Name: Ashrita Suram Date:
The air molecules inside heat up and they expand, as the air expands
they become less dense than the surrounding outside air. This
causes the balloon to fill up and to begin to float in the air. The more
heat you add the lighter the balloon becomes.
The air will cool...
Student Exploration: Coastal Winds and Clouds
Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.
Vocabulary: condensation, convection, convection current, land breeze, sea breeze
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
A hot-air balloon contains a propane burner that directs hot air into the interior of the
balloon. You can see the flames in the photo at left.
1. What happens when the air inside the balloon is heated?
The air molecules inside heat up and they expand, as the air expands
they become less dense than the surrounding outside air. This
causes the balloon to fill up and to begin to float in the air. The more
heat you add the lighter the balloon becomes.
2. What might happen if the burner was turned off?
The air will cool, it becomes more dense, takes up less space, and
the balloon will begin to sink in the air.
Gizmo Warm-up
Have you ever taken a walk along an ocean beach and noticed a
refreshing breeze blowing in from the water? The cause of this breeze,
called a sea breeze, is related to the reason that a hot-air balloon is able
to fly high in the sky. The Coastal Winds and Clouds Gizmo allows you
to explore how daily temperature variations are related to sea breezes
and other weather phenomena.
Click Play ( ), and watch the Gizmo for 24 simulated hours, focusing
on the sailboat.
1. Click Pause ( ) when the sailboat starts 10am
moving towards the shore. This represents
the start of the sea breeze. What time is it?
2. Click Play, and then click Pause when the 1:50am
sailboat starts moving out to sea again. This
represents the start of the land breeze.
What time is it now?
, 3. Click Play, and now observe the clouds for 7am cumulonimbus clouds are moving towards
a day. What do you notice? the land and it’s thunderstorming. Clear skies at
10 am. 1:50 Cumulonimbus clouds form and
are moving towards the sea and it’s
thunderstorming. Then clear at 6:50pm
Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready :
Temperature and ● Click Reset ( ).
wind ● Turn on the Weather probe.
Question: How is wind speed and direction related to air temperature
1. Think about it: Imagine a pocket of air over the land (“land air”), and another pocket of air over the ocean
(“ocean air”).
A. Which air pocket would you expect to Land Why? Because solids heat up
heat up more during the day? faster than liquids.
B. Which air pocket would you expect to Land Why? Because the Land cools
cool down more at night? down faster.
2. Gather data: Check that the time is 6:00 A.M. Drag the Weather probe so that it is on the ocean’s surface
(Alt. 0 ft) on the left side of the Gizmo, and record the air temperature. Then, repeat with the probe on the
land on the right side of the Gizmo.
Finally, move the probe to the land-sea boundary and record the type of breeze (sea or land breeze) and
wind speed. Record data for each time listed in the table below. (Note: Stopping the simulation at the exact
time is not necessary, just get close.)
Ocean air Land air
Sea breeze or Wind speed
Time temperature temperature
land breeze? (mph)
(°F) (°F)
6:00 A.M. 20 15.8 Land 23.2
9:00 A.M. 20.8 20.4 Land 2
12:00 P.M. 21.5 25 Sea 19.3
3:00 P.M. 22.2 29.3 Sea 38.9
6:00 P.M. 21.8 26.5 Sea 26.1
9:00 P.M. 21.3 23.7 Sea 13.3
12:00 A.M. 20.8 21 Sea 1.1
3:00 A.M. 20.4 18.2 Sea 12.3
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