Advantages and disadvantages of automation in weather monitoring

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. A weather station is on a remote mountain top where staff would face dangerous conditions. Which is an advantage of automating it?

A No staff are put at risk, because sensors collect the data instead

B The station never needs any repair or maintenance

2. A scenario says a station must record the temperature every 10 minutes for a whole year. Which advantage fits best?

A It takes readings at regular intervals all day and night without tiredness

B It can decide to ignore readings when the weather looks boring

3. A scenario describes a weather station on a small island far from any town. Which is a disadvantage of automation here?

A Repairing a faulty sensor is hard because the site is remote

B Readings can only be taken during the day

4. A coastal station is hit by a hurricane. Which point links a disadvantage to this scenario?

A Storms make the readings more accurate

B Storms can damage the sensors, so data may be lost

5. A question says the station is in a desert with no mains electricity. Which is the best disadvantage to write?

A It will not need any power because it is automatic

B It needs a power supply, such as solar panels or batteries, which could fail

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1Advantage: remote places		AThis ignores the drawbacks. Automatic stations cost a lot, need power, can be damaged by storms and are hard to repair in remote places.
2Disadvantage: sensor damage by storms		BThe answer is vague. It does not give a specific advantage or link it to the weather scenario in the question.
3A scenario says a station must record temperature every hour for a whole year, including nights and holidays. Give the matching advantage.		CAn automatic weather station can collect data on a mountain or island where staff would find it hard to live or travel.
4A scenario says a station on a remote island runs on a battery and sometimes stops working. Give the matching disadvantage.		DStrong wind, lightning or flooding can break the exposed sensors, so readings are lost just when the weather is most important.
5Answer: Automatic weather stations are good because they are better.		EAdvantage: readings at regular intervals all day and night
6Answer: The station has no disadvantages because it is automatic.		FDisadvantage: power supply and repair in remote places

Definitions

automatic weather station pros and cons

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

Advantage: station works in ______ places

Advantage: readings taken _____________

Advantage: no _____ at risk in a storm

Disadvantage: storms can ______ sensors

Disadvantage: remote ______ is slow, costly

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A site = 'mountain top'

B staff_at_risk = 3

C print(staff_at_risk)

Question 2

A gap = 60

B per_day = 1000 // gap

C print(per_day)

Question 3

A cost = 5000

B repair = 800

C total = cost - repair

D print(total)

Question 4

A if storm_damage = True:

B sensor_ok = False

C alert_engineer()

Question 5

A battery = 8

B if battery < 10:

C print('Low power'

Answer Key

Advantages and disadvantages of automation in weather monitoring

Section A: Quick Questions

A — No staff are put at risk, because sensors collect the data instead

A — It takes readings at regular intervals all day and night without tiredness

A — Repairing a faulty sensor is hard because the site is remote

B — Storms can damage the sensors, so data may be lost

B — It needs a power supply, such as solar panels or batteries, which could fail

Section B: Match the Pairs

Advantage: remote places → An automatic weather station can collect data on a mountain or island where staff would find it hard to live or travel.

Disadvantage: sensor damage by storms → Strong wind, lightning or flooding can break the exposed sensors, so readings are lost just when the weather is most important.

A scenario says a station must record temperature every hour for a whole year, including nights and holidays. Give the matching advantage. → Advantage: readings at regular intervals all day and night

A scenario says a station on a remote island runs on a battery and sometimes stops working. Give the matching disadvantage. → Disadvantage: power supply and repair in remote places

Answer: Automatic weather stations are good because they are better. → The answer is vague. It does not give a specific advantage or link it to the weather scenario in the question.

Answer: The station has no disadvantages because it is automatic. → This ignores the drawbacks. Automatic stations cost a lot, need power, can be damaged by storms and are hard to repair in remote places.

Section C: Definitions

automatic weather station pros and cons — Weigh benefits like remote sites, readings day and night and no staff at risk against cost, storm damage, power supply and remote repairs, linking each point to the scenario.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

Advantage: station works in remote places

Advantage: readings taken day and night

Advantage: no staff at risk in a storm

Disadvantage: storms can damage sensors

Disadvantage: remote repair is slow, costly

Section E: Spot the Error

B — An automatic weather station needs no staff on the mountain, so no one is put at risk. The line should be staff_at_risk = 0.

B — A day has 1440 minutes (24 x 60). To count readings at regular intervals all day and night, divide 1440 by the gap, not 1000.

C — Repair costs add to the cost of buying the station, so the total is cost + repair. Subtracting would wrongly make the station look cheaper.

A — A comparison needs == not =. The single = is assignment and causes a syntax error. It should be if storm_damage == True:.

C — The print call is missing its closing bracket. It should be print('Low power'). A remote station depends on its power supply, so warnings must work.