Fronts, Temperature, and Weather

 

Today we learned about the sun's energy and how it heats up the top layer of ocean water creating a thermocline. 

 

We did an experiment where we put water into a tray.  We dyed some very hot water red, and some cold water blue.  We poured the water into opposite sides of the tray and watched as they swirled around each other creating vortexes.

 

It also showed us how cold fronts interact with warm fronts.

 As part of our temperature study, we each made a homemade thermometer.  As the air heats up, the blue water will rise inside the straw.  You can mark off different heights on the straw just like a regular thermometer.

 

Panama is explaining how the blue water rises and falls inside the straw with the temperature.   

On a previous day we did an experiment with Thermoclines

 Here the kids are pouring in the hot red water and the cold blue water.

The blue settled to the bottom and the red stayed on top.  After about 5 minutes, they had mixed their temperatures and the water was purple.