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MATERIALS
- student copies of the Beaufort Scale (master
provided)
- wind anemometer or wind gauge
- student journals
- access to the outdoors
- current local weather report from a weather radio station or the Internet
- (optional) QuickTime animation viewer installed on your computer
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PROCEDURE
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Activity
- Review the use of the Beaufort Scale of Wind Velocity and the
anemometer with students.
- Go outside on a windy day and identify the force of wind using
the Beaufort Scale.
- Follow the directions for using the wind anemometer or wind
gauge and set the equipment on level ground directly exposed to
the prevailing wind. Record the wind speed.
- Compare the identified Beaufort force with the actual speed
of wind as indicated by the instrument
- Return to the classroom and compare both results to the wind
speed forecasts. Log all speeds in the student journals.
- Discuss the benefits and disadvantages of all three sources
of wind speed information. (For example, click
here to see an animation that shows how weather data are used
by firefighters.)
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Assessment Ideas
- self-evaluation by students comparing their interpretations
of wind speed using three tools or sources of weather information
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CROSS-CURRICULAR IDEAS
- History/social science (research topic): How was the Beaufort
Scale of Wind Velocity developed and how was it used?
- Technology: What is a scatterometer and how does it work? What
will this mean for weather forecasting?
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VOCABULARY
- wind anemometer: a weather instrument to measure the speed
of wind.
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SOURCE
- Adapted from "Winds of Change" educational CD-ROM, Copyright
Caltech and NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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