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7th grade · Science · Unit 8 of 8

Weather and the Water Cycle

What makes the weather change

What your child practices

How the Sun, air, water and land interact to cause daily weather, the water cycle, tools for measuring weather, and why long-term forecasting is hard.

Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 7.E1U2.7; 7.E1U1.5 · how air, water and land interact in weather, and how forecasts are made

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. The Sun heats land, water and air unevenly, which causes weather.
  2. Water cycle: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, collection.
  3. Tools: a barometer measures air pressure, a rain gauge measures rain, a thermometer measures temperature.

Example: Which tool measures air pressure? “Baro” means weight or pressure. Answer: a barometer

Weather and the Water Cycle in Arizona

In the Arizona Academic Standards, this is unit 8 of 8 in 7th grade Science, after Earth's Moving Surface.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Arizona Department of Education

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Which tool measures air pressure?

    • barometer
    • anemometer
    • thermometer

  2. Question 2

    Which tool measures temperature?

    • rain gauge
    • thermometer
    • barometer

  3. Question 3

    What gives Earth most of the energy that drives weather?

    • the Sun
    • the Moon
    • the stars

  4. Question 4

    Which tool measures wind speed?

    • anemometer
    • barometer
    • rain gauge

  5. Question 5

    What is weather?

    • the conditions in the air outside at a certain time and place
    • the average of 30 years of temperature
    • the kind of soil in a field

  6. Question 6

    Why is a blizzard warning important on the Prairies?

    • it stops the wind
    • it makes snow warm
    • it helps people stay safe and plan travel

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