So if we know that there needs to be high humidity when hail storms happen, how does water get into the air in the first place? We know that air is a mixture of many gases, including water vapor, so we agreed to figure out how the air gets more water vapor, or humidity in it!
We pulled out some humidity probes, and measured the humidity inside and outside our classroom, and yes, Mrs. Brinza brought in some humidifiers as CO air is typically very dry! We also invested in seeing how different environments around the Earth impact humidity levels, as water in the ground seems to play a huge role in ending up in the air above it.
We pulled out some humidity probes, and measured the humidity inside and outside our classroom, and yes, Mrs. Brinza brought in some humidifiers as CO air is typically very dry! We also invested in seeing how different environments around the Earth impact humidity levels, as water in the ground seems to play a huge role in ending up in the air above it.
We saw huge differences in humidity readings across various surfaces, and felt a need to show how the air could become so humid. We worked towards how the air can get water in it!
We're trying desperately to put ideas together here.
1. We know how the ground cover warms up the air via conduction.
2. We know that energy transfers between particles in the ground (earth materials and water) to get water to evaporate and make the air more humid.
3. We know that different ground covers absorb different amounts of sunlight, changing the rate of evaporation, and as a result, the amount of humidity in the air.
All this is getting us thinking...what should we investigate next knowing that the higher up you go, the colder it gets. So if air has a lot of humidity in it, how does this impact what happens in terms of hail formation? Check out some 8th graders' ideas..
Maybe investigate the energy transfer higher up? See how clouds form (b/c don't they form because of humidity in the air)? Good stuff here!
1. We know how the ground cover warms up the air via conduction.
2. We know that energy transfers between particles in the ground (earth materials and water) to get water to evaporate and make the air more humid.
3. We know that different ground covers absorb different amounts of sunlight, changing the rate of evaporation, and as a result, the amount of humidity in the air.
All this is getting us thinking...what should we investigate next knowing that the higher up you go, the colder it gets. So if air has a lot of humidity in it, how does this impact what happens in terms of hail formation? Check out some 8th graders' ideas..
Maybe investigate the energy transfer higher up? See how clouds form (b/c don't they form because of humidity in the air)? Good stuff here!