Temperature Profiles on Earth

Building a "Temperature Profile" Mast

 

Objective: to build a temperature profile mast like the one on the Mars Pathfinder lander.

Materials:

  • One 3/4" PVC pipe 1.5 meters long.
  • 2 PVC T-joints.
  • Three 34 cm PVC pipes with threads on one end.
  • 9 dessert size paper plates.
  • 24 pieces of wood doweling or straws 2 cm in length.
  • Hot glue or all-purpose cement.
  • 1 piece of wood for a base.
  • 3 thermometers.
  • String.

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    Directions for building the mast:

    1. The bottom section, that will be attached to the base, should be 36 cm long.
    2. The middle section should be 22.5 cm long.
    3. The top section will be 50 cm long.
    1. Glue the bottom (36 cm) section into a hole drilled through the base.
    2. Attach a T-joint to the top of the bottom section.
    3. Attach the middle (22.5 cm) section onto the top of the T-joint.
    4. Attach a T-joint to the top of the middle section.
    5. Attach the top (50 cm) section onto the top of the T-joint.
    6. Attach the three remaining 34 cm pipes (horizontally) to the T-joints.
    1. Put a hole in the middle of each of the paper plates large enough to fit a thermometer.
    2. In three of the plates, put two holes on opposite sides of the plate and attach a string to either side, the long end of the string needs to come out the bottom of the plate.
    3. Cut your dowel or straw into 2 cm long pieces. You will need twenty-four of these, eight per set of three plates.
    4. Make a stack of three plates using the dowels (or straws) so the plates have a 1.5-2 cm gap between them. Glue 4 of the dowels/straws to the plate with the string attached, on the top of the plate. Glue the bottom of another plate to the 4 dowels/straws. Glue 4 more dowels/straws to the top of the second plate. Glue the bottom of the third plate to these dowels.
    5. Place the thermometer in the plate assembly so the tip hangs down half way between the middle and bottom plates.
    1. Tie an assembly to the lowest cross-bar so the tip of the thermometer is 0.25 meters above the ground.
    2. Tie an assembly to the middle cross-bar so the tip of the thermometer is 0.50 meters above the ground
    3. Tie an assembly to the highest cross-bar so the tip of the thermometer is 1.00 meters above the ground

     

     

    © 1998 Live from Earth and Mars, Janet Charnley, Rich Edgerton, and Janice DeCosmo