Birth of a Hurricane

Today we will create a cartoon strip of the life cycle of a hurricane, from birth somewhere off the coast of Africa to its end in the Atlantic or over North America.We will start with the first 5 steps.



There are nine steps needed in order for a hurricane to form.

#1 - Thunderstorms form along the coast of Africa
#2 - Trade Winds blow the storm west.
#3 - Warm air over the ocean heats up, becoming less dense, and rises.
#4 - This create low pressure near the ocean's surface.
#5 - New air rushes into this low pressure area.
#6 - The new air warms up and rises, creating a cycle.
#7 - Moisture rich air near the top of this cycle cools down, creating storm clouds called rain bands.
#8 - Due to pressure, air flattens out and starts to spin.  The Coriolis Effect, caused by the spinning of the earth, causes storms to spin counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere.
#9 - In the center of the storm there is an area of low pressure where it is very calm, this is called the eye.


Here are some photos to help you get started.

First 3 Journal Enteries

Entry 1

Date: 9/22/2010                   

Length of Daylight: 12h 10m
Sunrise: 6:28am
Sunset: 6:38pm

1. Water has a density of 1 g/mL at room temperature. Use your data from your lab to explain which item from the lab will float on water.  Discuss how the differences in density allow certain items to float on top of others.
 
Entry 2

9-29-2010


Length of Daylight: 11 hr 49 m
Sunrise: 6:36
Sunset: 6:26

Tropical Cyclone in the form of a Tropical Storm currently over Cuba heading toward southern Florida later today.  Wind speeds between 39-73 mph.


1.    Do these balloons have equal MASS? How do you know?
2.    Do these balloons have equal VOLUME?  How do you know?
3.    Do these balloons have equal DENSITY?  How do you know?
4.    Does the air inside the balloon have a greater DENSITY than the air outside the balloon? How do you know? 


Entry 3

9-30-2010


Length of Daylight: 11 hr 46 m
Sunrise: 6:37 am
Sunset: 6:24 pm

Tropical Storm Nicole has ended; it is now Tropical Depression 16. Eight people died in Jamaica due to flash floods.

(Stop Writing)

U.S. and Cuban meteorologists disagreed on whether it ever actually was a tropical storm at all.  Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami pegged its peak sustained winds at 40 miles per hour, just over the 39 mph threshold to become a named storm. Cuban forecasters put the top winds at 37 mph and disagreed that it was a tropical storm when it crossed the island.

Full of Hot Air

Air has mass, volume, and density.  

We compared  two balloons tied to a yard stick.

•  Did they have the same mass; amount of stuff in them?
•  Did they take up the same amount of space; have the same volume?
• If they have the same mass and volume then the balloons have the same density.

Then BOOM! One of the balloons changed the amount of mass and volume it contained. 

http://www.boston.com/news/health/blog/2010/09/_you_cant_make.html?rss_id=Top+Stories

Hurricane Formation

 

We will start our unit on hurricanes by learning how they are formed.  Density plays a key roll in hurricane formation.  As air is warmed it becomes less dense and rises higher in the sky.  If this warm air moves over warm water than the water will be pulled up into the weather system.  Warm air and warm water are the fuels that are needed to form a hurricane.

The first set of hurricane vocab is up on Quizlet link.  These terms deal with how a hurricane is formed.  The vocab is due on Friday, Oct. 1st.

Swirl Whirl Hurricane Web Quest

Use these link to answer the questions about hurricanes.  They are in the order that you will need them.  We will watch the first link together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEPZOC6YHUc&feature=related

http://www.hurricanehunters.com/  

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/tcfaqHED.html

http://www.weather.com/newscenter/hurricanecentral/2010/igor.html

http://www.weather.com/outlook/videos/latest-forecast-for-severe-weather-365#18312

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/weather-hurricane-storm/2010/09/16/another-tropical-oddity-three-hurricanes-at-once/

 
 

 

 

 

 

Density of Gases

On Wednedsay we will look at the power of air pressure.  This will get us ready to talk about how hurricanes function.

Quiz Fri on the states of matter, density, volume, and mass. Know your units for each and how to calculate density.

Check out these current articles about Hurricane Igor

http://www.onlykent.com/20100921/hurricane-igor-update-path-moving-quickly-to-canada/

http://www.myfoxmaine.com/news/Maine-Surfers-Enjoy-Huge-Waves-Thanks-to-Hurricane-Igor-103421219.html