RECORDING WEATHER Chapter – I Geography

I Question and Answers:-

1. Define the following:-

Ans. (i) Climate: Climate is the general atmospheric conditions of a place over a period of
time, about 30 to 35 years. The climate of a place is known based on the analysis of
daily weather recordings, such as rainfall, temperature, humidity and winds for a
period of several years. The climate of a place is permanent in nature and does not
change.

(ii)Weather: Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a particular place over a

short period of time. Weather is not constant. It is always changing. It may change
from day to day or even within the same day.

2. Why is weather a significant factor of our existence?

Ans. Weather is a very significant factor of our existence because it determines the type of
clothes we wear, the kind of food we eat and the type of houses we live in.

3. How does climate influence our ways of life?

Ans. Climate influences our ways of life by the nature of clothes we wear, houses we live
in, crops we grow and the food we eat.

4. Differentiate between weather and climate.

Ans. Weather Climate
(i)It is the day-to-day state of the atmosphere (i)It is longer, sustained state of the
atmosphere
(ii)It spans over a short period. E.g. a day or (ii)It spans over a longer period of
a week time. E.g. 30-35 years
(iii)It is temporary in nature (iii)It is permanent in nature

5. State the elements of weather and climate.

Ans. The elements of weather and climate are temperature, pressure, wind, humidity,
precipitation, sunshine and cloud cover.

6. What is meteorology? Who are meteorologists?

RECORDING WEATHER Chapter – I Geography
Ans. The scientific study of weather conditions is called meteorology and the scientists who
study weather are called meteorologists.

7. What is weather forecast? How is it useful?

Ans. The predictions, which are announced by the weather stations, are collectively called
weather forecast.
Weather forecast is especially useful for farmers, fishermen, aviators and navigators.
Weather forecast gives them advance warnings related to storms, floods and droughts.

8. How is weather study carried out?

Ans. Weather studies are carried out by different instruments that measure temperature,
atmospheric pressure, humidity, precipitation, speed and direction of wind. These
instruments are generally installed in a weather station where the weather conditions
are recorded continuously. Weather ships, balloons and satellite also help to collect
data. These data are compiled on computers for study and analysis.

9. What is temperature?
Ans. The temperature of the atmosphere can be defined as the degree of hotness or coldness
of air.

10. What is a thermometer? Which instrument is used to measure the maximum and
minimum temperatures recorded during a day?
Ans. The instrument used for measuring temperature is called thermometer. The Six’s
Maximum and Minimum Thermometer was developed to measure the maximum and
minimum temperatures recorded during a day.

11. Define diurnal and annual ranges of temperature.

Ans. The difference between the maximum and the minimum temperatures of a day is
called the diurnal range of temperature. The difference between the maximum and the
minimum temperatures recorded in a year is called the annual range of temperature.

12. Name the two most commonly used scales for measuring temperature. What is
the melting point of ice and boiling point of water in these two scales?
Ans. The two most commonly used scales for measuring temperature are Celsius and
Fahrenheit. On these scaled, the melting point of ice and boiling point of water are
0oC and 100oC and 32oF and 212oF, respectively.

13. Why are alcohol and mercury are the commonly used liquids in thermometers?
RECORDING WEATHER Chapter – I Geography
Ans. Alcohol and mercury are the commonly used liquids in thermometers as the liquids
expand and contract with the rise and fall of temperature which can be easily recorded
in graduated glass tubes.

14. What is the use of Stevenson Screen?

Ans. In a weather station, the Stevenson Screen is used to keep the thermometers in a box.
It records the shade temperature. An automatic thermometer called the thermograph is
used to record temperature continuously.

15. What is atmospheric pressure?

Ans. Atmospheric pressure can be defined as the force exerted by a column of air due to its
weight, at a particular place on the Earth’s surface. It varies from place to place, time
to time and with height above the main sea level.

16. What is a barometer? State the two typesof barometers. Which is the more
commonly used barometer?
Ans. The instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure is called barometer. The two
types of barometers are mercury barometer and aneroid barometer. The aneroid
barometer is the more commonly used barometer.

17. Explain the aneroid barometer.

Ans. The aneroid barometer is handy and more commonly used barometer to measure
atmospheric pressure. It does not have any liquid. It is a partially vacuum metal box
that expands and contracts with low and high pressure, respectively. A pointer, which
moves over a scale, indicates the atmospheric pressure. The unit of measurement of
pressure is millibars (mb).

18. What is a barograph?

Ans. A barograph is used to monitor atmospheric pressure continuously.

19. What is wind? How is it caused?

Ans. Wind can be defined as a horizontal movement of air from one place to another. The
horizontal difference in atmospheric pressure which causes air to flow from areas of
high pressure to areas of low pressure causes winds.

20. What is wind vane?

RECORDING WEATHER Chapter – I Geography
Ans. The instrument used to measure the direction of wind is called wind vane. It consists
of an arrow pointing towards the direction of wind. The wind gets its name from the
direction from which it blows.

21. How does the wind help us?

Ans. Winds help in carrying the warmth or cold from one place to another. They also help
in bringing rainfall. As they carry moisture from water bodies.

22. What is an anemometer?

Ans. An anemometer is an instrument that measures the speed of wind. It consists of cups
and an indicator. The speed of wind is measured in knots (1knot = 1 nautical
mile/hour).

23. What is an anemograph?

Ans. An anemograph helps in continuous measurement and recording of the speed of wind
on a graph paper.

24. What is humidity?

Ans. The amount of water vapour present in the atmosphere is called humidity. Most of the
water vapour in the air comes through the process of evaporation from water bodies
and the land surface. Humidity varies greatly from place to place and also with time.

25. How is the humidity of a place related to its temperature?

Ans. Humidity is closely related to temperature. 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.

26. How is humidity measured?

Ans. Humidity is measured through dry and wet bulb thermometer.

27. What is a hygrometer?

Ans. The hygrometer is an automatic instrument that records humidity on a graph paper.

28. Compare absolute humidity with relative humidity.

Ans. Humidity is expressed as absolute humidity and relative humidity.
- Absolute Humidity: It is the actual amount of water vapour in a given volume of
air at a given temperature. It is measured in grams per cubic metre.
RECORDING WEATHER Chapter – I Geography
- Relative Humidity: It is the ratio between the absolute humidity and the
maximum amount of water vapour which the same volume of air can contain at
that temperature. It is expressed in percentage.

29. Define the following.

Ans. (i) Clouds: Clouds are formed when water vapour in the air condenses around dust
particles into tiny droplets of water.
(ii)Dew: Dew is formed when moist air comes in contact with a cool surface such as
grass, and condenses into droplets of water.
(iii)Frost: Frost is formed when dew occurs in the form of ice crystals.
(iv)Fog: Fog is formed when condensation takes place in the lower layers of the
atmosphere, close to the land surface or above water bodies.

30. What are the different types of clouds?

Ans. The different types of clouds are
(i) Cirrus clouds: They are high clouds and contain tiny ice crystals which have
hair-like appearance. They are dry and rainless.
(ii) Cumulus clouds: They are medium clouds and have wooly appearance. They
are thick enough to obscure the Sun and the Moon. They cause heavy showers.
(iii) Stratus clouds: They are dark grey in appearance with flat uniform base. They
cause drizzles.
(iv) Nimbus clouds: They are very thick dark clouds and bring continuous rain or
snow.

31. What do you understand by precipitation?

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.

32. State the various forms of precipitation. Which is the most common form?
Ans. The four types of precipitation are rain, snow, sleet and hail. Rainfall is the most
common form of precipitation.

33. What is rainfall? What are the different types of rainfall?

Ans. When the condensed water vapour in the clouds fall down in the form of water drops,
it is called rainfall. When the drops of rain are very small it is called drizzle. The
different types of rainfall are convectional, relief and cyclonic rainfall.
RECORDING WEATHER Chapter – I Geography
34. What is the purpose of a rain gauge?
Ans. Rain gauge is an instrument used to measure rainfall.

35. Describe the working of a rain gauge. What precautions should be taken during
its installation?
Ans. Rain gauge is an instrument used to measure rainfall. It consists of cylinders and
graduated jars. The rain water collected is measured with the help of a measuring jar.
The reading time is fixed for 24 hours.
The precautions necessary for installing a rain gauge is that it should be installed away
from trees and buildings so that extra water does not get collected. In addition, the rain
gauge should be fixed on a raised platform to avoid extra water from getting into the
instrument and prevent water logging.

36. How does rain occur?

Ans. When the condensed water vapour in the air increase, the droplets join together and
form bigger drops which become too heavy to float and start falling down in the form
of water drops called rain.

37. What is a weather map?

Ans. A weather map is a representation of the distribution of meteorological data of a given
area on the Earth’s surface. It shows all the elements of weather represented by
different symbols. Meteorologists use weather maps to show patterns in the data
available. This helps them in the forecasting of weather.

38. How do we measure the wind velocity?

Ans. A Beaufort Scale is used for measuring wind velocity based on the observed sea
conditions. The full name of this scale is Beaufort Wind Force Scale.

II Long Question and Answers:-