Module V...How are climate, cultures & oceans connected?

Explore:

By total coincidence I am currently using part of this week to introduce my Physics students to the concept of specific heat capacity! I used a few of the segments of this weeks blog as part of my lesson...what really struck me was that I had taught this concept for many years, but had never put into a "global" or "cultural" context. I have often used the winter and summer extreme temperatures of Nome vs. Fairbanks in my discussions though(even though the Bering Sea usually freezes near Nome so summer highs are more extreme than winter lows)...we all know that Fairbanks is colder in winter and hotter in summer, even though they are both at about 64 degrees north latitude and only a few hundred miles longitude apart.
Nome temperature averages/records compared to Fairbanks temperature averages/records is a great comparison because students know where they are and are fairly familiar with the towns. The record temperatures are about 10 degrees F higher in summer and about 10 degrees F lower in winter in Fairbanks! Another good comparison is Anchorage vs. Glennallen.

I use a step by step lab with my Physical Science students...I tried pasting and this was the best I could come up with. If someone is interested in the "printable/table" version please email me and I will be glad to attach and return to you!

Specific Heat Lab--Transfer of Energy
Objective:
Students will use lab measurement skills to find the specific heat of several unknown materials.

Materials Required:
1 100 ml graduated cylinder per group of three students
1 Aluminum block/piece
Other “unknown” materials
1 Celsius thermometer or temperature probe
1 large Styrofoam cup

Procedures:
1) Place EXACTLY 150 grams(ml) of water from bucket in the insulated cup using a graduated cylinder
2) Record temperature of bucket water in the table.
3) Go to your teacher and ask for the one of the objects—do aluminum first to prepare yourself for the unknowns.
4) Have your teacher place the object in your water and read you its temperature—record this in the table.
5) Allow the water and object to come into “thermal equilibrium”—about 3 to 4 minutes and record final temperature.
6) Remove the object from the water, dry it, mass it and record the results. Pour water in sink!
7) Repeat procedures 1 through 5 for each object.
8) Clean your work station.
9) Complete the data table by using the formula: specific heat(c) equals energy (cal.) divided by mass x change in temperature: c = Q / m∆T also…Q = mc∆T

**Remember**-- by understanding that the amount of energy lost by the object(Q) is equivalent to the energy gained by the water(Q), you can easily calculate the specific heat of the unknown object! I use the following objects...
Aluminum
Cylinder (nylon)
Bolt (brass)
Nut (iron)
Ball (lead)
Stone (basalt)
Bar (copper)

Yet another fun activity is to fill a paper cup with water and try to burn the cup with a torch. We all know from those camping trips as kids (even big kids) that the water boils and as it boils evaporation occurs and only the exposed top of the cup will burn. My students could not believe that the water balloon in the "Oceans of Climate Change" you tube video would not pop...I love it when students question what they see or hear, so of course we had to put it to the test..even my seniors could not believe it! A simple but very "cool" demo.

Explain:

The specific heat capacity of water plays a huge role in our earth's "thermal energy" balance and dynamics as is shown in this module. Couple that with fluid dynamics (oceans and atmosphere) and the constant mixing and motion of these fluids, and the result is a very complex system. The effect from a cultural standpoint is the number of humans that live near oceans...easy to understand near the equator and assisted by the information in this module...fluid dynamics elsewhere at greater latitudes.
Another major component of global heating and cooling is expressed in the "Reasons for the Seasons". I remember my first summer solstice in Alaska as I went out to measure my height to shadow ratio just for curiosity. Even in southcentral Alaska my shadow is longer than I was tall (comparing the ratio with what it is in 37 degrees north with that of 60 north)...and watching the sun go "around" the sky, rather that "over" the sky was interesting to observe. Fewer photons results in less energy received and thus a lower increase in the surrounding temperature which plays a big part in the climate of the area.

Albedo is an interesting concept also, especially when discussing latitudes that are above or below the "critical angle". At a certain angle light is totally reflected from a surface (here we are concerned with water). At certain latitudes and times of the year the infrared wave energy from the sun that strikes an ocean surface is reflected back into space with no increase of water temperature. Yet another (of the many other) consideration is the "phase change" of water. The energy required for melting solid water and released when changing from a liquid to a solid play another role in this very complex global energy concept...the reason that lakes are the last to freeze over in the fall and the last to melt in the spring are those same lakes!

Extend:

I found the "Gulf Stream" you tube video of particular interest...I did NOT know that Ben Franklin was originally commissioned to map those streams nor the process he went through to create his maps. This and several other of the clips were very helpful to me this week in driving home the concept of thermal energy. In Geology one assignment I use is to assign my students to choose a dozen sea side cities...six from the Atlantic and six from the Pacific and they all have to be at least fifteen degrees difference in latitude. They then, using oceanic currents and latitudes, describe the climate of the cities and explain WHY they are that way. I am excited as I continue to learn more tricks on Google Earth and know my future lessons will be more engaging for and meaningful to my students than just pointing to places on a map!

Evaluate:

The Teachers Domain and You Tube presentations in this module were extremely useful in visualizing several difficult and challenging concepts, from oceanic currents to the Coriolis effect. I look at these and don't know how I have gotten those concepts across to my students in the past(maybe I had failed)...I know future lessons will be much more "understandable" using these digital (and already created!) resources. When I found the sea surface temperature plug-in, I could not resist taking a snapshot...

Finally, another great interactive to exemplify the greenhouse effect is from PHet. Try adjusting the amount of greenhouse gases to really drive home the concept of global atmospheric warming and how those gases effect temperature. In my opinion this is the best website for Physics interactive resources. It also has chemistry, earth sciences, biology and mathematics interactives...I would highly recommend taking a look if you are not familiar with the site already!