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Science Launch G3 / Week 10 / Thursday
4/6
Week 10 · Weather by the Numbers

Thursday

Weather by season
// Measuring weather and finding patterns
⏱ about 15 min

Thursday: Weather by Season

Rocket packs for a trip to Chicago in July. He grabs a heavy coat.

Raven stops him. "What do you notice about July in Chicago? Let's check the data."

Nova projects a chart. "Look at many years, not one day," she says. "That shows what is typical."

Rocket puts the coat back.

Normals: the usual weather

Weather changes every day. But each season has a usual pattern.

Scientists find the usual pattern by averaging 30 years of measurements. They call it a normal.

Here are the normal high temperatures for Chicago O'Hare, from 1991 to 2020. The data is from NOAA.

MonthNormal high (°F)Bar graph (each ■ is about 10 degrees)
January31.6■■■
April59.0■■■■■■
July84.5■■■■■■■■
October62.7■■■■■■
READ THE GRAPH
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which month has the longest bar?
What should Rocket pack for a July trip to Chicago?
Which month is usually the coldest of these four?
ORDER THE MONTHS FROM COLDEST TO WARMEST NORMAL HIGH
  • ?January
  • ?April
  • ?October
  • ?July
WHY THIS EXERCISEJanuary is about 32, April 59, October 63 and July 85.
Scientists average how many years of data to find a normal? Type a number.
WHY THIS EXERCISEA normal is a 30-year average, so it shows what is typical.

One day versus many years

One July day in Chicago might be cool. One January day might be mild.

A single day does not tell you the usual weather.

A normal uses 30 years of data. It shows what a month is usually like.

Rocket should plan with the normal, not with one lucky or unlucky day.

USE THE NORMALS
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
About how many degrees warmer is the July normal high than January?
Which two months have normal highs that are close together?
What is the normal high for April?
StatementTrue or false?
A normal is an average of 30 years.?
One cool July day means July is usually cold.?
Each square in the bar graph is about 10 degrees.?
July is usually the warmest month in this table.?
WHY THIS EXERCISENormals average many years, so one odd day does not change the pattern.
The normal high in July is ____ degrees.
The normal high in January is ____ degrees.
Try it
Check your rain gauge from Wednesday.
Write the date and the water level in your table.
Empty it after you read it.

Fantastic graph reading! Check your rain gauge. Tomorrow we predict the weather for each season.

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