Why Some Places Are Wetter

Lab Brief #9

🎯 Your mission

Run the experiment. Find out what really happens.

⚡ The twist

Weather isn't random — it's just complicated.

What you'll learn

Air forced up over mountains cools, and cool air holds less water vapour, so it rains on the windward slope. By the time the air comes down the other side it is dry, which is why deserts often sit just behind mountain ranges.

Key words

rain shadow
The dry area on the sheltered side of a mountain range.
windward
The side of a slope that the wind hits first.

Make a hypothesis first

Before you observe: what shape will it leave?

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

cardboard
cold metal tray
kettle
map

⚠️ Safety first

Steam scalds — an adult must handle the kettle and everyone stays an arm's length back.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "rain shadow" and "windward" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Model a rain shadow by blowing damp air from a kettle spout over a cardboard ridge onto a cold surface. Mark where the droplets collect and relate it to a map of a real rain shadow desert.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

A rain shadow forms on the:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

Air rising over a mountain rains because it:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🌊 The deepest part of the ocean is deeper than Mount Everest is tall.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: How Soil Is Made All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This is shaping the ground you walk on, slowly, every single day.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Find a rock outside and try to guess how old it is.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's the slowest change you can think of?”

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Why Some Places Are Wetter

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