Question

1. Does warm air rise or sink? Does cold air rise or sink? 2. Air pressure can be high or low. Does air flow from low to high pressure or from high to low pressure? 3. Which is heavier—warm air or cold air? 4. Which has higher air pressure—warm air or cold air? How do you know? 5. Global circulation cells occur because of uneven heat distribution and the earth's rotation. What do we call the effect of the earth's rotation on air circulation?

Answer 1

1. Warm air rises and cold air sinks.

2. Air moves from high to low pressure.

3. Cold air is denser than warm air.

4. Warm air is lighter than cold air and consequently exerts less pressure.

5. Because the Earth rotates on its axis, circulating air is deflected toward the right in the Northern Hemisphere and toward the left in the Southern Hemisphere. This deflection is called the Coriolis effect.