REVIEW
QUESTIONS FOR CH9- THE ATMOSPHERE IN MOTION: AIR PRESSURE,
FORCES, AND WINDS
- What generates our winds?
- Why does the vertical pressure gradient
not create our winds?
- How is pressure defined?
- With the ideal gas law, how can pressure
be changed?
- How is pressure measured?
- What are the various units of pressure?
What are the sea-level values or each unit?
- What is a surface pressure chart?
- What is "reduction of sea-level
pressure" and why do we need to do it?
- What are constant height and constant
pressure surfaces? What is displayed on each?
- On an upper air chart, why do the heights
fall as you move north?
- Why does pressure decrease as you move
northward on a constant height surface aloft?
- Why are higher heights associated with
higher temps?
- What do ridges and troughs on an isobaric
chart represent?
- Approximately, at what height are the
common isobaric charts?
- What is a common relationship between
troughs/ridges aloft with surface lows/highs?
- What is a force? What are two important
characteristics of a force?
- How does Newton's Second Law apply to wind
generation?
- What forces are important for generating
winds?
- What forces govern winds aloft?
- What is the pressure gradient force? How
is it defined and calculated?
- What is the coriolis force? How is it
defined?
- What is the centrifugal force? How is it
defined?
- What is the frictional force? How is it
defined?
- What is geostrophic flow? What determines
the magnitude of the geostrophic flow?
- What is gradient flow?
- What types of atmospheric phenomena are
described by geostrophic, gradient, or cyclostrophic
flows?
- What forces generate surface winds?
- How are areas of convergence and
divergence generated at the surface by mid-latitude
weather systems?
- Why is it generally cloudy in the vicinity
of a low pressure area and sunny in the vicinity of high
pressure?
- In what layer of the atmosphere is
friction important in affecting the wind?
- How are winds measured?
- How is wind direction defined?
last updated:
08/20/04 09:31 AM