Hurricane Motion Answer Key Vocabulary: air pressure, Coriolis effect, eye, hurricane, knot, meteorologist, precipitation Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) [Note: The pur pose of these questions is to activate prior knowledge and get students thinking. Students are not ex...
Vocabulary: air pressure, Coriolis effect, eye, hurricane, knot, meteorologist, precipitation
Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
[Note: The purpose of these questions is to activate prior knowledge and get students thinking.
Students are not expected to know the answers to the Prior Knowledge Questions.]
A hurricane is a large, rotating tropical storm with wind speeds of at least 74 miles per hour.
Since 1990, meteorologists have regularly used satellite images to track hurricanes.
1. The satellite image at right
shows Hurricane Katrina just before it hit New
Orleans in 2005. Label the hurricane on the image.
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2. How do you think meteorologists predicted the
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arrival of a hurricane before the 1990s?
o.
Answers will vary. [Meteorologists used ship
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reports, air pressure readings, airplane
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reconnaissance, etc.]
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Gizmo Warm-up
You can use data collected from weather stations to study the characteristics of hurricanes. The
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Hurricane Motion Gizmo™ has three simulated weather stations. Turn on Show weather
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station data. Make sure Wind, Cloud cover, and Pressure are all checked.
The tails on each station symbol point in the direction the wind is coming
from. The flags on the tail indicate wind speed, measured in knots. (One knot
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is equal to 1.151 mph.) A short line extending from the tail indicates 5 knots of
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wind. A longer line indicates 10 knots. A triangular flag indicates 50 knots. Add
all the flags together to get the wind speed.
The number in the station’s upper right is the air pressure, which is measured in millibars (mb).
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The circle symbol
Th
indicates the
percentage of cloud
cover, as shown in
sh
the table at right.
Use the information above to complete this table for station A on the Gizmo.
Wind speed (knots) Wind from Cloud cover Pressure (mb)
30 knots North 1/8 1023.5 mb
This study source was downloaded by 100000784424693 from CourseHero.com on 04-27-2021 18:08:10 GMT -05:00
, Activity A: Get the Gizmo ready:
Hurricane Make sure Practice, Show hurricane, and Show
characteristics weather station data are selected.
Introduction: Hurricanes form when an area of low pressure forms over warm water. Wind
blows toward the low pressure, but are deflected by Earth’s rotation. The Coriolis effect causes
winds to curve to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern
Hemisphere. This results in a counterclockwise rotation for Northern Hemisphere hurricanes
and a clockwise rotation for Southern Hemisphere hurricanes.
Question: What are some characteristics of hurricanes?
1. Observe: In which hemisphere is the hurricane shown on the Gizmo? Northern
How do you know? The hurricane winds are circulating counterclockwise.
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2. Describe patterns: Under Show hurricane, make sure Radar is selected. Radar is used to
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determine where precipitation, such as rain, is falling. Blue indicates light rainfall. Heavier
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rain is shown with yellow and then orange. Red indicates the heaviest rainfall.
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A. Where within the hurricane is the lightest rainfall? The outer areas of the hurricane
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B. Where within the hurricane is the heaviest rainfall? The interior of the hurricane
C. Describe any patterns you see in the distribution of a hurricane’s rain.
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The rain in distributed in curved bands that spiral around the storm’s center.
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3. Observe: Under Show hurricane, select Satellite. Satellite images are taken from cameras
built into satellites orbiting Earth. These images are used to study cloud coverage over large
areas, including the clouds associated with a hurricane.
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A. Which is larger, the area of rainfall or the area of cloud cover? Cloud cover
B. Where is the cloud cover most dense? Near the center of the hurricane
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C. Where is the cloud cover least dense? Around the outer areas of the hurricane
Th
4. Identify: The center of rotation
of a hurricane is called the eye.
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The eye of a hurricane is a
core of warm, relatively calm
air with low pressure and light
winds. Label the eye on the
hurricane at right.
(Activity A continued on next page)
This study source was downloaded by 100000784424693 from CourseHero.com on 04-27-2021 18:08:10 GMT -05:00
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