Dear all,
Below are the answers to yesterday’s ‘Monday Mind Workout’ that was themed around weather, how did you do?
1: What is the name of the scientific instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure?
(a) Thermometer (b) Barometer (c) Hygrometer
2: Following on from Question 1, if a weather forecaster predicts ‘high pressure’ what kind of weather might we expect to have?
(a) Calm weather (b) Stormy weather (c) Snowy weather
3: In 1996 – during Tropical Cyclone Olivia – an Australian weather station recorded a massive wind gust of ….. ?
(a) 153 mph (b) 253 mph (c) 353 mph
4: Weather forecasters describe snow showers that are light and intermittent as ….. ?
(a) Blizzards (b) White-outs (c) Flurries
Flurries. A blizzard is typically a mixture of snow and wind; white-out conditions exist when contrast of your surroundings (and visibility) are severely reduced by snow.
5: On a single rainbow, the red arc is always …..?
(a) On top of the rainbow (b) In the centre (c) On the underside of the rainbow
On top of the rainbow. However, on a double rainbow the colours are reversed so red is seen on the underside of the second arch
6: The word “cloud” is derived from a Middle English word ‘clud’. What did the word ‘clud’ originally mean?
(a) A mass of white (b) A mass of water (c) A mass of rock
A mass of rock. Perhaps due to the similarity between the shape and (apparent) texture of a bank of grey cloud and a large formation of rock.
7: In some Californian redwood forests the trees don’t just rely on rainfall for water; they also receive around a third of their moisture from coastal fog in the atmosphere.
TRUE or FALSE ?
8: Cumulonimbus clouds are very easy to spot with their dark flattish bases and a mass of fluffy white cloud on top that towers upwards. What type of weather do cumulonimbus clouds usually bring us?
(a) Heavy rain and thunderstorms (b) Dry fine weather (c) Light rain (drizzle)
9: What do we use an ‘anemometer’ to measure?
(a) Rainfall (b) Visibility in the fog (c) Wind speed
10: In which year was the first weather satellite launched?
(a) 1949 (b) 1959 (c) 1969
It was called ‘Vanguard 2’ and it was designed to collect data about cloud cover …. unfortunately it wasn’t very successful and was soon replaced by a more effective weather satellite.
11. The Earth is round, so the sun’s rays hit….
(a) in the same place (b) at different angels (c) at the south pole (d) in the summer
12. Which of the following is not part of weather?
(a) tides (b) Wind (c) Cloud Cover (d) temperature
13. Which slang term for a tornado is also the title of a 1996 film? Twister
14. Which BBC weatherman’s prediction that the Great Storm of 1987 was a false alarm is celebrated as a classic TV gaffe? Michael Fish
15. What name is given for the amount of water vapour present in the air? Humidity
16. Red sky at night, ‘shepherd’s’ delight, is an old observation about the weather. What does a red sky in the morning mean? Shepherd’s Warning
17. If cows are lying down in a field, what weather does this traditionally foretell? Rain
18. What name is given to the torrential rain experience in India for six months beginning of May? Monsoons
19. What can be ribbon, rocket, sheet or streak? Lightening
20. Related to weather, name the 1939 Romance film starring Clarke Gable and Vivien Leigh? Gone with the Wind
