Sea Change Hands-On Activity Background Information Water heats up and cools down more slowly than air. Why? By volume water can hold more heat than air. In this activity, you will conduct an experiment to see different rates of change in water and air temperatures.

What ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

You Need 4 one-liter beakers (or quart jars) 4 thermometers graph paper 4 colored pencils or ink pens

What to Do 1. Fill two beakers to the same level with tap water. Leave the other two empty. 2. Place a thermometer in each beaker. 3. Place one water beaker and one empty beaker in the shade as controls. Place the second set of beakers in direct sunlight. 4. At 10-minute intervals for the next two hours, record the temperature readings for all four thermometers on the attached worksheet. 5. Complete the remaining portions of the worksheet.

Discovery Channel School’s Curriculum Center Oceans

Worksheet Sea Change

Name 1. Use the following table to record your temperature readings. TEMPERATURE (degrees Fahrenheit) TIME Beakers in Shade (Controls) water

air

Beakers in Sun water

air

:10 :20 :30 :40 :50 1:00 1:10 1:20 1:30 1:40 1:50 2:00

2. Use the data above to create a single graph that displays the temperature changes for all four beakers. Record time on the y-axis and temperature on the x-axis. Be sure to use a different color to represent each beaker.

3. Would the rate of change you observed between air and water temperatures be the same for large bodies of water? Why or why not?

Discovery Channel School’s Curriculum Center Oceans