Grudgeball Questions
1- How does the sun contribute to the creation of wind? Uneven heating creates areas of
different air pressures.
2- Which is more dense, cold air or warm air? Cold air
3- In terms of pressure differences, which way does air move? From high pressure to low pressure
4- How would the winds blow if the Earth did not rotate? A straight line
5- In the southern hemisphere, which way does the Coriolis Effect cause the wind to curve? Left
6- These global winds are found between 30 and 60 degrees latitude in both hemispheres.
Westerlies or Prevailing Westerlies
7- These winds were used by European Sailors to get from Europe to the New World. Trade winds
8- These winds carry cold, arctic air to the United States. Polar Easterlies
9- These areas of calm winds are found at 30 degrees latitude in both hemispheres. Horse
Latitudes
10- What area of calm winds is found near the Equator? Doldrums
11- Which direction do the Jet Streams blow? West to East
12- Name the 2 Jet Streams. Subtropical and polar
13- In a sea breeze, where is the higher pressure, over the land or the sea? Sea
14- In a land breeze, where is the air more dense, over the land or the sea? Land
15- In a valley breeze, from where is the wind blowing, and is it daytime or nighttime? Valley,
daytime
16- In a mountain breeze, when night falls, which area cools faster, on the mountain or in the
valley? Mountain
17- What is the term for an increase in volume that results from an increase in temperature.
Thermal expansion
18- What is the term for the curving of the path of a moving object as a result of the earth’s
rotation? Coriolis Effect
19- What type of heat transfer does the sun use to warm the Earth? Radiation
20- What gas is the most prevalent in the Earth’s atmosphere? Nitrogen
21- At 30 degrees south latitude, do we find a band of high pressure or low pressure? High Pressure
22- What is the definition of weather? Condition of the Earth’s atmosphere at a certain time and
place
23- What is humidity? The amount of water vapor in the air
24- Define relative humidity. The amount of water vapor in the air compared to the amount of
water vapor the air can hold
25- What is the term used when air evaporation and condensation are the same and the air can’t
hold any more water vapor? Saturation
26- What is the term for the temperature at which, if air is cooled further, condensation will exceed
evaporation. Dew point
27- What is precipitation? Any form of water that falls to the earth from clouds
28- Name the 5 types of precipitation we talked about. Rain, snow, sleet, hail, freezing rain
29- This type of precipitation begins as snow, melts, and then refreezes in the air before it hits the
ground. Sleet
30- This type of precipitation begins as snow, melts, and doesn’t refreeze until it hits the ground or
some of surface that is below freezing. Freezing rain
31- What is air pressure? The force of air molecules pushing on an area
32- As altitude increases, what happens to air pressure? It decreases
33- What is the term for measuring the transparency of the atmosphere, describing how far we can
see? Visibility
34- What is the name for the layer of the atmosphere where most of Earth’s weather takes place?
Troposphere
35- If a wind is blowing from north to south, which region has the lower air pressure, the north or
the south? South
36- Using the relative humidity chart, determine the relative humidity if the dry bulb temperature
is 20 deg. C and the wet bulb temperature is 15 deg. C. 58% relative humidity
37- Using the relative humidity chart, determine the wet bulb temperature if the dry bulb is 16 deg.
C and the relative humidity is 80%. Wet bulb is 14 deg. C
38- Look at the diagram; what is responsible for the bands of high and low pressure every 30
degrees of latitude? Convection or convection cells
39- Show how the winds in the area between 30 deg. and 60 deg. South latitude are moving.
40- Show how the winds between 60 deg. and the north pole are moving.
41- Look at the image: what is the instrument and what does it measure?