Summary of key Science Concepts covered through the PASSPORT TO WEATHER AND CLIMATE
Videos, Hands-On Activities and Online Resources

Program 1
What Makes Earth’s Weather and Climate?

  •  The Sun as Earth’s primary source of energy
  •  Sun-Earth position as cause of seasons
  •  Differential heating and cooling of land and ocean
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    Program 2
    In and Out of a Hurricane!

  •  The Water Cycle: latent heat of water vapor as fuel for extreme weather
  •  How networks of sensors and teams of observers work together to create forecasts

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    Program 3
    Tornado Detectives

  •  Convection and circulation in storm clouds
  •  Angular momentum and high speed of tornadic winds
  •  The Doppler Effect applied as research and forecasting tool: uses of the electromagnetic spectrum

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    Program 4
    Winter Storms-White Hurricanes

  •  Changes of state of water from gas to liquid to solid
  •  Terrain as driver of regional and local weather
  •  Organization of a scientific field campaign

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    Program 5
    Thunder and Lightning

  •  Differences between light and sound waves
  •  Static electricity, insulators and conductors
  •  Rainbows and optical phenomena
  •  Nature of electrical charge

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    Program 6
    El Niño and La Niña: the "Boy" and the Buoys

  •  Effect of ocean currents and upwelling on regional and global climate
  •  Transfer of heat energy
  •  Technologies for climate forecasting

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    Program 7
    Earth's Variable Climate

  •  Fossils as way to retrieve past climate
  •  The Greenhouse Effect
  •  Scientific evidence for, and debate about, global climate change
  •  Science and social policy

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    Program 8
    Tracking and Recording Weather and Climate

  •  Application of physical principles (e.g. heated liquids expand) to construct simple weather instruments
  •  Practice in data collection and analysis through experiments
  •  Contributions of other times and cultures to the study of weather and climate

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    Classroom Videos / In-service Videos / Implementation Guide / Hands-On Activities / Worksheets / Website / National Standards