REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR CH9- THE ATMOSPHERE IN MOTION: AIR PRESSURE, FORCES, AND WINDS

  1. What generates our winds?
  2. Why does the vertical pressure gradient not create our winds?
  3. How is pressure defined?
  4. With the ideal gas law, how can pressure be changed?
  5. How is pressure measured?
  6. What are the various units of pressure? What are the sea-level values or each unit?
  7. What is a surface pressure chart?
  8. What is "reduction of sea-level pressure" and why do we need to do it?
  9. What are constant height and constant pressure surfaces? What is displayed on each?
  10. On an upper air chart, why do the heights fall as you move north?
  11. Why does pressure decrease as you move northward on a constant height surface aloft?
  12. Why are higher heights associated with higher temps?
  13. What do ridges and troughs on an isobaric chart represent?
  14. Approximately, at what height are the common isobaric charts?
  15. What is a common relationship between troughs/ridges aloft with surface lows/highs?
  16. What is a force? What are two important characteristics of a force?
  17. How does Newton's Second Law apply to wind generation?
  18. What forces are important for generating winds?
  19. What forces govern winds aloft?
  20. What is the pressure gradient force? How is it defined and calculated?
  21. What is the coriolis force? How is it defined?
  22. What is the centrifugal force? How is it defined?
  23. What is the frictional force? How is it defined?
  24. What is geostrophic flow? What determines the magnitude of the geostrophic flow?
  25. What is gradient flow?
  26. What types of atmospheric phenomena are described by geostrophic, gradient, or cyclostrophic flows?
  27. What forces generate surface winds?
  28. How are areas of convergence and divergence generated at the surface by mid-latitude weather systems?
  29. Why is it generally cloudy in the vicinity of a low pressure area and sunny in the vicinity of high pressure?
  30. In what layer of the atmosphere is friction important in affecting the wind?
  31. How are winds measured?
  32. How is wind direction defined?

last updated: 08/20/04 09:31 AM