WEATHER INSTRUMENTS

Question 1

What is meant by weather?

Answer 1

Weather is the day to day conditions of the earth’s atmosphere, e.g it is raining today or that it is sunny.

Question 2

What is meant by climate?

Answer 2

Climate is the average weather condition of a place or region taken over a period of time e.g. 50/100 years.

Question 3

Name the instrument that measures precipitation.

Answer 3

It is a rain gauge.

Question 4

Name the instrument that measures humidity.

Answer 4

It is a hygrometer.

Question 5

Name the instrument that measures the diurnal temperature.

Answer 5

It is a Six’s thermometer.

Question 6

What is meant by diurnal?

Answer 6

It means over a day (24 hour period)

Question 7

In your mind draw and label a Six’s thermometer.

Answer 7

Did you include a glass u-bend that contained mercury at the bottom of the glass u-tube with alcohol above it, two metal indexes - one in the left arm and one in the right arm of the glass u-tube.

Question 8

When using a Six’s thermometer is the bottom or the top of the metal index used to measure the max and min daily temperatures.

Answer 8

Max and min temperatures are measured by the bottom of the metal index.

Question 9

What instruments is used to measure the wind direction.

Answer 9

Wind direction is measured with a wind vane.

Question 10

What instrument is used to measure wind speed.

Answer 10

Wind speed is measured with an anemometer

Question 11

What weather feature can be worked out with the recordings from a dry and wet bulb thermometer.

Answer 11

Relative humidity can be worked out.

Question 12

Which weather feature is estimated using your own eyes.

Answer 12

The amount of cloud cover in the sky.

Question 13

What instrument is used to measure air pressure.

Answer 13

An barometer is used.

Question 14

Describe how a barometer measure the pressure.

Answer 14

A barometer works in the following way. When there is high air pressure this causes the vacuum box to compress. This in turn causes the pivot arm to rise. A pencil attached to the pivot arm draws a line on a graph paper attached to a rotating drum.

Question 15

Describe how an anemometer measures the wind speed.

Answer 15

It has three or four cups on arms, which rotate when the wind blows. The movement operates a meter that records the speed of the wind. The speed is shown on the dial in kilometres per hour or knots. When an anemometer is not available, wind speed may be estimated using the Beaufort scale.

Question 16

What is meant by the term prevailing wind direction.

Answer 16

It is the direction that the wind blows from for the majority of the year. For example in the the UK it is the south west.

Question 17

If a wind is said to be a north westerly from which direction has it come from.

Answer 17

It has come from the north east.

Question 18

Describe how a wind vane measures the wind direction.

Answer 18

A wind vane records wind direction. The sail catches the wind and this causes the rotating arm to point to the direction the wind is blowing from.

Question 19

What unit of measurement are the following weather features measured in; pressure wind speed, relative humidity, and precipitation.

Answer 19

They are measured in millibars, km or mph, percentage and mm.

Question 20

What type of graph is used to present the following types of weather data; rainfall, temperature, wind direction and frequency.

Answer 20

They are measured by a bar chart, line graph, and a wind rose.

Question 21

Describe four features of a Stevenson screen.

Answer 21

The box is 1.25 meters above the ground, is made of wood, painted white and has slats that point downwards at an angle.

Question 22

Explain why all Stevenson screens are 1.25 meters above the ground

Answer 22

The box is 1.25 meters above the ground so the thermometers record only the air temperature.

Question 23

Explain why Stevenson screens are painted white.

Answer 23

It is painted white to reflect the sunlight.

Question 24

Explain why Stevenson screens have slats that point downwards at an angle.

Answer 24

It has slats to allow the temperature to be recorded accurately in the shade.The slats are pointing downwards at an angle to allow air to pass freely around the box, and to stop any wind affecting the readings of the thermometers

Question 25

Describe what instruments are put into a Stevenson screen.

Answer 25

A six’s thermometer and a wet and dry bulb thermometer.