Record-Breaking Bolts

February 2017

Before you ever hear thunder crack, a big, bright spark lights up the sky: lightning. This giant bolt of electricity travels at speeds of over 130,000 miles per hour and can heat nearby air to almost 60,000° Fahrenheit! Find out more about record lightning bolts.

Mega Bolt

Lightning occurs when there is a sudden flow of electricity between two clouds or between a cloud and the ground. Recently, weather scientists confirmed the longest lightning bolt ever recorded. It traveled 199.5 miles over Oklahoma in 2007.

On a separate sheet of paper, draw a place value chart for this distance. Circle the place value that is 10 times greater than the tenths place.

Lengthy Light

Until recently, scientists thought that most lightning bolts lasted no more than one second. That estimate was not even close. Thanks to upgrades in monitoring devices, scientists confirmed the longest amount of time a lightning bolt lasted. The bolt, which flashed in southern France in 2012, lasted more than 7.7 seconds.

What is this number rounded to the nearest whole second? Fill in a tape diagram with the correct decimal fractions to prove your answer.

Strike City

The Lake Maracaibo region of Venezuela is the lightning capital of the world! The area gets 1.2 million lightning strikes each year, a Guinness World Record.

What is this number in expanded form?