What is the Coriolis Effect?

Discover the Coriolis effect and its impact on weather!

PBS NOVA Coriolis Effect Watch this video and answer the questions below. The Earth spins on its axis from _ to _. east; west west; east north; south south; east The center of a hurricane is an area of _ pressure. equalized high low In the Northern Hemisphere, hurricanes spin _ while in the Southern Hemisphere they spin _. faster; slower counterclockwise; clockwise clockwise; counterclockwise Coriolis Effect Click on the link above. Can you land the plane? Pilots must take the Earth’s rotation into account when charting flights over long distances. This means most planes are not flown in straight lines, even if the airports are directly across the continent from each other. Coriolis Effect Simulation Parts of the Earth move at different speeds! Think about this: It takes the Earth 24 hours to rotate one time. If you are standing a foot to the right of the North or South Pole, that means it would take 24 hours to move in a circle that is about six feet in circumference. That’s about 0.00005 miles per hour.Hop on down to the equator, though, and things are different. It still takes the Earth the same 24 hours to make a rotation, but this time we are traveling the entire circumference of the planet, which is about 25,000 miles long. That means you are traveling almost 1040 miles per hour just by standing there. Fill in the blanks. Use the word bank to help. When standing at the equator, you are moving much faster than if you were standing at either the north or south pole. Likewise, the water near the equator is moving much faster. The movement of water near the poles drives ocean currents. The air is also moving faster at the equator, especially since it is being heated more directly by the sun. The uneven heating of air and the rotation of the earth creates wind currents. These currents move counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. Match the terms and their definitions. Coriolis Effect the apparent deflection of a moving mass of water, air, etc. to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere Northern hemisphere The half of Earth that is north of the equator. Southern hemisphere The half of Earth that is south of the equator. Use the word bank below to fill in the blanks. The Coriolis effect is important because it explains how ocean and wind currents move. The movement of these currents drive weather patterns on Earth.