Weather Water cycle, rain, snow, evaporation, clouds, lightening, thunder, sunrise, sunset, blue sky Misconceptions

Concepts

Water cycle
Water evaporates to form water vapor when heat energy is transferred to it.
Water vapor condenses to form water when heat energy is transferred from it.

Misconceptions

Water in a saucer doesn't evaporate the water has soaked into the saucer.
When water boils or evaporates it goes straight to clouds (there is no water vapor in air).
The (visible) steam from kettles rises, as steam, to form (visible) clouds.
When water boils and the vapor condenses some of the original water is lost.
Rain falls when the clouds are too full of water and it drips out (or the cloud bursts open).
Coldness turns into water (something taken from the refrigerator).
We sweat more on a humid day.
The bubbles in boiling water are bubbles of air, or oxygen, or oxygen and hydrogen, or heat.
All liquids boil at 100¬ÍC; boiling water must be hotter than non-boiling, heated oil.
If you melt cooking fat it will stay as a liquid (cooking oil).
A liquid will become lighter if it turns into a gas.
Water vapor is less dense than water.
Water evaporates only from objects with water (oceans, lakes, ponds, rivers, soil, animals…).
Water transpires from plants
Clouds, dew, fog, and frost is condensed water vapor.
Water evaporation from ice is sublimation

Concepts

Rain

Misconceptions

It falls from the clouds
Clouds make it rain. Rain people cry in the clouds.. God makes it. God, angels, sweat, crying, Rain comes from holes in the clouds, clouds sweating, clouds shaken, melt
Rain occurs because we need it
Sun and clouds combine to make rain
Moisture in the air causes rain
Moisture reacting with carbon dioxide
It rains when there are enough clouds
It will rain when the water in the sky or clouds becomes less vaporous and less vaporous and eventually it becomes water and rains down
Rain has something to do with hot and cold
It rains when water evaporates, gets cold, freezes, and falls out of the cloud.
Rain happens when a cool front hits a warm front or a moist front… (contact)
When clouds become too heavy to hold water it rains
Raindrops are tear shaped.
When water evaporates it disappears or ceases to exist.
Rain, water cycle, just comes from sky, comes from clouds, comes from water on earth to clouds to rain, process but not energy transfer or change of states.

Concepts

Snow

Misconceptions

Snow is made of water and air, chemicals, cold air,
Snow flake has points on the outside and holes in the middle
rain starts up high and as it gets closer to Earth it gets colder and turns to snow
What falls is rain or snow depending on the temperature

Concepts

Evaporation

Misconceptions

Water is absorbed into a surface, rather than evaporate into the air. Or an animal drinks it.
Air takes water up into the sky.
Water and air connect and go into the sky
Water turn to steam
Sun absorbed it
Water evaporates as water particle
Water disappears when spilled on surfaces.
Water evaporates to form water vapor.
Evaporation is effected by different variables.
Surface area, air flow, temperature, humidity, air pressure above the water, effect the rate of evaporation.
Evaporation takes place at the surface.
Other liquids can evaporate.
Evaporation cools the surface from which it evaporates.
Water comes on shore as waves and evaporates.
Bubbles in boiling water are air.

Concept

Clouds

Misconceptions

Clouds just go around the Earth.
Are made of pillows, cotton, wool, smoke, vapor from cooking
Clouds move because we move,
Jet contrails are smoke
Clouds are made from air and water
Air pressure keeps clouds in the air

Concepts

Lightning and thunder
Air is heated so fast that it expands rapidly and explodes
About one inch in diameter
Will strike power lines underground
Will strike inside a house. Number one killer on phone.
Car metal not tires will disperse it
Florida most strikes a year
When lightening strikes sand it melts it and creates sand fulgenites

Misconceptions

Thunder happens when clouds hit, bump, rub, friction… each other. When a negative cloud hits a positive cloud it makes lightening
When rain rubs against the air
Big spark
Supernatural event (God makes, angels when get a strike bowling)
Found by a famous inventor flying a kite.
Thunder occurs without lightening. Lightening occurs without thunder (heat lightening).
Lightening never strikes twice in the same place.

Concepts

Sunrise, sunset, and blue sky
White light is scattered by the gases in the atmosphere and since blue has the shortƒpressureest wavelength it is scattered less than others and that is why the sky is blue.

Misconceptions

Sun changes color
Dirt, dust, clouds, smog,
Color depends on how close the sun is at the time.
When the sun sets it is farther away and therefore its color changes
Because it is just coming up or going down
Sun gives off all colors and we see what is reflected
Sun’s position determines the color of the sky. When the sun is behind the clouds that is why there isn’t any color except the color of the clouds.
Humidity or moisture in the air can change the color

Robert Sweetland's Notes ©