Investigation 1: Observing Weather

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To learn more about air temperature, visit the following web sites:

Air Temperature, Glenn Research Center (NASA)
Read an explanation of what air temperature measures


To learn more about wind, visit the following web sites:

Wind, National Geographic
Find out about the different factors that contribute to wind movement


To learn more about clouds, visit the following web sites:

Changing Global Cloudiness, Earth Observatory, NASA
Great Overview of how and why clouds form where they do on earth.

Clouds, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research
Learn about cloud formation, cloud types, and how clouds affect our lives.

Cloud Types Tutorial, S'COOL, NASA
This site teaches you to associate different clouds into height groupings. It gives you interesting facts about all of the cloud types and information on how to distinguish similar clouds based on their level


To learn more about precipitation, visit the following web sites:

Formation of Raindrops, The Learning Network
Read a short paragraph about the formation of rain. The article continues with a section on measurement of rainfall, distribution of rainfall, and religion and rainfall.

Precipitation, About.com
Information about all types of precipitation.


To complete Part B of this investigation you will need local street maps, visit the following web sites:

How to find maps

IES Climate and Weather cover art
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AGI's professional development programs for teachers are supported by generous contributions from corporate contributors of the American Geosciences Institute Foundation and the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Foundation.