Ocean Currents
Author(s): Trina Nicklas and Anna Louise Emrich
Subject: Earth Science
Grade Level(s): Grade 5
Big Idea(s): Temperature differences have a measurable impact on the flow of water in the ocean.
What you need: Large transparent container.
Red and blue dye.
Styrofoam cups.
Weights.
Hot and Cold water.
Setting: The lesson can take place in the regular classroom or a science lab.
Time Needed: This lesson requires 45 – 60 minutes.
Summary:
Students will gather a plastic tub of ambient water. They will insert one Styrofoam cup of hot water with red dye into one side of the tub and a separate Styrofoam cup of cold water with blue dye on the other side of the tub. Weights are used to hold the cup down into the ambient water without overflowing into the cups. Small holes are made in the Styrofoam cups with tacks which allow water to pass from the cup into the tub. The red, hot water will rise and the cold, blue water will sink.
Learning Goals / Objectives:
Students will understand that temperature differences in the ocean cause convection that drives the currents around the earth.
Background
Students must have an understanding of atmospheric pressure, molecular behavior, and density.
Setup:
It works best if all the materials are prepared ahead of time. We used a large coffee percolator to produce hot water which should be prepared last so it doesn’t cool. One piece of ice can be dropped into each blue dye cup to keep it cool. Each member of the group has a job that contributes to the assignment. Don’t forget the clean up member at the conclusion of the lesson.
Anticipatory Set:
A colorful pictorial is used to tap into prior knowledge of atmospheric pressure. One side of the pictorial displays how hot air rises and cold air sinks over the ocean. The other side of the pictorial models how hot and cold currents rise and sink in the ocean. (See attachment).
Instructions / Activities:
1. Students gather a plastic tub that is half full of ambient water.
2. Students insert a Styrofoam cup of cold blue water into one side of the tub and a Styrofoam cup of red hot water into the other side of the tub. The cups are waited down with a large bolt.
3. Students removed a tack that is stuck into one side of each cup.
4. Students observe what happens to the hot and cold water that escapes into the tub from the Styrofoam cups.
5. Students complete the laboratory worksheet that is pasted into their science journals.
6. Students complete a cloze claim statement that answers the original objective.
Assessment:
Students complete the laboratory worksheet. Finally, each student must complete a cloze statement that answers the original objective.
Wrap-up / Closure:
Students complete the assignment in their science journals after making their observations. The final cloze statement acts as a small assessment of their learning of the standard. Each group helps to clean up the activity materials.
Tags: Grade 5
Categories: Earth Science