Thunder and Lightning
Name: _________________________________ Date: _____________
Flash Kaboom!!! Thunderstorms are one of nature's most awesome, and sometimes frightening displays of power and beauty. These spectacular displays are the result of an extremely sudden and quick electrical discharge in the atmosphere.
What causes the electrical activity that leads to these powerful bursts of energy? What are the different kinds of lightning? Which parts of the world get the most lightning? How is lightning detected? You'll find out in this activity.
- First, you'll visit NASA to explore how lightning forms. Summarize the steps in lightning formation.
- Next, you'll learn what thunder is by scrolling down to the Thunder heading. What causes thunder?
- Explain why you see lightning before you hear thunder.
- If you heard thunder ten seconds after seeing a lightning flash, how far away did the event occur?
- Scroll to the heading of Most Common Types of Lightning. Complete the chart describing the different types of lightning.
Type of Lighning Description Cloud-to-ground Intra-cloud Inner-cloud - Keep scrolling to Description of Lightning Discharge Processes.
What is a stepped leader?
- What happens as the stepped leader nears Earth?
- What is the return stroke of lightning?
- Next, you'll look more closely at lightning detection. How does the National Lightning Detection Network work?
- From space, lightning can be tracked and analyzed with tools such as the optical transient detector. The color-coded computer map shows lightning strike frequency for the entire globe. Which colors represents the greatest lightning frequency?
- Which parts of the world get the most lightning?
- Which colors show the lowest lightning frequency?
- In general, is lightning more frequent over land or over water? Why do you think this is true?
