GEOGRAPHY [WEATHER AND CLIMATE || UNIT 1]

Fundamental Questions

Q1) What is Weather?

Ans) Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular place over a
short period of time. Weather is not constant. It is dynamic and always
changing.
Q2) What is Climate?
Ans) Climate refers to the average weather conditions of a large area over a
long period of time, may be 30 or 35 years. The climate of a place is
permanent in nature and does not change like weather. The climate of a
place depends primarily on its location.
Q3) What is the difference between Weather and Climate?
Ans) Difference Between Weather And Climate:
WEATHER CLIMATE
Daily change of atmosphere conditions. Atmospheric conditions recorded over a
long period of time( say 30-35 years)
Always Changing Remains constant for a long period of
time.
Involves the study of temperature, Involves the study of daily weather
humidity, rain, pressure, winds, recording over a long period of time.
sunshine and cloud cover
Meteorology is the study of weather Climatology is the study of climate.
Q4) List down the elements of Weather and Climate.
Ans) The elements of weather and climate are temperature, pressure, wind,
humidity, precipitation, sunshine and cloud cover.
Q5) Define Temperature of the atmosphere?
Ans) The temperature of the atmosphere can be defined as the degree of
hotness or coldness of air. Changes in temperature cause corresponding
changes in pressure, winds, humidity, precipitation and cloud cover.
Q6) What are the factors that determine the temperature?
Ans) Temperature is determines by latitude, altitude, distance from the sea,
winds, ocean currents, relief, slope of the land, soil and vegetation cover.
Q7) What is a climatic map?
Ans) A climatic map shows the prevailing weather patterns in a given area.
It usually consists of a conventional map, with the different climatic zones
 GEOGRAPHY [WEATHER AND CLIMATE || UNIT 1]

shaded in different colors. The legend of the map helps us identify each
climatic zone.
Q8) What is the instrument used to measure temperature?
Ans) The instrument used to measure temperature is called thermometer.
The temperature if the air is measured in degrees (°).the two most common
thermometer scales in use are Fahrenheit (°F) and Celsius (°C) or centigrade.
Q9) What is Atmospheric pressure?
Ans) Atmospheric Pressure is the force exerted by a column of air due to its
weight at a particular place on the Earth’s surface.
Q10) What is the instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure?
Ans) The instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure is called a
barometer. The unit in which air pressure is measured is called millibars.
There are two kinds of barometer – mercury barometer and aneroid
barometer.
Q11) What is wind?
Ans) Horizontal differences in atmospheric pressure make air flow from
areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. Air moving in a horizontal
direction is called wind.
Q12) Define Coriolis force and Ferrel’s law?
Ans) The rotation of earth generates a force called Coriolis Force, which
makes winds deflect from their original path. Winds get deflected to their
right in the Northern Hemisphere and to their left in the Southern
Hemisphere. This is called Ferrell’s law.
Q13) How are winds named?
Ans) Winds are named after the direction from which they blow. Thus a
wind blowing from the east is called Easterly wind, while a wind blowing
from the west is called a Westerly wind.
Q14) How is wind measured?
Ans) The instrument used to measure wind direction is called wind vane
and the instrument used to measure the speed of wind is called anemometer.
Wind speed is measured by using the Beaufort Wind scale is a scale 0-12
based on visual clues.
Q15) What is humidity? How is it related to temperature?
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Ans) The amount of water vapour present in the air is called humidity. If
temperature is high, the rate of evaporation will be high and humidity too
will be high. Similarly, low temperature will result in low humidity.
Q16) What is absolute humidity and relative humidity and how is it
measured?
Ans) The actual amount of water vapour in a given volume of air at a given
temperature known as absolute humidity. It is measured in grams per cubic
meter.
The ratio between actual amount of water vapour present in a given volume
of air at a given temperature and the maximum amount of water vapour
which the same volume of air can contain at that temperature is known as
relative humidity. It is expressed as percentage. The instrument used to
measure humidity is called hygrometer.
Q17) When is air said to be saturated?
Ans) When the air contains the maximum amount of water vapour, that is,
its relative humidity is 100%, it is said to be saturated.
Q18) What is dew point?
Ans) The temperature at which air gets saturated is known as dew point.
Q19) What is precipitation? What are the different types?
Ans) Continuous condensation of water vapour in the air results in the
formation of minute droplets of water. When these droplets join together,
they form bigger drops, which become too heavy to float and start falling
down. This process is called precipitation.
There are four types of precipitation- rain, snow, sleet and hail
Q20) What is Rain fall and how is it measured?
Ans) Rainfall is the most common type of precipitation. When the
condensed water vapour in the clouds falls down in the form of water drops,
it is known as rain. When the drops of rain are very small, it is called drizzle.
The instrument used to measure rainfall is called rain gauge. The amount of
rainfall is expressed in millimeters or centimeters.
Q21) What are the basic factors that determine the amount of sunshine a
place receives?
Ans) The amount of Sunshine a place receives depends upon its latitude
and the season.
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Q22) Differentiate between the direct and indirect rays of the Sun? How do
they influence weather?
Ans) Places near the Equator receive direct rays of the Sun. As we move
away from the equator, the Sun’s rays become more and more slanting.
Direct rays of the Sun give more heat than the slanting rays. This is why the
equatorial regions are hot and the high altitude regions are cool.
Q23) Why are summers warmer than winter?
Ans) During summer sunshine lasts for a longer period of time and thus,
summers are warmer than winters. Clear skies allow sunshine to reach freely
while cloudy skies obstruct sunshine.
Q24) How is sunshine measured?
Ans) The amount of sunshine during the day is measured on a sunshine
recorder. We measure sunshine in hours.
Q25) How are clouds formed?
Ans) When warm air rises, it cools down and the water vapour present in it
condenses in to tiny droplets of water. These water droplets together form
clouds.
Q26) Why cloudy days and nights are warmer than the cloudless ones?
Ans) During daytime, cloud cover reflects a large portion of the sunlight,
thus reducing the amount of heat reaching the Earth’s surface. At night, the
cloud cover acts as a blanket, preventing heat from escaping the Earth’s
atmosphere. That is why cloudy days and nights are warmer than the
cloudless ones.
Q27) What is the function of clouds?
Ans) When clouds become saturated, they drop their moisture in form of
precipitation. Clouds also indicate weather conditions.
Q28) How does cloud cover affect the weather of a place?
Ans) Cloud cover reduces the amount of heat reaching the earth. Cloud
cover is measured in oktas (eighths of the sky covered with cloud).Thick ,
dark clouds bring heavy rain while white , feathery clouds indicate fair
weather.
Q29) What is a Climatic map?
Ans) A climatic map shows the prevailing weather patterns in a given area
Q30) Fill in the Blanks:
 GEOGRAPHY [WEATHER AND CLIMATE || UNIT 1]

i) The instrument used to measure wind direction is called Wind vane.

ii) The temperature at which air gets saturated is known as dew point.
iii) Cloud cover is measured in Oktas.
iv) The instrument used to measure humidity is called hygrometer.
v) An anemometer measures wind speed.
vi) Increase in temperature leads to an increase in humidity.
vii) In India, the commonly used scale to measure temperature is
Celsius.
viii) There are two kinds of barometers: mercury barometer and
aneroid barometer.
ix) The amount of sunshine during the day is measured on a sunshine
recorder.
x) Wind blowing from the east is called Easterly wind.
xi) Wind traverses from a region of high pressure to low pressure.
xii) The rotation of earth generates a force called Coriolis force.
xiii) Drizzle is very small drops of rain.
xiv) Clouds indicate weather conditions.
xv) A Westerly wind blows from the west.
xvi) On the Fahrenheit scale the melting point of ice is 32°F.
xvii) Air pressure is measured in millibars.
xviii) Weather when studied over a long period of time is called climate.
xix) Most of the moisture in the air comes through the process of
evaporation from water bodies.
xx) We measure Sunshine in hours.
xxi) The centrifugal force keeps the earth in its orbit.
xxii) When clouds become saturated, they drop their moisture in the
form of precipitation.
xxiii) Climate of a place is permanent in nature.
xxiv) The elements of weather and climate are temperature, pressure,
wind, humidity, precipitation, sunshine and cloud cover.
xxv) The equatorial regions of the world have high temperature and
high rainfall.
xxvi) The hot deserts have high temperature and low rainfall.
xxvii) High temperature results in low pressure and low temperature
gives rise to high pressure.