ENVR LAB 2.1

Exercise 2: Atmospheric Pressure and Hurricanes

Data Sheet

Table 4. Atmospheric Pressure Calculations

Variable	Value
V0 (mL)	90ml
D (cm)	16.6 cm
D (m)	0.166 m
V1 (mL)	123 mL
ρ (kg/m3)	1000
g (m/s2)	9.8
P0 (Pa)

Solve for P0 and show your work below:

Current barometer reading from the NWS website (mb):

Current barometer reading converted to Pa:

Table 5. Hurricane Matthew Data

Date	Max Pressure (mb)	Max Wind Speed (knots)	Max Wind Speed (mph)	Category
09/28/2016	1009	50
09/29/2016	993	65
09/30/2016	968	100
10/01/2016	942	140
10/02/2016	947	130
10/03/2016	942	125
10/04/2016	935	130
10/05/2016	960	110
10/06/2016	937	120
10/07/2016	937	115
10/07/2016	946	100
10/08/2016	957	85
10/08/2016	973	70
10/09/2016	981	70
10/09/2016	987	60
10/10/2016	990	55

Include Photos of the Lab 4-2 experiment below. Label each photo and include a selfie of you conducting the experiment, the experiment setup, any observations and results

Exercise 2 Post-Lab Questions

1. Calculate the percent error between your atmospheric pressure calculation (experimental value) and the actual atmospheric pressure reported by the NWS (accepted value) using the equation below (both values should be in Pa). Show your work.

2. Atmospheric pressure is affected by temperature and elevation. The National Weather Service (NWS) reports the barometric pressure as a corrected value for the air pressure at sea level. So, if you live at a higher elevation, your air pressure calculation will be different from what is reported on the website. Use the internet to search for “ air pressure altitude calculator” and pick one. Plug in the values that it asks for using the reported values from the NWS and your city’s elevation (you can find the elevation of where you live by searching for “ elevation of (your city)” on the internet). What is the current atmospheric pressure corrected for your altitude?

3. Calculate the error between your atmospheric pressure calculation (experimental value) and the corrected atmospheric pressure you recorded for your altitude in Question 2 (actual value) using the percent error equation. Show your work.

4. Based on the data in Table 5, on what day did Matthew officially become a hurricane? What was the air pressure when it became a hurricane?

5. What was the highest category that Hurricane Matthew reached? Use the internet to find the approximate amount of damage caused by Hurricane Matthew. Is this amount of damage typical for a hurricane of this category? Why or why not?

6. Based on your graph of the Hurricane Matthew data, write a summary statement describing the relationship between air pressure and hurricane wind speed.

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