Why is it so hot in Las Vegas

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Why is it so hot in Las Vegas?

• (Principles of Science StandardsP.0.S)
• (Nevada State Standards NV)
• (Environmental Science Standards ENV)

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Misconceptions

• Las Vegas is near the Equator
• Las Vegas is below sea level
• Las Vegas desert is dead.

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What do we know boys and girls?

• Big Question, Big Paper Brainstorm (To be left in
  Class throughout unit.)
• Fun Introductory Activity (Scientific
  Method-Mini Lab Report). Problem Can we fry an
  egg on the sidewalk?
• P.O.S. 1.1
• NV N.12.A
• ENV 1.2

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Misconception 1 Las Vegas is near the Equator

• Sub Question How do we know our location?
  (Brainstorm)
• Global Positioning System Introduction (US Dept
  of Defense)

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Misconception 1 Las Vegas is near the Equator
(continued)

• Get a GPS reading of Location.
• Place Las Vegas on a blank World Map. (Determine
  Longitudinal Lines.) Keep Map in Folder.
• Brainstorm the question How does the suns
  energy affect our longitudinal location?
  (Think-Pair Share, then class discussion.)

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Misconception 1 Las Vegas is near the Equator
(continued)

• Use a Physics Sun/Earth demonstration on the
  Suns rays to demonstrate the energy reaching the
  Earth.
• Note Conclusions, asking the Sub Question again
  and Summarizing.
• ENV 1.9

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Misconception 2 Las Vegas is below sea level.

• Sub Question Since we now know our location, how
  do we know our elevation? (Brainstorm)
• Topography Introduction Practice Maps
• Produce a Topographic Map of the School (List
  Procedures, Determine how we are obtain data,
  talk about presentation.)
• P.O.S. 1.2
• ENV 1.6 1.7

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Misconception 2 Las Vegas is below sea level.
(Continued)

• Re-ask question How do we know our elevation?
• Look at Class Predictions, then show a
  topographical map of Las Vegas.
• Summarize in Findings.
• Go back to the BIG question Why is it so hot in
  Las Vegas? (Does Elevation or Longitudinal Line
  have anything to do with it?)

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Big Question Revisited

• Does Longitude and Latitude Affect Temperature?
• Does Elevation Affect Temperature?
• How might Las Vegas become cooler or warmer?
• Does moisture affect the temperature?
  (new-brainstorm)
• Summarize ideas in individual writing.
• NV E.12.A NV P.12.C

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Misconception 4 Las Vegas desert is dead.

• Rania
• P.O.S. 5.9
• NV L.12.C L.12.D
• ENV 3.1 3.3 3.5 3.6 4.1 4.2

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References

• GPS Information from http//www.colorado.edu/geog
  raphy/gcraft/notes/gps/gps_f.html
• Topography Information from
• http//erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/booklets/symbols/

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Why is it so Hot in Las Vegas?

• Biology
• Pass Institute
• Rania Piere and Kirsten Radek

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Introduction

• Students will answer the question based on prior
  knowledge.
• The lesson will begin with the student's
  responses. The students responses will be
  written on the board so all can see and to avoid
  repetition.

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Misconceptions

• Las Vegas is nearer to the equator, thats why
  its so hot.
• The elevation of the land is below sea level.
• The increase of the human population.

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Conceptions

• Las Vegas is located in a desert biome.
• The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range prevents coastal
  winds from cooling down the Las Vegas.
• Very little precipitation.

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Inquiry Discussion

• Each conception will be dissected and each
  misconception will be analyzed. Students need to
  understand why they are misconceptions
• Content Delivery
• Biomes
• Desert Flora
• Desert Fauna
• Why are the plants an important factor?
• Web Inquiry

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What is a Desert Biome Like?

• The desert is a land of extremes extreme heat
  and extreme dryness sudden flash floods and cold
  nights. Because deserts are such a harsh
  environment, deserts often have names likes
  "Death Valley," "the empty quarter," and "the
  place from where there is no return."
• Dryness Deserts are usually very, very dry.
  Even the wettest deserts get less than ten inches
  of precipitation a year.
• In most places, rain falls steadily throughout
  the year. But in the desert, there may be only a
  few periods of rains per year with a lot of time
  between rains. When it does rain, there may be
  quite a downpour! After the rain, desert flowers
  bloom.

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Why the extreme in temperature?

• Hot During the Day, Cool at Night Everyone knows
  that during the day many deserts are hot, very
  hot. Temperatures in excess of 100 degrees
  Fahrenheit are not uncommon. Yet at night, the
  same deserts can have temperatures fall into the
  40s or 50s? Why?
• Other biomes are insulated by their humidity
  (water vapor in the air). Temperate deciduous
  forests, for example, may have 80 percent
  humidity or more during the day. This water
  reflects and absorbs sunlight and the energy it
  brings. At night the water acts like a blanket,
  trapping heat inside the forest. 
• Since deserts usually have only between 10 and 20
  percent humidity to trap temperatures and have so
  few trees and other vegetation to retain heat,
  they cool down rapidly when the sun sets, and
  heat up quickly after the sun sets.

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Types of Deserts

• Inquiry In groups students will be asked to
  compare the temperature of the Mojave and

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Desert Flora

• Deserts are the home to many living things. In
  fact, deserts are second only to tropical
  rainforests in the variety of plant and animal
  species that live there.
• How do you think plants grow in a place that is
  very, very dry? 
• Many of the fascinating features of desert plants
  are adaptations -- traits that help the plant
  survive in its harsh environment. Desert plants
  have two main adaptations 
• Ability to collect and store water  Features
  that reduce water loss 
• Desert plants often look different than plants in
  any other biome.

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• Desert Plant Adaptations
• Desert plants have adapted to the extremes of
  heat and aridity by using both physical and
  behavioral mechanisms, much like desert
  animals.Plants that have adapted by altering
  their physical structure are called xerophytes.
  Xerophytes, such as cacti, usually have special
  means of storing and conserving water. They often
  have few or no leaves, which reduces
  transpiration.Phreatophytes are plants that
  have adapted to arid environments by growing
  extremely long roots, allowing them to acquire
  moisture at or near the water table.Other
  desert plants, using behavioral adaptations, have
  developed a lifestyle in conformance with the
  seasons of greatest moisture and/or coolest
  temperatures. These type of plants are usually
  (and inaccurately) referred to as perennials,
  plants that live for several years, and annuals,
  plants that live for only a season.Desert
  perennials often survive by remaining dormant
  during dry periods of the year, then springing to
  life when water becomes available.Most annual
  desert plants germinate only after heavy seasonal
  rain, then complete their reproductive cycle very
  quickly. They bloom prodigiously for a few weeks
  in the spring, accounting for most of the annual
  wildflower explosions of the deserts. Their heat-
  and drought-resistant seeds remain dormant in the
  soil until the next year's annual rains.
• Xerophytes
• The physical and behavioral adaptations of desert
  plants are as numerous and innovative as those of
  desert animals. Xerophytes, plants that have
  altered their physical structure to survive
  extreme heat and lack of water, are the largest
  group of such plants living in the deserts of the
  American Southwest.Each of the four
  southwestern deserts offers habitats in which
  most xerophytic plants survive. But each is
  characterized by specific plants that seem to
  thrive there. The Great Basin Desert is noted for
  vast rolling stands of Sagebrush and Saltbush,
  while in the Mojave Desert, Joshua Trees,
  Creosote Bush, and Burroweed predominate.

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Types of Flora

• Joshua Tree

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• Creosote Bush

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• Mesquite

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Why are the plants important?

• Inquiry In groups,do the plants play a facoter
  on the climate of Las Vegas?
• Students will have time to create a project.

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Activities

• Students will design a Mojave Desert Biomes
  poster.
• Web Activity Pose the same question to a
  meteorologist.