Weather Conversions

Grade Levels: 6 - 8

Objectives

• Students will use information on a website to learn about atmospheric pressure.
• Students will convert units of pressure.
• Students write formulas to describe their conversions.

Materials

• Weather Conversions worksheet
• Atmospheric Pressure website
  (http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/fw/prs/def.rxml)

Procedures

1. Introduce key vocabulary: atmospheric pressure, conversion factor, formula.
2. Give students copies of the Weather Conversions worksheet.
3. Invite students to go to the Atmospheric Pressure website.
4. Ask them to use the information on the site to convert units of pressure; they should then write formulas that describe their conversion calculations.
5. Students may complete the worksheet individually or in pairs.
6. Set aside time for students to share their calculations and formulas with the class.

Assessment

Use a rubric to assess students' ability to find and use information on an Internet site, convert units of pressure, and write equations or formulas.

Extension Activities

• Choose from a large collection of cross-curricular activities for all grade levels.
• Explore outstanding lessons and activities in the Weather theme.
• Direct students to U.S. City Forecasts (http://www.weather.com/). They can use this site to check the weather anywhere in the United States and practice weather and temperature conversions using real data.
• Have students go to the Interactive Units Converter website
  (http://www.convert-me.com/en) and check their conversion calculations. The site converts many commonly used measurements and units.

Standards Correlations

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
http://www.nctm.org/standards/

Students:

• develop an initial conceptual understanding of different uses of variables.
• understand relationships among units and convert from one unit to another within the same system.
• develop and use formulas.

National Educational Technology Standards
http://cnets.iste.org/index2.html

Students:

• use technology resources for solving problems.
• employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world.