SBA Prep # 4

Part A Click on the statement that best describes what the author most likely intended by mentioning Cleveland Abbe at the end of the first paragraph of the text.

• The author is contrasting outdated approaches to meteorology with today's more efficient operations.

• The author is pointing out that Abbe would be proud of the students he taught as a university professor.

• The author is connecting the founder of the modern Weather Service to the organization's modern achievements. 

  
  

• The author is pointing out that Abbe was skilled at working with community organizations to obtain funding for his projects. 

  
  

Part B Click on the paragraph from the text that best supports your answer.

• After studying science and mathematics, Abbe became a teacher. While teaching at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, he also studied astronomy. In 1868, he was hired as director of Ohio's Cincinnati Observatory. Abbe knew that atmospheric conditions such as clouds, haze, fog, and rain could affect astronomical observations. He became fascinated with the idea of studying weather in other places to predict what the local weather would be like.

• But how would he get the data he needed? Abbe proposed setting up a network of weather observers around Cincinnati. The observers would record eight different things, from local barometric pressure and temperature to details about atmospheric conditions, such as the wind, clouds, and rain or snowfall amounts. They would send their data by telegraph to Abbe at a central office, where he would coordinate the information to predict the weather for the next few days. His predictions could then be sent back by telegraph to each weather station, so they could all share the results.

• Abbe convinced the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce to give him money to set up a network of 20 observers and to help get his weather bulletin printed in the city's daily papers. The first official public forecast—predicting the weather for the Ohio River valley over the next two days—appeared on September 22, 1869.

• The success of Abbe's local weather reports, or "probabilities," helped him gain the attention of larger groups, including the U.S. government. Early in 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a bill establishing the Weather Bureau, and Abbe became its chief meteorologist. Originally part of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, the bureau used observers in distant military stations around the country to gather data. Abbe's first official national weather report was delivered on February 19, 1871.

What was Cleveland Abbe's primary reason for wanting to predict the weather?

• To become famous

• To improve astronomical observations

• To assist farmers with their crops

• To contribute to the U.S. Army Signal Corps

How did Abbe initially gather weather data for his forecasts?

• By using satellite technology

• By setting up a network of weather observers who sent data via telegraph

• By analyzing data from the National Weather Service

• By personal observation only

What significant contribution did Cleveland Abbe make to the field of meteorology?

• Inventing the barometer

• Establishing the U.S. Weather Bureau and becoming its chief meteorologist

• Creating the first satellite for weather observation

• • Predicting the weather for the entire world

  
  

Cleveland Abbe was born in _________ on December 3, 1838, and became fascinated by nature while working on his grandfather's farm outside Windham, Connecticut.

In 1869, Abbe convinced the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce to fund a network of 20 observers, leading to the publication of the first official public forecast on September _________.

Abbe's efforts in meteorology earned him the nickname "_________ Probabilities," and he played a pivotal role in the establishment of what is known today as the National Weather Service.

Discuss the challenges Cleveland Abbe faced in setting up the first network of weather observers and how he overcame these obstacles to successfully predict the weather.

Cleveland Abbe overcame these obstacles to predict the weather by ______________________________________________________.

Analyze the impact of Cleveland Abbe's work on modern meteorology and how his innovations have shaped the way weather forecasting is conducted today.

Cleveland Abbe's innovations have shaped the way weather forecasting is conducted today by __________________________________________________________.