Blow, Wind, Blow!An important component of determing weather patterns is wind direction. If pressure differences were the only thing acting on winds, they would simply blow from high to low pressure areas. However, the Coriolis effect causes winds to appear to curve as they blow. To understand the effect, try this demonstration!
Materials Needed
ProcedureCut a circle out of the cardboard the size of the turntable you use. Make a dot in the center of the circle to represent the North Pole. Place the cardboard "record" on the turntable. Using the ruler and a marker, draw a straight line from the center of the cardboard to one edge. This represents wind direction unaffected by Earth's rotation.
Questions
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Updated: January 22, 2003
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