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Science Launch G3 / Week 10 / Friday
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Week 10 · Weather by the Numbers

Friday

Predict the season
// Measuring weather and finding patterns
⏱ about 15 min

Friday: Predict the Season

Raven wants to build a snow fort in Chicago. "Which month should I visit?" she asks.

Rocket guesses. "October! It is fall, and fall is chilly."

"What do you notice in the snow data?" Raven asks.

Nova projects a new table. "Compare the snow numbers month by month," she says.

Snow by month

This table shows normal snowfall at Chicago O'Hare, from 1991 to 2020. The data is from NOAA.

A normal is not a promise. It tells us what usually happens.

MonthNormal snowfall (inches)
December7.6
January11.3
February10.7
March5.5
July0.0
October0.2
USE THE DATA
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which month has the most normal snowfall?
Is October a good month for Raven's snow fort?
Which season usually brings the most snow to Chicago?
StatementTrue or false?
A normal tells us what usually happens.?
A normal promises exactly what will happen next year.?
Chicago normally gets no snow in July.?
WHY THIS EXERCISENormals show typical weather, but each year can be a little different.
What the air is like at one place and time is ____.
Winter, spring, summer and fall are ____.

Adding up a season

Winter in Chicago is December, January and February.

You can add the snow from each month to see a bigger pattern.

From December to March, the normals add up to about 35 inches of snow.

In July and October, there is almost none.

SNOW MATH
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
How much more normal snow does January get than December?
Which month has more normal snow, February or March?
ORDER THESE MONTHS FROM LEAST TO MOST NORMAL SNOW
  • ?July
  • ?October
  • ?March
  • ?December
  • ?January
WHY THIS EXERCISEJuly 0.0, October 0.2, March 5.5, December 7.6, January 11.3.
What is the normal snowfall for February in inches?
WHY THIS EXERCISEFebruary normally gets 10.7 inches of snow at Chicago O'Hare.
Snow dataTrue or false?
January has the most normal snow in the table.?
October normally gets more snow than March.?
July normally gets 0.0 inches of snow.?
December normally gets 7.6 inches of snow.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEWinter months have the most snow, and July and October have almost none.
Try it
Check your rain gauge again.
Add today's reading to your table.
Has it rained more or less than you predicted?

You used data to plan like a scientist! Tomorrow is Launch Lab, a family weather log.

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