Iso-line Lab

This is a lab from a website called “New York Science Teacher”. It was created by Howard Barnes & it will allow you an opportunity to create & interpret weather maps using a methodology similar to contouring (elevations) on a map to make a topographic map.

Instead of drawing lines of equal elevation, you will be drawing lines that show equal temperature (isotherms) & pressure (isobars) … “iso” means “equal”. You may recall something about an isosceles triangle from math class perhaps ? Anyhow, so isotherms help us to identify both warm and cold air masses, while isobars help us find areas of high and low pressure.

In this lab you will practice drawing isotherms and isobars to show air masses with different temperatures and pressures. Then, you will answer some questions to help you interpret the maps that you just made. It’s pretty neat, actually, I hope it helps you appreciate the weather forecast a little more & maybe allows you to make some predictions yourself the next time you’re poking around in the weather app on your phone : )