Thunderstorms!
As you read this book, you will see highlighted words. Click on these to get a defintion! These are your vocabulary words for this topic, so make sure to take notes!
Along the way, you will see Pedro (the Penguin) and Bot (the Robot) are your coaches for this book. Pedro will provide you with more examples and Bot will ask questions to make you think!
What Needs to Happen for There to be a Thunderstorm?
1. Warm/Hot ground
This causes updrafts
2. Cool air above
This allows for condensation and the creation of cumulonimbus clouds.
Lightning!
Lightning is a huge realease of electricity! When parts of the thunderhead become negatively charged, other parts become positively charged. When this separation of charges becomes too great-the electricity is released as lightning! A fancy way to move electrons !
Lightning can jump to different parts of the same cloud, different clouds or the groud.
So What is Thunder?
Thunder is really the sound created by lightning. When lightning strikes, the air is filled with energy. This energy causes a rapid movement of air, which creates the sound of thunder!
Since light travels faster than sound, we hear the thunder after we see the lightning. We can actually use those two factors to figure out approximately how far away the storm is. After you see lightning, count how many seconds pass before you hear the thunder. For every 5 seconds, the storm is about 1 mile away.
Your Turn!
Using what you have learned in this book. You and your group are now going to come up with a way to model a thunderstorm. Think of how you could show the type of cloud needed, the lightning, and the thunder! Be creative!