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9th grade Pressure systems, fronts and weather maps worksheet

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Pressure systems, fronts and weather maps

Grade 9 Science Worksheet

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. A pressure change of 8 mb happens over 200 km (model data). What is that per 100 km, by Esme's math?

    • 0.04 mb per 100 km
    • 16 mb per 100 km
    • 4 mb per 100 km
    • 1,600 mb per 100 km
  2. Isobars around a center rise toward it: 1016, 1020, then 1024 mb. What kind of center is it, and what weather, by Jun's reading (NOAA)?

    • A front, with snow
    • A high, with rising air and strong storms
    • A low, with rising air and rain
    • A high, with sinking air and fair skies
  3. A slow warm front beside a sharp cold front. NOAA: as a warm front approaches, what do the clouds and rain do, by Kira's reading?

    • Temperatures fall sharply
    • A sudden line of thunderstorms, then clearing
    • The skies stay clear
    • Clouds lower and thicken, with hours of light to moderate rain
  4. The four front symbols in a legend. Why do occluded fronts form, by Milo's reading (NOAA)?

    • Highs push fronts together
    • Stationary fronts speed up
    • Cold fronts usually move faster and catch up to warm fronts
    • Warm fronts move faster and catch cold fronts
  5. A wind line has one pennant, one long barb and one short barb. What speed is it, by Noah's math (NOAA)?

    • 60 knots
    • 75 knots
    • 16 knots
    • 65 knots
  6. Using 1 hPa = 1 mb = 100 Pa (NOAA), what is a reading of 98,800 Pa in millibars, by Pia's math?

    Use the picture in question 5.

    • 98,800 mb
    • 9,880 mb
    • 988 mb
    • 9.88 mb
  7. A station's pressure falls from 1012 mb to 1000 mb over 6 hours (model data). What is the change per hour, and what may be coming, by Ren's math?

    • About −2 mb per hour, with a low approaching
    • About −2 mb per hour, with fair skies coming
    • About −12 mb per hour, with a high approaching
    • About +2 mb per hour, with a high approaching
  8. Without Earth's rotation, wind would blow straight from high to low. What turns it in the Northern Hemisphere, by Tala's reading (NOAA)?

    • The Coriolis force turns it toward the left
    • Friction turns it to the left
    • The isobars bend it back
    • The Coriolis force turns it to the right
  9. Why does surface wind cross the isobars into a low instead of running along them, by Zee's reading (NOAA)?

    Use the picture in question 8.

    • The Coriolis force pulls it into the center
    • It is really blowing out of the low
    • The isobars pull it in
    • Friction with the ground slows it, so it spirals inward
  10. Which way does wind circle a Northern Hemisphere high, by Ari's reading (NOAA)?

    Use the picture in question 8.

    • Counterclockwise, spiraling out
    • Clockwise, spiraling in
    • Clockwise, spiraling out
    • Counterclockwise, spiraling in
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9th grade Pressure systems, fronts and weather maps worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Read pressure systems, fronts and weather maps. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can read highs (sinking air, fair skies, clockwise outflow) and lows (rising air, clouds, counterclockwise inflow) in the Northern Hemisphere.
  • I can use isobar spacing to judge wind strength, and read station-model wind barbs.
  • I can read the four front symbols and match each front to its weather.

Standard: none (TX, FL)

Words to know

isobar: A line joining points of equal air pressure

pressure gradient: How quickly pressure changes with distance

cold front: The leading edge of cold air pushing out warmer air

warm front: The leading edge of warm air replacing cold air

occluded front: Where a faster cold front has caught a warm front

Common mistakes

Your child swapped highs and lows. NOAA: in a high, sinking air warms and clouds evaporate, bringing fair weather; in a low, converging air rises, cools and forms clouds and rain.

Your child misread the isobars. NOAA: isobars join points of equal pressure; the closer they are, the steeper the pressure gradient and the stronger the wind.

Your child turned the wind the wrong way. NOAA: in the Northern Hemisphere wind spirals counterclockwise into lows and clockwise out of highs, because of the Coriolis force and friction.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with pressure systems, fronts and weather maps?

Your child swapped highs and lows. NOAA: in a high, sinking air warms and clouds evaporate, bringing fair weather; in a low, converging air rises, cools and forms clouds and rain.

Are these 9th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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