Measuring and Monitoring Weather,
Divisions I to IV:
Intro | Activity 1 | Activity 2 | Activity 3 | Activity 4 | Activity 5
Introduction:
The weather conditions on Mt. Everest can range from extremely hot on some days to extremely cold on others. It may be calm at one point in the day but a 100 km/h wind may be blowing a short time later. The human body is not well adapted to survive in the cold. Instead humans put on protective clothing and/or seek shelter to survive cold conditions.
In Phase 3, students were to design and construct their own weather instruments. Once the instruments were constructed, they were to collect and record the local weather conditions. In this series of activities, students are going to design their own experiments and investigations as they discover how Byron and the other climbers will cope with harsh weather conditions on Mt. Everest.
Scientific Method:
Students are challenged to design their own experiments and investigations. The following is a simple guideline that students can follow as they design their own experiments and investigations.
Guidelines for Designing Experiments According to the Scientific Method:
1. Decide on a question.
What do you want to know? Though you may have several related questions about a topic, you should narrow your question to only one for each investigation.
2. Gather information about the question.
This step involves doing some research and reading about your topic to help you think intuitively, as well as with knowledge about your question. Intuition is critical in science - your mind works unconsciously on the information it has gathered with ideas sometimes presenting themselves at odd times. Intuition isn't always right, however, and must be tested through experimentation.
3. Make a guess about the answer to the question - this is called your hypothesis.
4. Determine the variables, which are the elements of the question that you can consider changing or keeping the same.
For example, if you are determining the best way to find the actual air temperature, uninfluenced by direct sunlight or other factors, you might be able to change the location of the thermometer. Changing the location of your thermometer is your manipulated variable. BUT, you have to have control variables - things that must stay the same to make your experiment a fair test. For example, you should use the same kinds of thermometers and make sure they are calibrated the same. Also, you might want to consider keeping the thermometers at the same height in each location.
5. Decide how you are going to design your experiment.
What are you going to do in order to answer your question? What are the steps that you will take? Plan your steps carefully, but if you do add something for one test you have to add it for the next test too! Be sure to write down any changes you make as you go. Include how you will gather the data and what data you will record during your experiment.
6. Gather your equipment and materials.
7. Follow the steps you planned and record all the data you gather.
Sometimes it is useful to repeat an experiment to ensure that your data is valid.
8. Compare what you found to the answer that you guessed in your hypothesis.
Does the data agree or disagree with your original guess? Remember, hypotheses are never right or wrong, they are just supported or not supported by the results. The reason you conduct experiments is to learn something about your topic by exploring your question through an experiment.
9. Write your conclusions.
What do the results mean? Are the results useful? What did you learn? What do you need to investigate further? Do you have any more questions about this topic to which you would like to know the answers?
10. Tell others about what you found.
An important part of conducting experiments and seeking the answers to questions is sharing what you find out so that others can build on your ideas. There may be an opportunity to share your ideas with other schools involved in the Everest 2000 expedition.
Activity #1 - Monitoring Weather Conditions on Mt. Everest
Introduction:
One of the key factors in the survival of the climbers on Mt. Everest is being able to withstand the very cold temperatures.
Procedure:
1. Learn more about how very cold temperatures affect the human body by reading through the material in Human Body background, Cold Injuries
2. Use the Everest 2000 Website (Weather) to collect and record daily weather conditions on Mt. Everest. Record your information in a chart showing the days of the week down the lefthand side (you can also divide the day into morning and afternoon) and these categories across the top: Cloud Cover; Cloud Type; Temperature (Max/Min); Precipitation (Type/Amt.); Wind (Spd./Dir.); Barometric Pressure.
Please note that the Everest 2000 team may be providing slightly different information on the website - adjust the chart as required.
3. Enter the daily high and low temperatures into a spreadsheet.
4. Use the graphing capabilities of the spreadsheet software to chart the temperature on Mt. Everest.
5. You may wish to do the same for the wind speed, precipitation, and barometric pressure.
Activity #2 - Preventing Heat Loss
Introduction:
The core body temperature of a human must stay constant. The heart, lungs, liver and kidneys must be maintained close to a temperature of 37 degrees C. Prolonged exposure to a combination of low temperatures, wind or moisture can result in cold-related injuries such as frostbite and hypothermia. (See Human Body background, Cold Injuries) Hypothermia, if not treated quickly and properly, can result in death.
There are several basic methods by which energy is transmitted from one body to another. All of these, to some degree, apply to the human body. The factors by which heat energy is transmitted are: conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation. (See More information on heat loss) You may wish to use electronic or print resources to locate additional information on heat transfer.
Procedure:
Use the scientific method (described above to design an investigation or series of investigations that will demonstrate heat loss by conduction, convection, radiation, and evaporation.
- Decide on a question.
- Gather information about the question.
- Make a guess about the answer to the question - this is called your hypothesis.
- Determine the variables, which are the elements of the question that you can consider changing or keeping the same.
- Decide how you are going to design your experiment.
- Gather your equipment and materials.
- Follow the steps you planned and record all the data you gather.
- Compare what you found to the answer that you guessed in your hypothesis.
- Write your conclusions.
- Tell others about what you found.
Activity #3 - Wind and Wind Chill
Introduction:
Wind chill is the term used to describe the chilling effects of wind on exposed sections of skin. As the table below shows, what may be just "cool air temperatures" with no wind can result in freezing skin temperatures with only 20 km/h wind. The effects of wind can lead to frostbite and can be a factor in the development of hypothermia. (See Human Body background, Cold Injuries) You may wish to use electronic or print resources to locate additional information on heat transfer.
Procedure:
1. Use the scientific method (described above) to design an investigation or series of investigations that will demonstrate the role of wind in heat loss from the human body.
2. If at all possible, share your experimental design and results with other students from across Canada.
Activity #4 - Wind, Evaporation and Heat Loss
Introduction:
It takes a great deal of energy to evaporate water - change it from a liquid to a gas. It takes energy to evaporate water and this heat loss accounts for about 20 per cent of the body's normal heat loss. The rate of energy loss by evaporative cooling depends on the wind, humidity of the air, and the temperature. About 2/3 of the energy lost by evaporation is through the skin. The other third is lost from the lungs when air is exhaled.
Energy loss through the lungs by evaporation during breathing increases as the breathing rate increases. As well, colder and dryer air will also increase the amount of heat lost through evaporation. You may wish to use electronic or print resources to locate additional information on heat transfer.
Procedure:
1. Use the scientific method described above to design an investigation or series of investigations that will demonstrate the role of evaporation in heat loss from the human body.
2. If at all possible, share your experimental design and results with other students from across Canada.
Activity #5 - Protecting Climbers from the Cold
Introduction:
At the top of Mount Everest, Byron will be buffeted by severe winds, freezing temperatures and driving snow. A key factor in his safe return will be his selection of clothing that keeps him warm, dry and protected from the elements.
Having the right clothing on the Everest 2000 expedition will be an important part of the climb's success. Encountering extremes in temperatures from a low of -50 degrees F to a high of +107 degrees F (-46 degrees C to 41 degrees C) makes wearing the proper clothing crucial to Byron's survival and success.
Procedure:
1. Review the clothing that Byron and the other team members will be wearing as they summit Mt. Everest on the Clothing and Equipment page.
2. Use the scientific method described above to design an investigation or series of investigations that will demonstrate how Byron's protective clothing prevents heat loss.
3. If at all possible, share your experimental design and results with other students from across Canada.