ATMO 203: STUDY GUIDE FOR TUTORIAL 13

1) Know what the hydrostatic equation states, both conceptually and mathematically.

2) Know what forces are balanced in hydrostatic balance.

3) Be able to apply the hydrostatic equation to calculate the change in pressure or height of a column of air given all necessary information.

4) Know what density implies about pressure with respect to height.

5) Know how temperature and density vary with height above the equator and the poles allowing the surface pressure at both locations to be nearly equal.

6) Know what distance it takes for the air pressure to decrease by a factor of two.

7) Know the ideal gas law (including the equation) and what it means for two parcels with equivalent pressures, densities, or temperatures.

8) Know the constant acceleration due to gravity, and know the proper SI units for pressure and how they relate to millibars.

9) Be able to answer all review questions at the end of the tutorial.

10) Be able to solve the hypsometric equation (presented in Lab 5, NOT the tutorial) and make sense of the results. You do NOT need to memorize or derive this equation.