Question

This paragraph attempts to explain the rain shadow effect, but it gets some of the facts wrong. Identify the inaccurate statements in the paragraph.
The Mojave Desert provides a famous example of a rain shadow effect in the Sierra Nevada. Warm, moist air goes up the mountain on its leeward side, where its water content condenses to precipitate as rain or snow. Then the cold, dry air moves to the other side, where the desert lies. This side is called the windward side and, compared with the leeward side, receives hardly any rainfall. This rain shadow effect is responsible for the dryness and extreme climate of the desert. NextReset

Answer 1

The inaccurate statements are:

- Warm, moist air goes up the mountain on its leeward side, where its water content condenses to precipitate as rain or snow;

- This side is called the windward side and, compared with the leeward side, receives hardly any rainfall;

In the description, the windward and the leeward sides of the mountain are mistaken, or rather have switched positions.

The windward side is the side where the warm, moist air where the water condensates and results in rainfall or snow. Thus this is the side of the mountain that is wetter and is covered with denser vegetation.

The leeward side is the side that doesn't receive warm and moist air, and the amount of precipitation is usually very low. This makes the leeward side very dry in most cases, and very often it is the reason for the formation of arid and semi-arid areas.

Answer 2

Answer:

In this paragraph, there are some inaccurate statements. One of them is "moist air goes up the mountain on its leeward side". Rainshadow efect starts on the windward side of the mountain. Also, "where water condenses to precipitate as rain or snow", in the rain shadow effect snow is not produced but only rain. The statement says "the cold, dry air", which is incorrect since the air that lies on the other side is warm. Besides, that side is not called windward as the text states, it is called leeward.