Current Events

Briefing

The city of London, England is a lot farther north than Chicago or Minneapolis. But it's not nearly as cold there in the winter. That's because warm ocean water from the tropics flows up towards England and helps warm the air. In this Fab Lab, you'll make a model that shows how that happens.

Ready? Go to the activity now!

Activity

WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

A source of hot and cold water
Red and blue food coloring
A bucket (about 1 gallon -- clear, white, or some other pale color)
Two small (30 ml) measuring cups (like the kind you use to take medicine)
Plastic wrap
Two large marbles
Rubber bands
A sharpened pencil or fork

WHAT TO DO:

For this activity, wear a smock ? you might get spattered with food dye!

PART ONE

Put a marble in one of the small cups, and then fill it up with hot water. This is like the warm water in the tropics.
Add 5-10 drops of red food coloring.
Cover the cup with plastic wrap, seal it with a rubber band, and poke a few small holes in the top with the pencil or fork.
Fill the bucket with cold water. This is like the cold ocean up near England.
Put the small container of hot (red) water inside the bucket.
Write down what happens to the hot (red) water.
Slowly turn the large container around and around. This is like the Earth rotating on its axis. What happens then?

PART TWO

Take out the small cup and empty it.
Empty and rinse out the bucket.
Re-fill the bucket with cold water.
Add the marble, fresh hot water, and red food coloring to the small measuring cup again.
Put the other marble in the other small cup. Fill it up with COLD water and BLUE food coloring.
Seal both small cups with plastic wrap and poke holes in the tops. Make sure the holes are about the same size on each of the cups.
Write down what you think will happen when you put both cups in the cold water.
Put both cups in the water at the same time.
Watch what happens right away. Did you guess right?
Keep watching for a few minutes. Does anything change?

Debriefing

Warm water naturally flows into areas of colder water. Did this model help you see that?

How did the model help show how warm water moves around the world?

What happened when you used cold (blue) water instead of hot water? Why?

Why do you think a scientist would need to use a model to study the currents in the ocean?

If you've got your Case Journals, answer the questions in it now!