Question
Air Mass Experiment
Students perform an experiment to see how warm and cool air masses interact. They are given a clear fish tank filled with room temperature water, a bowl of ice cubes that have been frozen with blue food coloring, and a beaker full of hot water mixed with red food coloring. The blue ice cubes represent cool air and the red hot water represents warm air. They will be placing the warm and cool water in the tank to see how the different temperatures interact. One student puts the beaker of warm water on the bottom-left side of the tank while the other pours the ice cubes into the top-right side of the tank. After about twenty seconds, the blue ice cubes start to melt. The blue water begins to sink and move across the bottom of the tank. The red water rises up, out of the beaker, and across the top of the tank. The pictures show the first part of the experiment.
A fish tank of room temperature water, ice cubes dyed blue, and a beaker of warm water mixed with red food coloring will help demonstrate convection currents.
The beaker of warm red water is placed on the bottom-left side of the tank. The cold blue ice cubes are dropped in on the right side. The colored water starts to mix with the room temperature water.
The warm red water rises while the cool blue water sinks. Both travel across the tanks but remain separate.
Multiple Choice Question
Which statement about changes in weather conditions is best supported by the observations from the experiment?
A.
Slow changes in weather can occur as two air masses are slowly cooled.
B.
Changes in weather do not occur at the boundary of two air masses.
C.
Sudden changes in weather can occur at the boundary of two air masses.
D.
Slow changes in weather can occur as two air masses are slowly heated.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The best-supported statement about changes in weather conditions based on the observations from the experiment is:
**C. Sudden changes in weather can occur at the boundary of two air masses.**
This is because the experiment demonstrates how warm and cool air (represented by the colored water) interact at their boundary, with the warm air rising and the cool air sinking, leading to a clear distinction between the two. This interaction can indeed lead to sudden changes in weather, such as the formation of storms or fronts, as warm and cool air masses collide.
**C. Sudden changes in weather can occur at the boundary of two air masses.**
This is because the experiment demonstrates how warm and cool air (represented by the colored water) interact at their boundary, with the warm air rising and the cool air sinking, leading to a clear distinction between the two. This interaction can indeed lead to sudden changes in weather, such as the formation of storms or fronts, as warm and cool air masses collide.