Leicester University Physics Department

Weather

PLEASE SELECT AN ACTIVITY

Global Warming? (KS4)

Students will begin by investigating the subject of global warming. They will then plot (using a computer package such as Excel) and analyse temperature and rainfall data from 1900 to the present day, taken in Southampton and Sheffield. Using their analysis they should be able to conclude if there is any evidence for warming in these areas over the last century.

Temperature on Mars (KS3 and KS4)

Students will begin by comparing the range of temperatures on the Earth, Mars and the Moon, using the student worksheet.
They will then have to plot the temperature over a ten-day period from 4 September to 13 September, as measured by three different craft that landed on the surface of Mars:

* Viking 1 - 1976

* Viking 2 - 1976

* Pathfinder - 1997

They will use these plots to answer questions about the temperatures on Mars and how this relates to our Earth. They will then investigate how the temperature changes over a 24-hour period, from 2pm on 9 September to 2pm on the 10 September, and again answer questions about what they observe.

Weathering on the Earth and the Moon (KS3)

The students will determine the effects of wind, sandblasting and water on regolith formation and deposition on Earth using experiments on toast! After discussing whether or not they think that lunar regolith is formed in the same way, the students will simulate regolith formation on the Moon by meteoritic bombardment.