In this first question, you have
been instructed in the use of a number of tools employed in pursuing
atmospheric investigations. Some of these are tools in the literal
sense: they include thermometers, barometers, and transmissometers,
used to measure various properties of the air. Other tools are
more abstract or metaphorical: these include the station plotting
model, a tool used to picture a single location's weather observation;
and the frontal cyclone model, a useful tool in making sense of
the array of data you see on a typical weather map. This first
chapter has also introduced you to several key ideas concerning
scientific inquiry. The most important is that science is a never-ending
process of activity that includes noticing, asking questions,
posing explanations in the form of hypotheses, raising new questions,
and so forth in a continuing cycle. The chapter's meteorological
content included an introduction to the basic variables that comprise
the standard weather observation: clouds, visibility, present
weather, precipitation amounts, wind, temperature, humidity, and
air pressure. We also discussed techniques and instruments involved
in measuring these weather elements and for plotting the reports
on weather maps. We presented circulations, fronts, and the frontal
cyclone model, a comprehensive scheme for visualizing relations
among the various weather elements at different locations. We
concluded with a reflection on the meaning of scientific explanation. Simulation 1 (1737.0K)
Simulation 2 (791.0K)
Simulation 3 (134.0K)
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