🔍 Key Concepts

• What the Beaufort scale was originally created for in sailing and navigation • How mariners estimate sea conditions (like wave height and whitecaps) without instruments • Which weather element changes from calm to gale to storm in numbered force levels

💭 Think About

• Ask yourself: When a mariner reports 'Force 5' or 'Force 8' on the Beaufort scale, what are they actually describing? • Think about which weather factor can be judged just by looking at the sea surface and how it reacts. • Which of the options is normally measured with instruments like a barometer, wind vane, or ceilometer—rather than with the Beaufort scale?

✅ Before You Answer

• Eliminate any choices that are normally measured with specialized instruments (e.g., barometer, wind vane, cloud-measuring tools). • Remember that the Beaufort scale is in numbered forces (0–12); match that to the most logical weather element. • Focus on what sailors historically needed to estimate visually to judge sea state and ship handling.