How to Use This Simulation
Tab 1 — Air Mass Classifier: Read descriptions of air masses and classify each one by source region and moisture. Get instant feedback to reinforce the four air mass types.
Tab 2 — Front Finder: Click on the interactive weather map to identify cold fronts, warm fronts, stationary fronts, and occluded fronts by their features.
Tab 3 — Forecast Challenge: Apply your knowledge of air masses and fronts to make and justify weather forecasts for realistic scenarios.
Key concept: Air mass source region determines temperature and moisture; frontal boundaries cause the dramatic weather changes we observe and forecast.
Air Mass Classifier
Read each clue and identify the correct 2-letter air mass code. Click your answer to get instant feedback, then advance to the next scenario.
Front Finder
Click each labeled weather feature on the map to learn what it means and what weather it brings to St. Louis. Find all 4 to complete this section!
👈 Click a weather feature on the map to learn about it
Each feature tells you something about what weather St. Louis will experience. Explore all 4!
Forecast Challenge
Apply everything you know! Read each scenario and predict the weather outcome. These are the kinds of questions you'll see on the assessment.
Predict → Observe → Explain
Predict
Before working through each tab, predict: which air mass types are you least confident classifying? What weather does each front type typically bring? Write your predictions and reasoning.
Observe
Work through the simulation and note what you observe — which air mass or front types trip you up? What patterns do you notice in how source region connects to air mass properties?
Explain
Compare your predictions to what you observed. Use vocabulary from the assessment (air mass, front, convergence, pressure, humidity, continental, maritime) to explain WHY source regions determine air mass properties.
Key Concepts Reference
🌐 Air Mass Types
- mT — maritime Tropical: warm & humid
- cP — continental Polar: cold & dry
- mP — maritime Polar: cold & moist
- cT — continental Tropical: hot & dry
🪄 Front Formation
- Cold front: cP wedges under mT → violent lifting
- Warm front: mT glides over cP → gradual lifting
- Fronts = boundaries between unlike air masses
- Low pressure marks where fronts often meet
📆 Weather vs. Climate
- Weather = current daily conditions
- Climate = 30-year average patterns
- St. Louis: humid continental climate
- Warming trend = more mT days per year
Record Your Observations
As you explore Weather System Synthesizer — G7.C5.W3, record what you notice:
- Starting conditions: What are the initial settings?
- Changes: What happens when you adjust the variables?
- Patterns: Do you notice any patterns or relationships?
- Evidence: What specific data supports your observations?
Data Journal — Record & Analyze Your Experiments
| # | Observation |
|---|