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Lesson 12 of 15 · Earth Systems

Experiment30 XP🌋 Rock Realm

Weather Is Not Climate

🧪Lab Brief #12

Earth Systems.

🎯 Your mission

Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).

⚡ The twist

Today's mountain was yesterday's ocean floor.

🤯

Mind = Blown

🌋 There are 1,500 active volcanoes on Earth right now.

🔮

Make a hypothesis first

Guess: where will the water go first?

What You'll Learn

Weather is what the sky is doing today; climate is the pattern of weather over thirty years or more. A cold week says nothing about climate, in the same way one tall pupil says nothing about the average height of a school.

Key Words

Tap a word to see its definition.

Materials Needed

  • thermometer
  • graph paper
  • climate data

Safety First

  • Have an adult check your set-up before you start, and tidy everything away afterwards.

Steps

Step 1Read

Read the explanation above and note the two key terms before you start.

Step 2Do

Record daily temperature for two weeks and plot it. Then plot thirty-year monthly averages for your area on the same axes and describe what each graph can and cannot tell you.

Step 3Observe

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

Step 4Record

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

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 2

Climate is measured over:

🌍

Where you see this in real life

This is shaping the ground you walk on, slowly, every single day.

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Stretch Challenge

Try this in real life 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?

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

🧪Share card

Share this experiment

Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.

Ready?

Weather Is Not Climate

Predict it first. Then prove yourself right (or wrong).

Full screen — no distractions

🖨️

Checkout complete lesson on Earth Systems for 5th Grade

Get the full Earth Systems track as a printable PDF — all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.

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Weather Is Not Climate — Earth Systems | 5th Grade Science | LittleActivity