Can you face the wild wind?
Have you ever faced a really strong wind, and even felt like it would knock you over? Did you know how fast that wind was blowing? One handy fact: once wind hits 25 km an hour, flags will blow straight to the side. But you’ll still stay standing up. Wind blowing 100 km an hour is another story, as we see from the guy in this photo. He’s standing at the very top of Mount Washington, and if you watch the video, he spends a whole minute trying to walk into the wind. At one point, it even knocks him over and blows him sideways across the ice! Wind happens because as the sun warms the ground, the air right above it warms, too, which makes it rise up above any cooler air. That churning causes wind. Winds of different speeds get different names: breeze, gale, storm, or hurricane. Let’s find out which of those can send you sliding across ice!
Wee ones: Which is faster, a “light breeze” at 6 km an hour, or a “gentle breeze” at 8 km an hour?
Little kids: A wind between 25 and 31 km and hour is called a “strong breeze.” Does a 29-km-an-hour wind count as a strong breeze? Bonus: 31 kmph is a strong breeze, but a wind 10 kmph faster than that is called a “gale.” How fast is that gale?
Big kids: Any wind speed over 73 kmph is hurricane force wind. By how much did this guy’s 100-kmph wind beat that? Bonus: If he slid at 100 miles an hour across a giant frozen lake, how far would he travel in 15 minutes? (Reminder if needed: An hour has 60 minutes.)
The sky’s the limit: If you blow across the ice at 100 miles an hour towards your friend, and your friend walks towards you at 20 miles an hour, how far from your starting point do you meet if you start at the same time 60 feet apart? (Hint if needed: It doesn’t matter how far apart you start, or how much time it takes…what matters is the fraction of the distance each of you will move.)
Wee ones: Which is faster, a “light breeze” at 6 km an hour, or a “gentle breeze” at 8 km an hour?
Little kids: A wind between 25 and 31 km and hour is called a “strong breeze.” Does a 29-km-an-hour wind count as a strong breeze? Bonus: 31 kmph is a strong breeze, but a wind 10 kmph faster than that is called a “gale.” How fast is that gale?
Big kids: Any wind speed over 73 kmph is hurricane force wind. By how much did this guy’s 100-kmph wind beat that? Bonus: If he slid at 100 miles an hour across a giant frozen lake, how far would he travel in 15 minutes? (Reminder if needed: An hour has 60 minutes.)
The sky’s the limit: If you blow across the ice at 100 miles an hour towards your friend, and your friend walks towards you at 20 miles an hour, how far from your starting point do you meet if you start at the same time 60 feet apart? (Hint if needed: It doesn’t matter how far apart you start, or how much time it takes…what matters is the fraction of the distance each of you will move.)
Answers:
Wee ones: The gentle breeze is faster.
Little kids: Yes! Bonus: 41 kph.
Big kids: By 27 kph per hour. Bonus: 25 km, since he slides for 1/4 of an hour.
The sky’s the limit: 50 feet from your starting point. For every bit your friend travels, you travel 5 of those same chunks of distance. So of those 6 chunks, your friend slides for 1 of them. 60 miles cut into 6 equal chunks is 10 feet per chunk, so your friend slides just 10 feet while you slide 50.
Little kids: Yes! Bonus: 41 kph.
Big kids: By 27 kph per hour. Bonus: 25 km, since he slides for 1/4 of an hour.
The sky’s the limit: 50 feet from your starting point. For every bit your friend travels, you travel 5 of those same chunks of distance. So of those 6 chunks, your friend slides for 1 of them. 60 miles cut into 6 equal chunks is 10 feet per chunk, so your friend slides just 10 feet while you slide 50.