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Sea and Land Breezes

Activity Summary:
Students may conduct this experiment in groups of three or four to help them understand the
movement of air over land and water. They will be able to explain what happens when air is
heated or cooled. They will discover how temperature of the air affects air pressure. Using what
they learned in the experiment, the students will be able to explain how temperature and changes
in air pressure causes wind and summarize why the direction of the wind at the seashore
changes.

Subject:
Science: Unifying Concepts and Processes, Earth Science, Science as Inquiry

Grade Level:
Target Grade: 6th
Upper Bound: 7th
Lower Bound: 5th

Time Required: 30-45 minutes

Activity Team/Group Size: 3-4

Reusable Activity Cost Per Group [in dollars]: $20

Expendable Activity Cost Per Group [in dollars]: $2

Activity Introduction / Motivation:
Ask the students if they have ever been to the beach. Do they remember which way the wind was
blowing? Ask if anyone might know why the wind blows in a certain direction. Then give the
students this brief introduction:

Wind is air in motion. On a sunny day, warm air rising from land heated by the sun flows
toward the cooler water when the air sinks. The cooler air then rushes in toward land again to
replace the warm air that is rising. This cycle continues as long as the daytime heating continues
from the sun. Since air moves inland from the water, the wind is called a sea breeze. At night, the
opposite cycle occurs. Since the land cools more quickly than water, air over the warmer water
rises and flows toward cooler land where the air sinks. This reverse cycle of wind blowing out to
sea is called a land breeze.

Materials List:
 2 small containers, such as 200 mL beakers per group
 Room-temperature water
 Sand or potting soil
 2 thermometers per group
 Ring stand
 String
 1 lamp with 60 W or higher bulb (if it is a bright day and have access to outdoors, may
substitute lamp for sunlight)

Activity Plan:

1. Fill one container with room-temperature potting soil or sand.

2. Place the bulb of one of the thermometers in the soil to a depth of 1 inch.
3. Fill the other container with room-temperature water.
4. Use string to tie the thermometer to a ring stand. The bulb of the thermometer should hang
in the water to a depth of 1 inch.
5. Allow the thermometers to adjust to the temperatures of the soil and water. Record the
temperature of each on a piece of paper.
6. Place the lamp directly above the containers of soil and water so that it is an equal distance
from each.
7. Turn the lamp on and begin recording the temperature from the 2 containers once every
minute.
8. After 10 minutes, turn the lamp off and continue recording the temperatures every minute
for 10 more minutes.
9. Graph the information you recorded.

Assessment:
1. Did the soil or water absorb heat faster? How can you explain this?
 2. Which substance lost heat faster? How do you explain this?
3. According to this experiment, what would happen to the land and water during a sunny day
at the beach?
4. What would happen to the land and water at the beach at night?
5. Which would be hotter during the day, the air above the land or the air above the sea?
6. What happens to air when it is heated?
7. What happens to air when it is cooled?
8. During the day at the beach, would the wind blow from the sea to the land or from the land
to the sea? Why?
9. Which way would the wind blow at night? Why?

Learning Objectives:
TEKS 6th Grade Science Objectives:
6.2 (B) Collect data by observing and measuring
6.2 (E) Construct graphs, tables, maps, and charts to evaluate data
6.4 (A) Collect, analyze, and record information using scientific tools
6.14 (C) Describe components of the atmosphere and its role in weather change

Background & Concepts for Teachers:

During the day, the sun heats both land and water. Because of its lower specific heat value (the
heat in calories required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance one degree Celsius),
land heats faster and cools more rapidly than water. Since land takes in more heat and releases it
more rapidly than does water, the air above land heats more rapidly than the air above water. The
heated air above land rises, which creates an area of low pressure. The air above the sea is
cooler, creating an area of higher pressure. The cooler air in the area of high pressure above the
sea moves to the area of low pressure over land. This is called a "sea breeze" because the breeze
is coming from the sea.
At night, land continues to cool more rapidly than water, which means the sea is now warmer
than the shore. Now the air above the sea becomes warmer than the air above the land. The
warm, rising sea air creates an area of low pressure, and the cooler air above land creates an area
of higher pressure. The air again moves from higher (over the land) to lower (over the sea)
pressure. This breeze is called a "land breeze."

Activity Extensions:
This activity can be used in conjunction with other activities in order to explain in more depth
the impact of wind and convection current on temperature.

Safety Issues:
___ If the thermometers are glass, remind the students to be careful with them.
___ If using a lamp for a heat source, remind the students that the bulb gets very hot.

Activity Scaling:
___ If you want to shorten the activity because of time constraints, you could have the students
only record the temperature of the water and soil when the temperature is rising after 3, 6, 9, and
12 minutes. Discuss with the students why the temperature of the soil rose faster than the water.