Chapter 3 Flashcards
What was the greatest wind speed ever measured at Earth’s surface? Where? What year?
370 km/hr
Mount Washington
1934
True or False
Because air is a fluid, it can move easily from place to place.
True
What is the force that makes air move?
A difference in air pressure.
True or False
Fluids tend to move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure.
True
A __________ is the horizontal movement of air from and area of ______ pressure to an area of _____ pressure
wind
high
lower
True or false
All winds are caused by differences in air pressure.
True
What are most differences in air pressure caused by?
Unequal heating of the atmosphere.
How are winds described?
By their direction and speed
What measurement tool determines wind direction?
a wind vane
A south wind blows from the _________ to the ________.
south
north
A _________ wind blows to the south.
north
What tool is used to measure wind speed?
an anemometer
Describe an anemometer.
Has 3 or 4 cups mounted at the ends of spokes that spin on an axle. The force of the wind against the cups turns the axle.
What is attached to the axle of the anemometer to show wind speed?
Speedometer.
What is the increased cooling that a wind can cause called?
Wind chill factor
Convection currents form when an area of earth’s surface is heated by what?
sun’s rays
Air over the heated surface of the earth expands and becomes less ________.
Dense
As air becomes less dense, what happens to air pressure?
it decreases
If a nearby area is not heated as much, the air above the less heated area will be cooler and ______.
denser
Cool, dense air has a ________ air pressure so it flows underneath the _______, less dense air.
higher
warm
How many meters above sea level is the highest point in the northeastern USA? And where is it?
1917 meters
Mount Washington in New Hampshire
______ winds are winds that blow over short distances.
Local
Local winds are caused by the unequal heating of Earth’s surface within a _______ area.
small
Unequal heating often occurs on land that is next to a _____ ____ ___ ______.
large body of water
True or false
It takes more energy to warm up a body of water than it does to warm up an equal area of land.
True
As the sun heats earth’s surface during the day, the _____ warms faster than the water
land
The air over the land becomes _______ than the air over the water.
warmer