Barometer
Barometer is a tool that measures the push of air around us to help predict the weather.
A tall jar holds water with a small floating disk inside. When the air pushes down hard on the water, the disk sinks lower. When the air push is weak, the disk rides high. The disk's position shows how strong the air push is right now.
Explaining barometer by grade level
Air pushes on things all the time, even though you can not feel it. A barometer is a tool that shows how hard the air is pushing. When air pushes more, fair skies often come. When it pushes less, rain may be on the way.
Projects that explore barometer
A barometer turns air pressure changes into visible movement. When air pressure rises, it pushes the balloon down and the pointer tips up. You take daily readings for a week and note the weather each time, looking for a pattern between the pointer's position and sunny or rainy days.
A barometer is one of several tools that help measure weather conditions. Here, it tracks air pressure in millibars alongside instruments for cloud cover, humidity, and temperature. The hypothesis is that the weather can be accurately measured using the tools and techniques described in this project.
Air pressure is one piece of the forecasting puzzle, and a barometer is how you measure it. Over two to three weeks, you map high and low pressure areas using daily readings from five instruments. That data, combined with information about fronts — the boundaries between air masses — lets you build weather charts.