Table Of ContentSCIENCE
Technology
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NETWORK
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The guide that accompanies The All Weather Video of the Science,
Technology and Society series was written by Barry Edgar.
Producer: Arthur Heller
Editor: Betty Gibbs
Graphic Designer: Barbara Coonfer
Pen & Ink Illustrations: Ray Fowler
Educators in public educational institutions in Alberta may photocopy,
verbally quote, or use in exams, excerpts from this publication, except
material that has been credited to another source. Additional copies of the
guide can be obtained, at cost plus handling and postage, from the
ACCESS NETWORK Media Resource Centre. The order numbers and titles
are:
The All Weather Video
BPN 3539-01
Toxic Wastes: A Problem in Search of a Solution
The Lowdown on Food Additives
3539-02
3539-03 TBA
3539-04 TBA
3539-05 TBA
3539-06
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© 1 994 by the Alberta Educational Communications Corporation.
ISBN 1-895350-56-5
PRINTED AND BOUND IN CANADA
Table of Contents
The Science, Technology and Society Series i
• To the Teacher...... 1
29
• Overview of The All Weather Show 1
Climate 2
Ocean Currents 14
Weather 18
Severe Weather 20
Global Climate 26
Bibliography
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2017 with funding from
University of Alberta Libraries
https://archive.org/details/allweathervideoOOedga
The Science, Technology and Society Series
STS is an international science
• explain how the sun’s
education movement. It energy is the force behind
represents the first significant weather
change in the science • describe air masses and
curriculum in 25 years. The STS associated cyclonic weather
concept strives to broaden the
phenomena
scope of science education by • identify the technology
integrating into the science used in forecasting weather
program accurate presentations • foster an appreciation of
of the nature of science, the the importance and the
nature of technology and the complexity of weather
interactions of science and forecasting.
technology with each other and
society. This video series
This program examines the
provides illustrative examples
processes: that cause the
of the relationships between weather we experience and
science, technology and
that are used to predict it.
society.
Another thread running through
the video is the importance of
To the Teacher
accurately predicting severe
T weather. Although climate is
This video program is intended touched upon briefly, the main
for use in first year high school focus of the program is
(Science 10) as an introduction weather and the technological
to a study of weather or as an network that is in place to
end of unit activity. The
predict it. A
purpose is to show how
Overview of The All
science and technology, along
Weather Show
with human expertise, are 1
applied in meteorology. More The video begins as host Bill
specifically, the video program
Matheson, a professional
is intended to:
weather forecaster, looks at
global sized phenomena and changes in these factors are
briefly mentions some climate described as weather, while
types. Then the program climate is the average of the
focusses on regional weather conditions over several
phenomena in the cyclonic years at some locale.
zone of the Earth, examining
and tracking the progression of The sun heats the equator
a cyclone or low pressure more than the poles. When a
system. Finally, local temperature gradient is
phenomena are discussed, with established heat must move
an emphasis on severe from hot to cold. (This is a
weather, including hurricanes, statement of the second law of
thunderstorms, and tornadoes. thermodynamics.) These two
effects taken together set the
The technology used to predict atmosphere and the oceans
these phenomena is focussed into motion. The motion results
upon throughout most of the as heat is transferred from the
program. The radiosonde, equatorial to the polar regions
weather satellites, and weather of the Earth by convection,
radar (including Doppler radar) producing winds and ocean
are shown, as well as the currents.
standard measurement
instruments.
The temperature difference
between equator and poles is
caused by the angle at which
the sun’s rays strike the Earth’s
surface. When a source of
radiation hits a surface at an
Climate and weather are the oblique angle its energy is
combined effects of air spread out over a greater area
pressure, temperature, relative than it would cover if it hit the
humidity, winds, and surface at a right angle.
precipitation. Day to day
k it explains why the equatorial
Demonstration regions are the hottest. The
v
Earth’s axis is tilted 23.50, so
the place on the Earth that
Shine a f lashlight onto a
blackboard so that the light receives the sun’s direct rays
(known as the heat equator)
beam hits the blackboard at a
moves from the Tropic of
right angle. Draw a chalk line
Cancer on the Summer Solstice
around the circle of light on
to the Tropic of Capricorn on
the blackboard. Repeat this
the Winter Solstice. In this
procedure with the flashlight
shining at some other angle. program and guide, “<e quator ”
refers to the heat equator.
(Be sure to keep the flashlight-
to-blackboard distance
constant. It is easy to show
that the second area is larger
than the first one.
The same energy is spread out
more so each unit square of lit
up blackboard gets less
radiant energy. When this
concept is applied to the Earth
Purpose: To show the effect of different angles on the strength
of radiation.
Design: Shine a l ight on a radiometer at various angles to the
plane of the vanes and count how many turns it makes
in a certain time period. The distance from the
radiometer to the light should be held constant.
Notes: 1. A radiometer is a d evice that has vanes that spin in
proportion to the radiant energy that hits them. They
can be obtained through the science supply
companies or in most stores that sell science toys.
They cost about $15 retail (1993 price) and they have
an explanation of how they work printed on the box.
2. This lab can be used to work on graphing skills,
especially drawing the line of best fit. The data points
usually have some scatter to them but the overall
trend is that smaller angles (light beam to the surface
of the vanes) produce a slower rate of turn of the
vanes (90° perpendicular to the plane of the vanes
is the “equator” and o° parallel to the plane of the
vanes is the “north pole”).
t
