out of the air and changes its phase from a gas to a liquid (rain) or to a solid (snow or sleet).
- Storms have powerful winds which may be accompanied by rain, snow, or other kinds of precipitation
- Weather influences human activity
- Scientists collect weather data over time to study trends and patterns. These trends and patterns help them to make future weather predictions
Relevant Weather Vocabulary
Air -- The atmosphere that surrounds the earth.
Air pressure -- The weight of the air as it presses on the surfaces of objects.
Temperature -- The measure of how cold or how hot someone or something is.
Wind speed -- How fast the wind is blowing.
Wind direction-- The direction from which the wind is coming.
Precipitation -- Water that falls to the earth as rain, snow, hail or sleet.
Thermometer -- A device used to measure temperature.
Anemometer -- A device used to measure wind speed.
Wind vane -- A thin, flat moveable piece of wood or metal that points in the direction that the wind is blowing.
Rain gauge-- A device used to measure rainfall.
Weather --The condition or activity of the atmosphere at any given time or place.
Water cycle -- The way water moves from the air to the land and back to the air.
Water vapor -- Water that has changed into gas.
Evaporate -- To change from a solid or liquid into a gas; to disappear.
Condensation -- The change of a substance from a gas into a liquid through cooling.
Cirrus -- A kind of cloud that is thin, feathery, and high in the sky.
Cumulous -- A kind of cloud that looks like puffy white cotton.
Stratus -- A kind of cloud that is low and gray and stretches across the sky.
Climate -- Weather that is typical for a certain place including temperature and amounts of rain or wind.
Meteorologist -- Someoneho reports and forecasts weather conditions.
Air pressure -- The weight of the air as it presses on the surfaces of objects.
Temperature -- The measure of how cold or how hot someone or something is.
Wind speed -- How fast the wind is blowing.
Wind direction-- The direction from which the wind is coming.
Precipitation -- Water that falls to the earth as rain, snow, hail or sleet.
Thermometer -- A device used to measure temperature.
Anemometer -- A device used to measure wind speed.
Wind vane -- A thin, flat moveable piece of wood or metal that points in the direction that the wind is blowing.
Rain gauge-- A device used to measure rainfall.
Weather --The condition or activity of the atmosphere at any given time or place.
Water cycle -- The way water moves from the air to the land and back to the air.
Water vapor -- Water that has changed into gas.
Evaporate -- To change from a solid or liquid into a gas; to disappear.
Condensation -- The change of a substance from a gas into a liquid through cooling.
Cirrus -- A kind of cloud that is thin, feathery, and high in the sky.
Cumulous -- A kind of cloud that looks like puffy white cotton.
Stratus -- A kind of cloud that is low and gray and stretches across the sky.
Climate -- Weather that is typical for a certain place including temperature and amounts of rain or wind.
Meteorologist -- Someoneho reports and forecasts weather conditions.
