Where Does the Rain Go?

The below gif uses colors to show precipitation rates over the course of several days in February, 2017.
NGSS Phenomena: An animation showing rainfall that moves across the Pacific Ocean and stops at the mountains in California.

1. Most of the water that forms this rain comes from and is brought up into the atmosphere by energy from .

Drag the answers below into the grey placeholders above

the sun
the ocean
landforms
inside the earth
the wind
the glaciers

2. As the rain moves into the West coast, why does it not move across the rest of the continent?

3. Does this gif give us enough evidence to make predictions about the climate in different parts of this continent? Why or why not?

4. What role does the Pacific ocean have on the climate of the west coast? Use evidence from this gif to support your answer.

5. Look at the colors on the map of the land. The color green is most likely showing _______.

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This matching question aligns to the following standards

  • ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes

This free response question aligns to the following standards

  • ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes

  • ESS2.D: Weather and Climate

  • Developing and Using Models

  • MS-ESS2-6

This free response question aligns to the following standards

  • ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes

  • ESS2.D: Weather and Climate

  • Developing and Using Models

  • Systems and System Models

  • MS-ESS2-6

This free response question aligns to the following standards

  • MS-ESS2-6

  • Systems and System Models

  • Developing and Using Models

  • ESS2.D: Weather and Climate

  • ESS2.C: The Roles of Water in Earth’s Surface Processes

This multiple choice question aligns to the following standards

  • Developing and Using Models

  • MS-ESS2-6

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