Experiment

Materials needed:
1. Scissors
2. Cardboard or thick paper
3. Sharpened Pencil
4. Strong tape
5. Dark marker

Procedure:
Step 1. Cut the cardboard (or thick paper) into a circle 10 -15 inches in diameter
Step 2. Poke a hole into the center of the cardboard circle with the sharpened pencil
Step 3. Push the pencil through the hole until only the tip of the eraser sticks out
Step 4. Tape the pencil firmly into place. Don't spare the tape here, but you do not want to cover up too much of the cardboard
Step 5. Draw a large H near the center of the cardboard
Step 6. Draw a large L near the edge of the cardboard (the L should be along a straight line with the pencil and the large H

You should now be able use the pencil to spin the cardboard on its eraser end. Practice spinning your contraption, be sure to take it slow.

Step 7. This part will require 2 people to perform
           a. person 1-slowly spin the pencil/cardboard counterclockwise
           b. person 2-take the marker and try to draw a straight line from the H to the L
Step 8. Analyze your results

Explanation:
The activity showed the direction of wind flow between a high pressure area and a low pressure system. This situation is for the Northern Hemisphere only. In the Southern Hemisphere the flow would have been in the opposite direction. In order to show the Coriolis effect for the Southern Hemisphere, repeat the experiment, and spin the cardboard clockwise.

The Coriolis effect is only visible on a large scale. Hurricanes provide a good image of the "turning" of the wind. Consider that air is flowing toward the center of the hurricane (from high to low) the air then "turns" right. The result will be a well-defined circulation around the center. If you want to see an example of the Coriolis Effect on a large scale, click on the button below.