Module E

Unit 1
Lesson 1
Exploration 1
Modeling wind
and convection
 Wind
● The sun and the breeze are related to each other
● The sun warms both the air and Earth’s surface at
different rates
● The sun warms some parts of Earth more than others
● This difference causes pressure differences in the
atmosphere
● Pressure differences cause wind to blow
● Air moves from High to Low pressure
 The Formation of Wind
● Density refers to how many molecules are packed into a specific area

● Density increases if particles of a material are packed closely, the higher the density the higher the
pressure.

● Temperature also affects the density of air particles.

● When air gets colder, the particles move more slowly and the particles are packed more closely
together.

● Cold air is denser and heavier than surrounding air, cold air will sink.

● When cold air reaches the ground, the air spreads out horizontally.

● This horizontal movement of air is commonly called wind.

 Convection
● Cool, dense air sinks to Earth’s
surface and spreads out, causing
warm, less dense air to rise.
● As the warm air moves upward, it
eventually cools and becomes more
dense than the air around it.
● This dense air sinks back toward
Earth’s surface where it begins to
warm again.
● This movement of matter due to
different densities is called
convection.
 Convection is the transfer of heat by
the flow of material.
Warm air = molecules far apart; low air
pressure; lower density

Cool air = molecules close together;

high air pressure; higher density
 Analyze Wind

● Air, land, and water have different properties because

they are different materials.
● One of the ways they are different is that land warms
up and cools down more quickly than water does.
● The atmosphere changes temperature more rapidly
than either land or water does.
● Therefore, the atmosphere is warmed or cooled by
being in contact with land or water that is a different
temperature.
Convection Cells

● The constant heating and cooling

of air is a convection current
● This cyclic pattern, Cycle, of
movement caused by density
differences is called a convection
cell.
● Convection cells also form in
Earth’s atmosphere because the
sun heats Earth’s surface
unevenly.