Climate Characteristics

Question 1

What are the 7 key climate characteristics?

Answer 1

Temp 
Precipitation
Wind speed
Wind direction 
Relative humidity 
Atmospheric pressure 
Air quality

Question 2

What unit is temp measured in?

Answer 2

°C

°F

Question 3

Which instruments are used to measure temp?

Answer 3

Thermometers

Stevenson Screen

Question 4

What unit is precipitation measured in?

Answer 4

mm

Question 5

What instrument is used to measure precipitation?

Answer 5

Rain gauge

Question 6

What is wind direction a measure of?

Answer 6

The direction which the wind has come from

Question 7

What unit is wind direction measured in?

Answer 7

Compass direction (N,S,E,W)

Question 8

Which instruments are used to measure wind direction?

Answer 8

Wind vane

Compass

Question 9

What unit is relative humidity measured in?

Answer 9

%

Question 10

Which instrument is used to measure relative humidity?

Answer 10

Whirling Psychrometer

Question 11

What is atmospheric pressure?

Answer 11

The amount of pressure exerted on the ground by the atmosphere

Question 12

What unit is atmospheric pressure measured in?

Answer 12

millibars (unit of pressure)

Question 13

Which instrument is used to measure atmospheric pressure?

Answer 13

Barometer

Question 14

What is air quality?

Answer 14

How good the air is

Question 15

Which units is air quality measured in?

Answer 15

Micrograms per cubic meter

Parts per million

Question 16

What instrument can be used to measure air quality?

Answer 16

Acetate

Question 17

Which units is wind speed measured in?

Answer 17

mph 
m/s 
knots per hour 
km/h 
beaufort scale

Question 18

What is the beaufort scale?

Answer 18

A scale which allows you to work out wind speed based on observation.
Using the diagrams you are able to see the speed (mph) of the wind

Question 19

What instrument can be used to measure wind speed?

Answer 19

Anemometer

Question 20

Explain why in period of high pressure large, urban cities, for example London, can experience poor air quality

Answer 20

Because the pollutants can’t escape the atmosphere and therefore stay close to the surface of the earth

Question 21

How does a max/min thermometer work?

Answer 21

As the temp increases the alcohol expands and pushes the pin (small iron marker) into place. The opposite is also true for the min temp as the alcohol retracts the mercury falls and the pin follows.
This thermometer reads the current temp and records the max and min temps reached since the last reset.
A magnet is used to reset the readings

Question 22

Why are max/min thermometers useful?

Answer 22

They measure the temp constantly and record the max/min temps which means that reading can be taken after the event.

Question 23

What is relative humidity (RH)?

Answer 23

The amount of moisture in the air in relation to the max amount the air could hold at that temp

Question 24

What is absolute humidity?

Answer 24

The max amount of water vapour the air can hold at different temps

Question 25

What unit is absolute humidity measured in?

Answer 25

Grams of water per m³

Question 26

How would you measure RH using a whirling psycrometer

Answer 26

A wet and dry bulb lie side by side The instrument is spun at shoulder level for around a min Read and record both the wet and dry bulb readings Subtract the readings from each other Compare reading with relative humidity chart

Question 27

State an advantage and disadvantage of using electronic thermometers?

Answer 27

+ve - Precision - They show tenths of degrees | -ve - Don't work when they are wet

Question 28

Why is it necessary to calibrate thermometers used in an investigation?

Answer 28

Because if you are using more than 1 thermometer you could have slightly different readings.

Question 29

Describe how to calibrate thermometers

Answer 29

``` Number all the thermometers Place them in cold water/fridge Read and record temps Immerse thermometers in warm water Read and record temps Differences should be consistent so should be able to adjust to norm ```

Question 30

What is an area of high pressure called?

Answer 30

Anticyclone

Question 31

What is an area of low pressure called?

Answer 31

Depression

Question 32

What is high pressure?

Answer 32

As the air cools is descends leading to high pressure

Question 33

What is low pressure?

Answer 33

As the air warms it ascends leading to low pressure. This is usually associated with unstable weather conditions

Question 34

How would you measure cold cover?

Answer 34

By taking a photo and observing you can estimate the % of the sky covered by cloud. By convention, cloud cover is expressed as the number of eighths (oktas) of sky covered by cloud.