Rain Gauge Activity

Global Precipitation Measurement Mission

Developed by

the GPM Education and Communication Team

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Guiding QuestionsGuiding Questions

• The Big Picture: Why is it important to measure rain and snow around the globe?

• Earth’s Water: How much of Earth’s water is freshwater?

• Freshwater versus Saltwater: Which of these do we need for our survival?

• The Water Cycle: How does water move through the “water cycle?

• Precipitation: Where do rain and snow come from? Are these made up of freshwater or saltwater?

• Making a Rain Gauge to Measure Rain: Can we make a rain gauge that we can use to measure rain in our area?

• GPM: How will the GPM mission measure precipitation all over the world? 2

ENGAGEENGAGE

Solid? Liquid? Gas?Solid? Liquid? Gas?

Saltwater versus FreshwaterSaltwater versus Freshwater

How much of Earth’s water is fresh water?How much of Earth’s water is fresh water?

1. Fill the plastic cup 75% full of water. This represents the amount of water on

Earth’s surface.

2. Take out one dropper of water, and place it in the small cup.This represents the amount of fresh

water on Earth. (~2.5%)

3. Take one drop of water from the small cup.This represents, the amount of

accessible freshwater.

Not much water, is it!

Earth’s Water CycleEarth’s Water Cycle

“The Water Cycle: animation from NASA/GSFC SVS # 10501

The Big PictureThe Big Picture

Measuring RainMeasuring Rain

• Let’s make rain gauges. These are used to measure how much it rains in a specific place.

• Work with a partner, and use the materials on the table to try to make something that you could use to measure how much rains falls in one day.

Design ConsiderationsDesign Considerations

• What did you find difficult about this task?• Which design do you think would be the most

effective for measuring precipitation?• Why?• What are some design factors that you think are

important to have consistent for the rain gauges?• Why?• What could you do to improve your rain gauge?

““For Good Measure”For Good Measure”

Extra Slides- If you have time to go outside and simulate rain and have students collect data, you can use the next slide to have them share in data and compare it.

Group Rain DataGroup Rain Data

Groups Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6

Amountof rain

DiscussionDiscussion

• What did we notice about our data?

• What might we change next time to collect more accurate data?

• How do you think scientists collect data on how much rain falls around the world?