Exam 8: Air Pressure and Winds

The ____ force acts at a 90-degree angle to the wind.

Surface winds that blow over the ocean are closer to being geostrophic than those that blow over land.

The angle at which surface winds cross isobars depends upon surface friction, wind speed, and the height above the surface.

The pressure gradient force is non-existent at the equator.

Suppose that the winds aloft are geostrophic and blowing from the north. Low pressure is located to the ____________________.

The pressure gradient force is directed from higher pressure toward lower pressure ____.

A pascal (Pa)is the force of ____ acting on a surface area of ____.

Warm air aloft is associated with constant pressure surfaces that are found at ____ altitudes than normal and ____ normal atmospheric pressure aloft.

Zonal flow wind-flow patterns are associated with ____.

If, at your home in the Northern Hemisphere, the surface wind is blowing from the northwest, the region of lowest pressure will be to the ____ of your home.

The wind around a surface high pressure center in the Northern Hemisphere blows ____.

If Earth did not rotate, the wind would blow directly from regions of ____________________ pressure toward regions of ____________________ pressure.

On an upper-level chart the wind tends to be ____.

Explain why strong upper-level divergence will cause the pressure in the center of a surface low to decrease.

Flights from San Francisco to New York City take, on average, about 30 to 45 minutes less than the return flights.

Why do daily pressure fluctuations occur, and where on Earth can you find significant daily fluctuations?

Which of the following produces the strongest Coriolis force?

The angle at which surface winds cross isobars is to a large degree dependent on the roughness of the terrain.

Air moves in response to pressure differences. Because air pressure decreases rapidly with increasing height above the surface, there is always a strong pressure gradient force directed upward, much stronger than in the horizontal. Why, then, doesn't the air rush off into space?

Suppose you deflate a bicycle tire by depressing the air valve. Why does air rush out of the tire? After the air stops rushing out of the tire, is the tire empty? Explain your answer.