Chapter 18, Problem 82PP

Warm winds called Chinooks (a Native-American term meaning “snow eaters”) sometimes sweep across the plains just east of the Rocky Mountains. These winds carry air from high in the mountains down to the plains rapidly enough that the air has no time to exchange heat with its surroundings (Fig. 18.24). On a particular Chinook day, temperature and pressure high in the Colorado Rockies are 60 kPa and 260 K (−13°C), respectively; the plain below is at 90 kPa.

FIGURE 18.24 Chinooks (Passage Problems 80-83)

As the air descends, its volume

1. a. increases by 50%.
2. b. increases by less than 50%.
3. c. decreases by 50%.
4. d. decreases by less than 50%.
5. e. is unchanged.