science
ademola
Nov16_Heating_cooling.pptx
Lab Exercise
Exploring how land and water heat up and cool down
Heat Lamp (represents sun)
Digital thermometers
Beaker filled with soil
Beaker filled with
water
Make your own graph paper
Graphing the temperatures
X-axis is time (example given below: 1 inch = 3 minutes)
Y-axis is temperature (you’ll have to figure out appropriate scale)
Low Tech graphing: A photo (blurry) of a handmade graph
Or use this graph paper
3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24
4
8
12
16
20
24
28
32
Heat Capacity: Response to energy
Energy input (sunlight, heat lamp)= heat capacity x change in temp
Change in temperature = Energy Input/Heat Capacity
Greater Heat capacity smaller temperature change
Lower Heat capacity greater temperature change
Water has a greater heat capacity than land
Light can penetrate
deeper. Absorption
gets more diluted
or buffered
(currents in ocean
can disperse heat
as well)
For soil- all absorption occurs
right at surface. Little capacity
to buffer or dilute the heat
Consequences
Convection: summer thunderstorms over land, not Bay or Ocean
(although, once formed they can move over the Bay/Ocean)
Climates near coastlines have fewer extremes.
We go to the beach in summer to cool off.
DC area gets colder in winter than Ocean City or Bethany
Seasonal lag- it takes longer for the summer heat to kick in near
coastlines because water changes temp slowly
Direct Rays at June solstice. Hottest weather not until a month
later
Most indirect rays at winter solstice coldest weather not until
January
One more type of surface- snow or ice
Snow and Ice act as
mirrors
Snow covered surfaces remain the coldest...... Unless…….
They melt: Arctic sea ice melts halfway each year.
Allows Arctic Ocean to absorb more heat
Antarctic ice stays mostly
frozen
Warmer summers in Canada and Asia from climate change
Warmer summers more Arctic sea ice melt absorbs more sunlight
even warmer summers
Positive feedback in climate change.
It reinforces the trend
More Consequences of different Heat Capacity
Which has more land? SH or NH? (see Google Earth)
SH has much less land- less extreme weather. Summers not
as warm poleward of 40o from equator. Which is why Antarctic
Ice melts less than Arctic
Summary of Heat Capacity impacts/significance
Location of convection
Regional climate- coastal cities vs. continent
Timing of peak heat and cold in the season
Can lead to feedback in climate changes
Big difference in SH vs. NH weather and climate
