Moisture and Wind

Question 1

How does wind travel(pressure and temperature)?

Answer 1

Wind travels from high to low pressure. It travels from low to high temperatures.

Question 2

What are monsoons? Why do they occur?

Answer 2

Monsoons are the seasonal reversal of wind directions associated with large continents(especially Asia). They occur because of the seasonal pressure changes over land.

Question 3

How do you use a sling psychrometer?

Answer 3

To use a sling psychrometer, you wet one bulb and keep one dry, then spin it around in circles until the temperature for the wet bulb isn’t changing. Then, you check both temperatures, and use the charts to figure out relative humidity.

Question 4

How do you use a hair hygrometer?

Answer 4

To use a hair hygrometer, you measure the length of a hair using mm everyday. When the hair is longer, it is more humid, when the hair is shorter, it is dryer.

Question 5

What is the relationship between temperature and water vapor capacity?

Answer 5

The relationship between temp. and capacity is: The higher the temp., the higher the capacity.

Question 6

What is relative humidity?

Answer 6

Relative humidity is the percentage/ratio of specific humidity vs. how much the air could potentially at the given temperature.

Question 7

What is specific humidity?

Answer 7

Specific humidity is the mass of water vapor present in the air per kg of air(g/kg)

Question 8

What is the relative humidity formula?

Answer 8

The formula is RH=(actual water vapor/water vapor capacity) times 100.

Question 9

How do clouds form?

Answer 9

Clouds form by water vapor condensing onto a condensation nuclei, forming water droplets.

Question 10

What are examples of condensation nuclei?

Answer 10

The most common condensation nuclei is dust, but others include salt, smoke and pollen.

Question 11

How does orographic lifting lift air up?

Answer 11

Orographic lifting lifts up global winds when they hit a physical barrier(ex. mountains), when it rises, it cools below the dew point and forms clouds.

Question 12

How does frontal wedging lift air up?

Answer 12

Frontal wedging lifts air when warm fronts and cold fronts meet, because the warm air is forced upwards, and the air expands and cools below the dew point, and forms clouds.

Question 13

How does convergence lift air up?

Answer 13

Convergence makes air lift when winds meet and air is forced upwards. When the air rises, it expands and cools below the dew point, and forms clouds.

Question 14

How is rain created?

Answer 14

The small water droplets in clouds group together to form large ones and fall from the cloud.

Question 15

How is precipitation created?

Answer 15

Precipitation is created when water vapor condenses into large droplets/crystals. Once they are too heavy, they fall from the cloud.

Question 16

How is snow created?

Answer 16

Snow is created when water molecules freeze into crystals, then link up with each other and fall from the cloud.

Question 17

How is hail created?

Answer 17

Hail begins as a frozen raindrop in the cloud, but as it starts to fall in the cloud, an updraft carries it up. During that, other frozen drops stick to it. The process repeats until the updraft is not strong enough, and the hail falls from the cloud.

Question 18

How is sleet formed?

Answer 18

Sleet starts as snow, then it melts when it goes through a thin warm layer. Then it goes through a thick cold layer, and freezes again.

Question 19

How is freezing rain formed?

Answer 19

Freezing rain starts as snow, then melts when it goes through a thin warm layer. Then it hits the ground and freezes.

Question 20

What does it mean when air is “saturated”?

Answer 20

Air is saturated when the dew-point is equal to the dry bulb temperature/actual temperature and the relative humidity is 100%.

Question 21

How are mountain and valley breezes formed?

Answer 21

Mountain and valley breezes are caused by the difference in temps. on slopes and valley floors. During the day, the air on the slopes is heated more than the valley floor, so the valley’s air flows to the slope’s air, causing a valley breeze. During the night, the air on the slopes rapidly cools, and is cooler than the valley, so the air flows from the mountain to the valley, causing a mountain breeze.

Question 22

How does wind form?

Answer 22

Wind forms when there is an inequality in air pressure along a horizontal plane.

Question 22

How are sea and land breezes created?

Answer 22

Land and sea breezes are caused by a difference in temperature. due to land being a better absorber and emitter. During the day, land is hotter than the sea, so the sea’s air flows to land, causing sea breezes. During the night, sea is hotter than land, so the land’s air flows to the sea, causing land breezes.

Question 23

What role does convection play in creating wind?

Answer 23

Convection creates wind because it is the circular motion of fluids, and when air does convection in the atmosphere, the movement along earth’s surface creates wind.

Question 24

How are global winds formed?

Answer 24

Global winds are caused by direct and indirect rays. The rays heat different parts of the earth differently, and when the air flows to each other to reach equilibrium, it causes wind.

Question 25

What latitudes have low pressure belts?

Answer 25

60°N, 60°S and 0° have low pressure belts.

Question 26

Do high pressure belts have rising or sinking air?

Answer 26

High pressure belts have sinking air.

Question 27

Do low pressure belts have rising or sinking air?

Answer 27

Low pressure belts have rising air.

Question 28

What latitudes have high pressure belts?

Answer 28

30°S, 30°N, 90°S, and 90°N have high pressure belts.

Question 29

What is the name for the pressure belt at 0°?

Answer 29

The pressure belt is called the doldrums.

Question 30

What is the name for the pressure belts at 30°N and S?

Answer 30

The pressure belts are called the horse latitudes.

Question 31

What is the name for the pressure belts at 60°N and S?

Answer 31

The pressure belts are called the sub polar lows or the polar fronts.

Question 32

What is the name for the pressure belts at 90°N and S?

Answer 32

There is no name for the pressure belts at 90°N and S.

Question 33

What are the 2 barometers used for measuring pressure called?

Answer 33

The two barometers used to measure pressure are an aneroid barometer and a mercurial barometer.

Question 34

How do the barometers used for measuring pressure work?

Answer 34

An aneroid barometer has a partially evacuated chamber that changes shape, compressing as atmospheric pressure increases, and expanding as pressure decreases. It uses a dial to tell you the pressure. Mercury barometer: The weight of the column of mercury is balanced by the pressure exerted on the dish of mercury by the air above. If the pressure decreases, the column falls, if the pressure increases, the column of mercury rises.

Question 35

What is atmospheric pressure?

Answer 35

Atmospheric pressure is the pressure exerted by the weight of the above air.

Question 36

What changes atmospheric pressure?

Answer 36

Atmospheric pressure is changed by air density(caused by temp. changes), and altitude(the higher you are, the lower the pressure).

Question 37

What is the difference between stable and unstable air?

Answer 37

Stable air resists vertical movement because it is as dense as the surrounding air. It prevents cloud formation and has an increasing temperature with height.
Unstable air encourages vertical movement because it is warmer/less dense than the surrounding air. It encourages cloud formation and has an increasing temperature with height.

idk about increasing temp with height. text me if you disagree.

Question 38

How does adiabatic heating work?

Answer 38

Adiabatic heating: As air rises, it reaches lower pressure, so it expands. When the air expands, the molecules become less tightly packed, and the temperature increases.

Question 39

How does adiabatic cooling work?

Answer 39

Adiabatic cooling: As air sinks, the pressure increases, so it compresses. When air compresses, the molecules become more tightly packed, and the temperature decreases.

Question 40

Why does it feel hotter when it is more humid?

Answer 40

It feels hotter when it is more humid because your perspiration evaporates less.