ILS — How’s the Weather Up There?

, Student Answer Packet 2

Name ______________________________________

How’s the Weather Up There?

Student Answer Packet 2: To be completed individually

Directions: Use the Weather Map Packet in order to help you answer some of the questions.

1. Meteorologists make predictions, like the ones you made in Part 1, about changes in
weather conditions. The predicted weather conditions in Albany for January 19, 2022, most
likely varied from student group to student group. Excluding human error, explain why
weather prediction is complex, causing weather forecasts to be probabilistic.

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2. Which type of pressure system is associated with high humidity weather conditions?
Support your response with evidence from any of the weather maps. Include the date of the
map and the location of this pressure system.

Pressure system: _________________________

Date: __________________________________

Location: _______________________________

Evidence: ___________________________________________________________________

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3. Describe how the interaction of a warm air mass and a cold air mass can result in
precipitation. Include water cycle processes and the relative densities of different
temperature air masses in your response.

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 ILS — How’s the Weather Up There?, Student Answer Packet 2

4. Using evidence from the weather maps, explain why the air temperature was warmer in
New York City, NY, at 7:00 a.m. on Friday, January 14, 2022, than it was at 7:00 a.m. on
Saturday, January 15, 2022.

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5. A student used the Monday, January 17, 2022, map to make the claim, “The wind direction
is generally toward the north from Ontario, Oregon, to Spokane, Washington, at 7:00 a.m.”
Use scientific knowledge and evidence from the map to support this claim.

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6. Storms associated with a low-pressure system centered in Georgia were occurring at

7:00 a.m. on Sunday, January 16, 2022. Identify the compass direction that this low-
pressure system, and its associated storms, moved over the next 24 hours. Use evidence
from the maps to support your response.

Direction: ____________________

Evidence: ___________________________________________________________________

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 ILS — How’s the Weather Up There?, Student Answer Packet 2

7. An air mass over Jacksonville, Florida, caused relatively warm, humid conditions on Sunday,
January 16, 2022, at 7:00 a.m.

a. What caused this air mass to be relatively warm and humid?

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b. Identify the evidence from the maps that shows how the weather conditions
(temperature and moisture) changed in Jacksonville, Florida, between Saturday, January
15 and Sunday, January 16, as a result of the motion of this air mass.

Temperature: _______________________________________________________________

Moisture:

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 ILS — How’s the Weather Up There?, Student Answer Packet 2

8. Changes in weather are

caused by the unequal
heating of Earth’s surface
and the rotation of Earth.
The arrows on the outside
of the globe on the model
represent circulation of air
in Earth’s lower
atmosphere. The arrows
across Earth’s surface show
the direction of prevailing
winds.
a. Use evidence from the
model and your scientific
knowledge to explain why
convection cells in Earth’s
lower atmosphere occur.

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b. Write an explanation for why the latitutinal bands of planetary winds that blow across
Earth’s surface are curved.
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c. Make a claim, using specific evidence, about how the model can be used to predict the
direction that air masses flow across Earth’s surface.
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 ILS — How’s the Weather Up There?, Student Answer Packet 2

9. Isobars are shown on the map below of the continental United States for 7:00 a.m. on
April 12, 2022.

a. Using the pressure data on the map above, place an L on the map above to indicate the
center of one low-pressure system.

b. Using the pressure data on the map above, place an H on the map above to indicate the
center of one high-pressure system.

c. Using the data on the map, compare the chance of precipitation in Colorado to the
chance of precipitation in New York State. Include both states in your answer and
support your answer with scientific reasoning.

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d. Explain how the map provides evidence for faster wind speeds in Colorado than in New
York State.

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 ILS — How’s the Weather Up There?, Student Answer Packet 2

10. The satellite image shows clouds and fronts over the
eastern half of the United States. The dashed lines
represent areas of relatively low air pressure.

Predict the changes in air temperature, air pressure,

cloud cover, and humidity that will be experienced in
New York State over the next 24 hours. Justify your
responses with evidence from this map. Patterns
observed in the maps found in your Weather Map
Packet can also be used to support your predictions.

Air Temperature:_____________________________________________________________

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Air Pressure: ________________________________________________________________

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Cloud Cover: ________________________________________________________________

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Humidity: __________________________________________________________________

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 ILS — How’s the Weather Up There?, Student Answer Packet 2

11. The maps below show air temperatures at the same time of day on two different dates.

a. At any given latitude, compare the air temperatures along the east and west coasts to the
temperatures in the middle of the country for July 14, 2021.

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 ILS — How’s the Weather Up There?, Student Answer Packet 2

b. At any given latitude, compare the air temperatures along the east and west coasts to the
temperatures in the middle of the country for January 20, 2022.

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c. Weather and climate are influenced by interactions involving the oceans, the atmosphere,
and landforms. Make a claim about how oceans have an influence on the climates of coastal
locations using the air temperature data found on the two maps above.

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