18

Earth Science, 13e (Tarbuck)
Chapter 18 Air Pressure and Wind

1) Standard sea level pressure in millibars is ________.
A) 750 mb
B) 890 mb
C) 1013 mb
D) 1143 mb
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: 18.2 Measuring Air Pressure
Bloom's: Remembering
2) Standard sea level pressure in inches of mercury is ________.
A) 7.52 inches
B) 14.70 inches
C) 28.70 inches
D) 29.92 inches
Answer: D
Diff: 1
3) The mercurial barometer was invented by ________.
A) Torricelli
B) Galileo
C) Newton
D) Watt
Answer: A
Diff: 1
4) Which of these instruments is NOT used to measure air pressure?
A) mercurial barometer
B) aneroid barometer
C) barograph
D) anemometer
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.
5) An altimeter is an adaptation of the ________.

A) mercurial barometer
B) aneroid barometer
C) barograph
D) anemometer
Answer: B
Diff: 1
6) The force that generates wind is ________.
A) Coriolis force
B) gravity force
C) centrifugal force
D) pressure gradient force
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: 18.3 Factors Affecting Wind
7) Which of these factors influence the magnitude of the Coriolis force?
A) wind speed
B) latitude
C) wind direction
D) both wind speed and latitude
Answer: D
Diff: 1
8) Lines on a weather map connecting places of equal air pressure are called ________.
A) isovectors
B) isobars
C) isotherms
D) isogrids
Answer: B
Diff: 1
9) Closely spaced isobars often indicate ________.

A) high winds
B) variable winds
C) light winds
D) cyclonic winds
Answer: A
Diff: 1
10) A steep pressure gradient ________.
A) would be depicted by widely spaced isobars
B) produces strong winds
C) is only possible in the tropics
D) produces light winds
Answer: B
Diff: 1
11) Widely spaced isobars often indicate ________.
A) high winds
B) variable winds
C) light winds
D) cyclonic winds
Answer: C
Diff: 1
12) The Coriolis effect influences ________.
A) only wind speed
B) only wind direction
C) both wind speed and wind direction
D) neither wind speed nor wind direction
Answer: B
Diff: 1
13) In the Northern Hemisphere, the winds associated with a low pressure system (cyclone) blow
________.
A) clockwise and toward the center
B) counterclockwise and toward the center
C) clockwise and outward from the center
D) counterclockwise and outward from the center
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: 18.4 Highs and Lows
14) In the Northern Hemisphere, winds associated with a high pressure system blow ________.
Answer: C
Diff: 1
15) If Earth were not rotating ________.
A) it would lose its atmosphere
B) air would move directly from high to low pressure
C) all air would move in one direction only
D) friction would be eliminated
Answer: B
Diff: 1
16) Upper air winds ________.
A) are generally faster than surface winds
B) are unaffected by the Coriolis force
C) are greatly influenced by friction
D) both A and B
Answer: A
Diff: 1
17) High air pressure systems are usually associated with ________.
A) diverging winds
B) descending air
C) clear weather
D) all of these
Answer: D
Diff: 1
18) Low air pressure systems are usually associated with ________.
A) diverging winds
B) descending air
C) precipitation
D) clear weather
Answer: C
Diff: 1
19) In the Southern Hemisphere, the winds associated with a low pressure system blow
________.
Answer: A
Diff: 1
20) If "fair" weather were approaching, the pressure tendency would probably be ________.
A) steady
B) rising
C) falling
D) none of these
Answer: B
Diff: 1
21) If stormy weather were approaching, the pressure tendency would probably be ________.
A) steady
B) rising
C) falling
D) none of these
Answer: C
Diff: 1
22) Most of the United States is situated in which zone of prevailing winds?
A) trade winds
B) subpolar easterlies
C) westerlies
D) doldrums
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: 18.7 Measuring Wind
23) Another name for the area of equatorial lows is the ________.
A) subpolar easterlies
B) westerlies
C) doldrums
D) horse latitudes
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: 18.5 General Circulation of the Atmosphere
24) The Sahara and Australian deserts (among others) are associated with the ________.
A) subtropical high
B) equatorial low
C) subpolar low
D) polar high
Answer: A
Diff: 1
25) This pressure zone is associated with abundant precipitation and warm temperatures.
A) subtropical high
B) equatorial low
C) subpolar low
D) polar high
Answer: B
Diff: 1
26) The subpolar low (polar front) is ________.
A) a zone where the trade winds meet
B) the forward edge of the Antarctic ice cap
C) a zone where the polar easterlies and the westerlies converge
D) the boundary between frozen and liquid
Answer: C
Diff: 1
27) When are upper air winds fastest?
A) in summer
B) in winter
C) whenever the temperature gradient is weak
D) These winds maintain roughly the same speeds throughout the year.
Answer: B
Diff: 1
28) A Santa Ana (or Chinook or Foehn) wind is a ________.
A) wind associated with a blizzard
B) cold, damp wind blowing off a snow field
C) wind that is common to the world's deserts
D) very dry, warm wind flowing down a mountain slope
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: 18.6 Local Winds
29) A sea breeze usually originates during the ________.

A) evening and flows toward the land
B) day and flows toward the land
C) evening and flows toward the water
D) day and flows toward the water
Answer: B
Diff: 1
30) A land breeze usually originates during the ________.
A) evening and flows toward the land
B) day and flows toward the land
C) evening and flows toward the water
D) day and flows toward the water
Answer: C
Diff: 1
31) Fast moving currents of air found near the top of the troposphere are called ________.
A) mesocyclones
B) chinooks
C) jet streams
D) El Nio
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: 18.8 El Nino and La Nina
32) What is the technical name for a high pressure center?
A) cyclone
B) anticyclone
C) front
D) doldrums
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Word Analysis. Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the
relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the
pattern.
33) trade winds
westerlies
Answer: chinook
Diff: 1
Bloom's: Understanding
Chinook
34) equatorial low

trade winds
Answer: trade winds
Diff: 1
polar front
35) Coriolis effect

jet stream
Answer: jet stream
Diff: 1
friction
36) sea breeze

Chinook winds
Answer: Chinook winds
Diff: 2
polar easterlies
valley breeze
subtropical high
pressure gradient force
trade winds
37) Low pressure systems are usually associated with clear weather.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
38) High pressure systems are usually associated with stormy weather.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
39) Cyclones are usually associated with stormy weather.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
40) If the barometer indicated 1020 millibars, air pressure would be considered high.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
41) Standard sea level air pressure is 1013 millibars.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
42) Standard sea level air pressure is 29.92 inches of mercury.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
43) The Coriolis effect is strongest at the equator and diminishes in strength poleward.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
44) The Coriolis effect influences wind speed but not wind direction.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
45) The pressure gradient force is the driving force behind wind.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
46) A southwest wind blows toward the northeast.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
47) An isobar is a line connecting places of equal humidity.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
10
48) Anticyclones characteristically have winds blowing out from their centers.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
49) The ultimate cause of a sea breeze is the unequal heating of land and water.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
50) Of the various elements of weather, changes in air pressure are probably the most obvious.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
51) Horizontal movement of air is called wind.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
52) Torricelli invented the mercurial barometer.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
53) A mountain breeze is best developed in the hottest part of the day.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
54) The existence of jet streams was first determined by Ben Franklin as a result of his kite
experiments.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
11
55) The region where the trade winds meet is also called the doldrums.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
56) Most of the people living in the United States are under the influence of the wind belt known
as the westerlies.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
57) Closely spaced isobars indicate high wind speeds.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
58) In the Northern Hemisphere, winds blow clockwise and outward from the center of
anticyclones.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
59) Upper air winds are generally faster than the surface winds directly below.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
60) Standard sea level pressure is ________ inches of mercury.
Answer: 29.92
Diff: 1
61) The force that generates wind is known as the ________ force.
Answer: pressure gradient
Diff: 1
12
62) Fast moving currents of air found near the top of the troposphere are called ________.
Answer: jet streams
Diff: 1
63) A north wind blows from the ________ to the ________.
Answer: north, south
Diff: 1
64) An isobar is a line on a weather map connecting places of equal ________.
Answer: barometric pressure
Diff: 1
65) Horizontal movement of air is called ________.
Answer: wind
Diff: 1
66) The first instrument to measure air pressure was the ________ barometer.
Answer: mercurial
Diff: 1
67) When winds blow parallel to the isobars, which is usually the case for winds aloft, they are
called ________ winds.
Answer: geostrophic
Diff: 1
68) A low pressure center is called a(n) ________.
Answer: cyclone
Diff: 1
13
69) Warm winds that move down the leeward side of mountains are known as ________.
Answer: chinook, foehn, or Santa Ana
Diff: 1
70) An instrument that measures air pressure using a partially evacuated chamber is called a(n)
________ barometer.
Answer: aneroid
Diff: 1
71) An instrument that measures wind speed is called a(n) ________.
Answer: anemometer
Diff: 1
72) The surface wind zones that flow from the subtropics toward the equator are called the
________ winds.
Answer: trade
Diff: 1
Critical Thinking and Discussion. Use complete sentences, correct spelling, and the
information presented in Chapter 18 to answer the questions below.
73) "Perhaps more than any other single measurement, atmospheric pressure is the best indicator
of current and changing weather conditions." Briefly discuss why this statement is correct.
Answer: Inches of mercury are easy to understand. When air pressure increases, the mercury in
the tube rises. Conversely, when air pressure decreases, so does the height of the mercury
column.
Diff: 2
14
74) Why are coastal and mountainous regions often much more windy than other locations at
similar latitudes? Also, from this and earlier chapters on meteorology, are there other weather
characteristics that are perhaps unique or different for these areas?
Answer: In coastal areas during the warm summer months, the land surface is heated more
intensely during the daylight hours than is the adjacent body of water. As a result, the air above
the land surface heats, expands, and rises, creating an area of lower pressure. A sea breeze then
develops, because cooler air over the water (higher pressure) moves toward the warmer land
(lower pressure). A daily wind similar to land and sea breezes occurs in many mountainous
regions. During daylight hours, the air along the slopes of the mountains is heated more intensely
than the air at the same elevation over the valley floor. Because this warmer air is less dense, it
glides up along the slope and generates a valley breeze. After sunset, the pattern may reverse.
Rapid radiation cooling along the mountain slopes produces a layer of cooler air next to the
ground. Because cool air is denser than warm air, it drains downslope into the valley. Such a
movement of air is called a mountain breeze.
Diff: 3
Topic: 18.9 Global Distributions of Precipitation
75) Considering the theory of plate tectonics and the movement of landmasses over geologic
time, would you expect atmospheric circulation of the past to be the same as we see today? Why
or why not? Consider the factors that determine global wind patterns and whether they have
changed over time.
Answer: Regions influenced by high pressure, with its associated subsidence and diverging
winds, experience relatively dry conditions. On the other hand, regions under the influence of
low pressure and its converging winds and ascending air receive ample precipitation. Heavy
rainfall tends to exist along equatorial regions with meager precipitation in high latitude areas. In
addition to latitudinal variations in precipitation, the distribution of land and water complicates
the precipitation pattern. Large landmasses in the middle latitudes commonly experience
decreased precipitation toward their interiors.
Diff: 3
15
76) What is the name of the lines on the weather map below?
Answer: isobars
Diff: 1
Bloom's: Applying
16
77) On the diagram below, label the Subtropical high, Equatorial low, and the Trade Winds.
Answer: See Figure 18.16 in Chapter 18 of Earth Science, 13e.

Diff: 1
Bloom's: Applying
78) What type of local wind pattern is illustrated in the diagram below?
Answer: sea breeze

Diff: 1
Bloom's: Applying
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Earth Science, 13e (Tarbuck)

Chapter 18 Air Pressure and Wind

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

5) An altimeter is an adaptation of the ________.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

9) Closely spaced isobars often indicate ________.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

29) A sea breeze usually originates during the ________.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

34) equatorial low

35) Coriolis effect

36) sea breeze

pressure gradient force

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

Answer: See Figure 18.16 in Chapter 18 of Earth Science, 13e.

Answer: sea breeze

Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc.

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