NAME: ___________________________________
DATE: _____________
The Coriolis Effect - Deflect the Arrows!
Directions: The Circle below represents the Earth. The equator is present, dividing
the image into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The arrows represent
wind direction.
1. Using a DASHED LINE, correctly deflect each arrow as the wind would
naturally be deflected.
HINT: Look DOWN the arrow towards the point, even if that means turning your
paper around.Deflect (curve) to the RIGHT in the Northern Hemisphere and to the
LEFT in the Southern Hemisphere.
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North Pole
equator
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South Pole
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Answer all questions on this page. If you need help, you can visit this site for a short
summary about the Coriolis Effect: Infoplease Encyclopedia: Coriolis Effect.
1- What is the Coriolis Effect? ___________________________________________
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2- What causes the Coriolis Effect? _______________________________________
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3- Name 3 things affected by the Coriolis Effect
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4- What do you think a soldier firing a missile or a pilot flying a plane must do in
order to accurately land the missile or the plane at the correct destination?
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1.Using the picture above, please draw, label, and indicate the direction of air as
seen by an earthling for the following:
1. An arrow showing which way the Earth rotates.
2.The four Hadley cells, four Ferrel cells, four Polar cells.
3.The Westerlies
4.The Tradewinds
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Do the following activity. You will need to work with a partner.
Materials
You will two balloons and two markers (different colors)
Procedure
1.
Blow up a balloon.
2.
With a marker, draw the equator on the balloon and label the North
and South Poles.
3.
Hold the balloon at eye level and rotate it left to right, simulating
the rotation of the earth.
4.
While one partner rotates the earth balloon, the other examines the
movement of the earth from the North Pole perspective and from
the South Pole perspective.
5.
While one partner continues to rotate the balloon steadily from left
to right, the other slowly tries to draw a line straight south from the
North Pole to the equator. Using the other marker and while the
earth continues to rotate, draw a line straight north from the South
Pole to the equator.
6.
Do the experiment again but switch roles.
Conclusion
Answer questions 1-5 below.
1.
As you look down from the North Pole toward the equator, which
way is the balloon spinning, clockwise or counterclockwise? !
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2.
As you look up from the South Pole toward the equator, which way
is the balloon spinning, clockwise or counterclockwise? !
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3.
What happened when you tried to draw a straight line from the
North Pole to the equator? !
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4.
What happened when you tried to draw a straight line from the
South Pole to the equator? !
5.
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Predict what would happen if you again drew lines in the Northern
and Southern Hemispheres but with the earth rotating in the
opposite direction.
Fill in the blanks below
1.
Warm air __________, expands and cools. Then it sinks downward to
where the rising warm air was located. This thermal cycle of moving air
is called a _________________ current. Unequal heating of Earth’s
surface causes air circulation: air at the equator gets more energy from
the Sun, and the heated air rises and moves toward the _____________
regions. Here it cools in the upper atmosphere, sinks towards the
___________, and is drawn back to the warmer regions of the equator.
2.
Since the Earth ______________ on its axis, the pathway of the moving
air is affected. All free- moving objects, including air and water, aircraft
and missiles, appear to deviate from their straight-line paths. This
apparent shift due to Earth’s rotation is called the
_________________________.
3.
The Coriolis effect deflects winds toward the ___________ in the
Northern Hemisphere and toward the left in the ____________
Hemisphere. The faster the wind, the greater the deflection. This
deflection causes global wind patterns. At the equator the atmospheric
circulation is referred to as ____________________ cells. On the surface
of the Earth the global wind pattern is called the ________________
winds. Between 30 and 60 degrees north and south latitude the
atmospheric circulation is referred to as ___________________ cells. On
the surface of the Earth the global wind pattern is called the
________________________.
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Answer the question below to summarize the Coriolis Effect
1. In the Northern Hemisphere, free-moving objects traveling over large distances
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are deflected to the ____________ of their intended path of motion.
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2. In the Southern Hemisphere, free-moving objects traveling over large distances
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are deflected to the ____________ of their intended path of motion.
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3. If a missile is launched from the North Pole, toward an object on the equator,
should it be aimed to the left, to the right, or directly at its target? EXPLAIN
YOUR ANSWER.
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4. If a missile is launched from the equator toward an object in the Northern
Hemisphere, should it be aimed to the left, to the right, or directly at its target?
EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER.
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5. A flight from Salt Lake City, CT to New York, NY takes about 6 hours. The
return trip takes about 5 hours. Why does this happen?
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