4.

AIR ON THE MOVE

I. CHOOSE THE CORRCET ANSWER:

1. Equatorial low pressure belt is called______.
Ans: a) Doldrums
2. Monsoons are______.
Ans: c) Sea Breeze
3. The Westerlies blow from the ______in the southern hemisphere.
Ans: c) North West
4. The summer monsoons blow from ______while winter monsoons blow from______.
Ans: a) (i) Sea to Land (ii) Land to Sea

II. FILL IN THE BLANKS:

1. The atmosphere extends to a height of ____kilometres.
Ans: 1,600
2. Atmospheric pressure is measured by an instrument called______.
Ans: Barometer
3. The atmospheric pressure is maximum at the _____level.
Ans: Sea
4. The horizontal movement of the air along the surface of the earth is called_____.
Ans: Wind
5. An inblowing whirling mass of air with low pressure at centre is called______.
Ans: Cyclone

III. GIVE BRIEF ANSWER:

1. How do we measure atmospheric pressure?
Ans: We measure atmospheric pressure by an instrument know as Barometer.

2. What are the Doldrums?

Ans: Doldrums are found in the Equator within 5`North and 5` South of both
hemisphere. It is called the Equatorial Low Pressure Belt or the Doldrums.

3. What are Horse Latitudes?

Ans: The belts lie between 30` and 35` north and south of the Equator. These sub-
tropical high pressure belts are sometimes known as the Horse Latitudes.

4. Name the two types of monsoon winds?

Ans: Summer monsoons and winter monsoons are the two types of monsoon winds.

5. What is a katabatic wind?

Ans; In winters, sometimes certain areas close to highlands experience a dry wind is
called katabatic wind.

IV. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. What is the composition of the air in the atmosphere?
Ans: The atmosphere is composed of a number of gases which has almost same
composition everywhere. It is consists of nitrogen 78%,oxygen 21%, argon 0.9% and
carbon dioxide 0.33% etc. Besides these gases, there are also to be found water vapours,
dust particles, smoke, pollen grains, salt and micro organisms.
2. Name the different layers of the atmosphere.
Ans: Our atmosphere is divided into five layers, which starting from earth’s surface
are the following:
1. Troposphere
2. Stratosphere
3. Mesosphere
4. Thermosphere
5. Exosphere.

3. What is atmospheric pressure? What are the factors that control atmospheric pressure?
Ans: The weight of the air column over a square centimetre is about one kilogram. As
air has weight it exerts pressure on the earth’s surface. This is known as Atmospheric
Pressure. It depends on altitude, temperature and the amount of water vapour in the air.

4. What are planetary or permanent winds?

Ans: Winds which blow in a particular direction constantly throughout the year are
known as permanent or planetary winds. They are due to the presence of permanent
pressure belts on the earth’s surface.

5. What are periodic winds? Name any two of them.

Ans ; These are winds which blow regularly during a particular period of day or year in
a specific direction. They are called the periodic winds. The Land and Sea Breezes and the
Monsoons are some such periodic winds.

6. What is the importance of monsoons?

Ans; The Monsoon rains in India also replenish reservoirs and groundwater that helps
in improving irrigation and also boosts hydropower production. Moreover, a good
monsoon season can reduce demand for subsidized diesel used for pumping water from
wells.

7. What do you understand by cyclones and anti-cyclones? What are their causes and
effects?
Ans: A cyclone represents an area in which the low pressure is developed at the centre
and the same is surrounded by higher pressure outside. Consequently, the winds begin to
blow from outside to inside. They present an area in which the high pressure is developed
inside and the same is surrounded by low pressure outside. Consequently, winds begin to
blow from inside to outside.

8. Why do the trade winds bring rain to eastern coasts of the continents lying the tropics?
Ans; These winds blow from the sub-tropical regions of high pressure towards the
equatorial low pressure region. Since these winds always blow on the same track and in
the same direction regularly, they came to be called the trade winds.