Air Pressure
Submitted by Peggy Brown
Park Middle School
Scotch Plains, NJ
Grade Level: 6-8
Name______________________
Date _____________ Period ___
WeatherBug Scavenger Hunt
Directions:
1. Login to the WeatherBug Achieve by going to http://achieve.weatherbug.com
2. Enter your school zip code
3. In the Lessons link of the Activities section, type in ES-01 and open up the
lesson, “Air Pressure – A Basic Introduction”.
4. Browse and read through this lesson to gain a deeper understanding of air
pressure.
5. Complete the scavenger hunt by answering the following questions.
Scavenger Hunt Questions:
1. If we are walking on the bottom of an “ocean” of air about 800 km deep, why doesn’t
the air pressure squash us?
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2. What is the instrument used to measure air pressure at a given moment for a
particular place?
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3. If you are standing on top of a mountain, is the air pressure higher or lower than the
air pressure at sea level?
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4. If the air pressure is high, what kind of weather might you experience?
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5. If the air pressure is low, what kind of weather might you experience?
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6. Draw an arrow to show the direction of air flow in a low pressure system.
7. Draw an arrow to show the direction of air flow in a high pressure system.
8. Which of the following cities has the highest air pressure? Which one has the lowest?
Explain.
Atlanta, Georgia
Boise, Idaho
Denver, Colorado
Salt Lake, City
elevation: 320 meters
elevation: 825 meters
elevation: 1600 meters
elevation: 1300 meters
Highest air pressure:________________________________________
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Lowest air pressure: _________________________________________
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9. Air pressure is caused by the ________________ of the air pressing down on the
Earth’s surface.
Directions: Use the graph that shows the current barometric pressure at your school
site to answer the following questions.
10. Is the barometric pressure rising or falling? _____________________
11. Does this mean fair or cloudier skies? __________________________
12. A surface map shows the high (H) and low (L) pressure areas around the country.
Refer to the surface map on WeatherBug Achieve’s Map Gallery in the Tools section to
answer the following:
a.) What type of pressure system is currently over your area? __________
b.) In what part(s) of the country (other than your state) would you expect inclement
(rainy, stormy) weather to occur today?
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