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Oregonians,
Compare Our Weather to
Other Sites Around the
World!
by
Carolyn Gardner,
Linn-Benton
Community College
Weather is often a
topic of conversation in Oregon, but do you know
how our weather compares to other places around the
world. This activity will give you a chance to
explore using the internet. Follow the directions
carefully, taking one step at a time.
•
Before you get started, go to the
worksheet
and print it out so that you can record the data
you gather during the various activities.
• Let's get
started with the project. Go to the main
activity weather site: http://www.athena.ivv.nasa.gov/curric/weather/intlweat/index.html
Print out
chart, so that you can fill out the data. You
need to make at least three charts because you will
be going to three different cities around the
world. When you click on print be sure to indicate
that you want to print from pages 1 to page
1.
•
While you're on this page, go to the map and go
to Oregon. Find the city in Oregon nearest to
your city. Record the data on your weather
chart. Your chart asks you to record the time
that the data was recorded. You need to find out
what time that is locally http://aa.usno.navy.mil/AA/faq/docs/world_tzones.html
Go to the work
sheet, Activity One to calculate the correct time
for Oregon.
•
After you've calculated the time, record the
correct time on your weather chart, along with
the other weather information.
• There are
many factors which determine the weather. One is
the "latitude." If you don't know what latitude
is, look it up in a dictionary. There is a
Merriam-Webster dictionary online at:
http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm
Write your
definition on the worksheet, Activity
2
• Now you
need to determine what the approximate latitude
is for Oregon. Go to the World Atlas at this
location:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/maps/atlas/usstates/soregom.html
Look at the map of
Oregon. What is the latitude for Oregon? Record
this on your worksheet, Activity 3.
• Now
let's find two cities in other parts of the
world with comparable latitudes and see how
their weather data compares. Keep in mind that
you need to choose fairly large cities in order
to find the weather information.
• Find
another city in another country in the northern
hemisphere. If you don't know what northern
hemisphere means you can look it up in the
dictionary, too. You might want to go to a map
for Europe, find a city at approximately the
same latitude. Go to the National Geographic
World Atlas: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/maps/atlas/index.html
Choose Europe. You can then clink on any country
which you think might be at the same latitude as
Oregon. List possible cities on your worksheets.
Record your answers on the worksheet,
Activity 4.
• Find
another city in another country in the southern
hemisphere. Go back to the world map and choose
another location. You might want to go to the
map for New Zealand, find a city at
approximately the same latitude. List possible
cities on your worksheet. Record your answers
on the worksheet, Activity 5.
• If you
want to compare other cities, you may find them
in the same way. It might be fun to compare our
weather with the weather in another city on the
east coast of the United States.
• Go back
to the weather page and look the weather in one
of these cities. The weather can be found at:
http://www.athena.ivv.nasa.gov/curric/weather/intlweat/index.html
Record the weather information on the
weather charts that you printed.
• In most
of the cities around the world, temperatures
reported in Celsius. Americans use Fahrenheit to
report temperature. The temperatures on the
weather map are in Fahrenheit. Convert the
temperatures you found to Celsius.
The Fahrenheit
to Celsius conversion can be found at:
http://www.athena.ivv.nasa.gov/curric/weather/fahrcels.html
• To record
the accurate time and temperature for your
foreign city you'll need to convert the
information given at the weather site. You may
have to go back to the World Time Zone map to
figure out the hour conversion. Use the
worksheet, Activity 6, to record your correct
data.
• Record
the weather data for your foreign cities on your
weather chart. Make some comparisons. Is the
weather different? Record your answers on the
worksheet, Activity 7
I hope you enjoyed
this activity.
 Go
to "Compare Oregon's Weather"
Worksheet!
Click
here for this lesson's "Notes to
Instructors"
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