Download EAPS Chapters 5-8 Best Verified Study Guide 2023/2024 and more Exams Physics in PDF only on Docsity! EAPS Chapters 5-8 Best Verified Study Guide 2023/2024 Air pressure at sea level is approximately 14.7 pounds per square inch or approximately _____ kilograms per square centimeter. 1 Air pressure is reported in a variety of units. The air pressure unit most commonly reported to the public is based on the height of a column of mercury which exerts at its base the same pressure as the atmosphere at that place. This pressure measurement technique is adequate for many purposes because the height of the mercury column is directly proportional to air pressure. The average (standard) sea-level atmospheric pressure is ______ inches of mercury. This is equivalent to 76 cm or 760 mm of mercury. 29.92 In the United States, meteorologists currently use the millibar (mb) unit as the standard unit of air pressure (equal to a hectoPascal). Standard sea-level air pressure is _____ mb. 1013.25 Because air pressure is determined by the weight of the overlying air, knowing air pressure values at sea level and at different altitudes makes it possible to determine the amount of atmosphere (by mass) that is above and below a particular altitude. For example, average sealevel air pressure is approximately 1000 mb. At the altitude where the pressure is 500 mb, half of the mass of an atmospheric column would be below and half above. From the Standard Atmosphere Table, this occurs at an average altitude of about _____ km above sea level. 5.5 According to the Standard Atmosphere, on average 25% of the atmosphere's mass (25% of pressure) is found above an altitude of approximately _____ km., or, stating it another way, 75% of the atmosphere's mass is found below that altitude. 10 A pressure-sensitive altimeter used in aircraft to measure altitude is a(n) _____ barometer. aneroid To compare air pressures from place to place on the Earth's surface, a reduction-to-sea-level adjustment is made. Consequently, on a surface weather map the assumption is made that for purposes of pressure analysis all stations are located at an altitude of _____ m above sea level. 0 By employing this sea-level correction, surface weather maps are thus constant _____ maps. altitude With an increase in altitude, air pressure decreases _____ rapidly in cold air than in warm air. more Water vapor molecules have less mass than air "molecules". As a result, surface air pressure in a humid air mass would be _____ than that in a dry air mass if their temperatures and other characteristics are the same. lower Avogadro's Law states that equal volumes of gases (or gas mixtures) measured under the same conditions of temperature and pressure contain _____ number of molecules. equal Surface air pressure will _____ in regions where less air converges at the surface than ascends fall The ideal gas law is a relationship between density, pressure, and temp When a volume of gas expands due to decreasing surrounding pressure, the volume undergoes expansional cooling Ascending, unsaturated air _____ at the rate of 9.8 degrees Celsius per 1000 m. cools Water is continually cycled from one reservoir to another in the global hydrologic cycle. The process whereby liquid water vaporizes into the atmosphere is known as evaporation and the process whereby ice or snow vaporizes into the atmosphere without first becoming liquid is known as sublimation The water vapor in air exerts a pressure, called vapor pressure, as though it were the only gaseous constituent present. That is, water vapor exerts a pressure that is not affected by the pressures exerted by other gases present. This is described in Dalton's law which states that a ice crystals At least some of the water (in the liquid or solid form) falling from a cloud vaporizes as it passes through ______ air below the cloud base. If the water completely vaporizes before reaching the Earth's surface, the shaft of falling liquid or ice particles is known as virga. unsaturated Freezing rain (or drizzle) occurs when falling water drops are ______; thus, drops partially freeze when they strike cold surfaces. supercooled Acid rain (or snow) occurs when the pH of the precipitation is less than 5.6 For a weather radar operating in the reflectivity mode, the strongest echoes are produced by hail As a general rule-of-thumb, on average, 10 inches of snow will melt down to 1 inch of liquid water. Therefore, a 32-inch snowfall will produce approximately ______ inches of liquid. 3.2 Remote sensing of precipitation amounts over the vast areas of tropical oceans is possible with data from the ______ satellite. TRMM A force is a push or pull on an object; it has both magnitude and direction. Your weight, for example, is a force. The magnitude is read from a weight scale and the direction of that force is always _____ because it is the force of attraction between your mass and the mass of Earth. downward The pressure gradient force arises from a change in air pressure with distance. This force accelerates air away from regions of higher air pressure and toward regions of lower air pressure. The pressure gradient force is strongest where isobars are closest together Because Earth is rotating, horizontal winds everywhere except at the equator are deflected to the right or left relative to Earth's surface. This so-called Coriolis Effect arises because the air is moving over a surface which itself is continually turning because of Earth's rotation. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Coriolis Effect causes wind blowing toward the west to turn toward the northwest The deflection of horizontally moving air due to the effect of the Earth's rotation is greatest at the poles where the Earth's surface makes one complete 360-degree spin around the rotational axis in 24 hours. The deflection is totally absent at the equator because the Earth's rotation does not cause any turning of the Earth's surface around a vertical axis at that location. Hence, the Coriolis effect is zero at the equator and _____ as latitude increases. increases The sense of the Earth's rotation is counterclockwise as viewed from above the North Pole and clockwise as viewed from above the South Pole. This reversal in the sense of the Earth's rotation means that the deflection due to the Earth's rotation reverses between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Hence, air moving horizontally in the Northern Hemisphere turns to the _____ relative to the Earth's surface, whereas in the Southern Hemisphere, moving air turns toward the opposite direction. right The Coriolis Effect varies with wind speed. If there is no air motion relative to the Earth's surface (calm conditions), there is no Coriolis Effect. As wind speed increases, the Coriolis Effect increases Fluid friction arising from large irregular motions within the atmosphere is _____ viscosity. eddy Hydrostatic equilibrium is the balance between the upward vertical pressure gradient force and the downward force of _____. Imbalances lead to convective motions. gravity The figure displaying the evolution of straight, balanced, horizontal flow shows the influence of the Coriolis Effect on air subjected to a horizontal pressure gradient force when neighboring isobars are straight and parallel in the Northern Hemisphere. At altitudes above the friction layer, the Coriolis balances the horizontal pressure gradient force and the air flows along a path that is _____ to the isobars. This is called the geostrophic wind. parallel Where isobars are curved, the centripetal force interacts with the horizontal pressure gradient force and the Coriolis Effect to produce winds that follow the same curved paths as the isobars. This is known as the _____ wind. gradient The gradient wind describes in simplest terms the circulation around centers of high and low pressure at altitudes above about 1000 m (3300 ft). Viewed from above the Northern Hemisphere, air flows _____ around a high-pressure center. clockwise The combined effects of the horizontal forces described in this chapter causes Northern Hemisphere surface winds in Lows (cyclones) to spiral counterclockwise and _____ as viewed from above. inward The atmosphere is a continuous fluid. As surface winds spiral out of the center of a High, more air arrives by descending from above. The descending air, in turn, is replaced by air flowing into the system at higher altitudes. As Figure 8.18 illustrates, a High (anticyclone) exhibits horizontal divergence of surface winds and horizontal _____ of upper air winds. convergence The surface pressure in a High can get higher over time if horizontal convergence in the system is _____ than horizontal divergence. more The scales of atmospheric circulations from smallest to largest are: micro, meso, synoptic, planetary