Chapter 1, Review Questions



Chapter 8, Review Questions

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1. Provide a definition of wind.

2. What causes horizontal air pressure gradients? How do air parcels respond to a horizontal air pressure gradient?

3. What is the relationship between the horizontal wind speed and the spacing of isobars on a surface weather map?

4. Why does the Coriolis Effect reverse direction between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres?

5. Describe how the Coriolis Effect varies with wind speed and latitude.

6. How does the roughness of Earth’s surface affect horizontal wind speed and direction within the atmospheric boundary layer?

7. Provide an example of how gravity influences air motion.

8. What forces are balanced in the geostropic wind?

9. Why does the circulation within an anticyclone favor generally fair weather?

10. Why does the circulation within a cyclone usually bring cloudy, stormy weather?

Chapter 8, Critical Thinking Questions

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1. Why is radiation fog more likely near the center of an anticyclone than near the center of a cyclone?

2. Distinguish between the geostrophic wind and the gradient wind.

3. The pattern of horizontal winds blowing about the center of a high-pressure system implies the existence of a centripetal force. Explain why.

4. Why are horizontal winds associated with a sloping pressure surface (e.g., 700-mb surface)?

5. Describe the relationship between a high pressure system and an air mass.

6. Along a coastline, cumuliform clouds are more likely with an onshore wind (directed from water to land) than an offshore wind (directed from land to water). Explain why.

7. Upper-air support for a developing cyclone requires horizontal divergence. Explain why.

8. Suppose that a cyclone is centered over St. Louis, MO. Describe the type of air mass advection to the southeast and to the northwest of the storm center.

9. In view of Newton’s first law of motion, is the gradient wind a consequence of balanced forces? Explain your answer.

10. What is hydrostatic equilibrium? Is vertical motion of air possible with hydrostatic equilibrium? Explain your answer.

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