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The term "weather" refers to what?
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What is climate?
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Module 7 phys scienc
test #7
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| The term "weather" refers to what? | The condition of the earth's atmosphere(mostly troposphere)at any particular time. |
| What is climate? | A steady condition that prevails day in and day out in a particular region of creation. |
| What 3 principle factors affect weather? | Thermal energy, uneven distribution of thermal energy and water vapor in the atmosphere |
| What are the 4 basic groups meteorologists separate clouds into? | Cumulus, stratus, cirrus and lenticular |
| Describe cumulus clouds | fluffy piles of clouds |
| Describe stratus clouds and where they form (high or low altitudes) | layers of clouds:form at lower altitudes |
| Describe cirrus clouds and where they form (high or low altitudes) | high altitude wispy clouds |
| Describe lenticular clouds | lens-shaped clouds |
| Each type of cloud is found at a characteristic altitude but what does a prefix of "alto" added to the cloud name indicate? | that a cloud type is higher than expected |
| What does the prefix nimbo or nimbus mean added to the name of a cloud and what does this type of cloud usually bring? | this prefix is added if the cloud is dark: usually precipitation |
| What produces towering cumulonimbus clouds and what do most people call them? | unusually large upward moving wind currents; thunder clouds |
| What are cirrus clouds composed of? | ice instead of liquid water |
| What are precipitation - producing stratus clouds typically called? | nimbostratus clouds |
| Clouds that look like part cirrus/part cumulus clouds are called what? | Cirrocumulus clouds |
| Clouds that look a bit like cumulus clouds but are formed where stratus clouds normally form are called what? | stratocumulus clouds |
| Clouds that have the feathery appearance of cirrus clouds but form flat layers like that of stratus clouds are called what? | Cirrostratus clouds |
| What is insolation and what is it an abbreviation for? | light that comes to the earth from the sun; incoming solar radiation |
| What 2 thing affect how much insolation a region of the earth gets? What can reduce this? | the earth's distance from the sun and its axial tilt; cloud cover |
| What is an ellipse? | the earth's orbiting the sun in an oval pattern |
| When is the earth the farthest it will ever be from the sun? When is it the closest to the sun? | When the earth is at it's aphelion. When it is at it's perihelion |
| When the earth is at it's aphelion, because of the earth's axial tilt what part of the earth gets more direct sunlight? What season is it? | Northern Hemisphere; summer and winter in the southern hemisphere |
| When the earth is at it's perihelion, because of the earth's axial tilt what part of the earth gets more direct sunlight? What is the season | Southern hemisphere;winter and summer in the northern hemisphere |
| At the two equinoxes, how long are the days in the 2 hemisphere's? | 12 hours |
| What causes the days in the northern hemisphere to get shorter than 12 hours and getting shorter?What happens to the days in the southern hemisphere? | When the earth moves from the autumnal equinox(spring equinox in the southern hemisphere)to the winter solstice (summer solstice in the southern hemisphere); longer than 12 hrs and getting longer |
| When are the days in the northern hemisphere shorter than 12 hrs and getting longer? What happens to the days in the southern hemisphere? | From the winter solstice(summer solstice in the southern hemisphere)to the spring equinox (autumnal equinox in the southern hemisphere);the days are longer than 12 hours and getting shorter |
| What month was Christ most likely born? | April |
| Why do we celebrate Christ's birthday on Dec 25th? | because missionaries tried to link it to a pagan holiday that was called the birthday of the sun. |
| What are the imaginary lines called that run north and south across the earth? | lines of longitude |
| What are the imaginary lines called that run east to west across the earth? | Lines of latitude |
| The latitude at "0" is called what? does the latitude increase or decrease the farther you move away from it? | the equator; increases |
| What is the longitude at "0"? What part of what country does it run through? | Prime meridian;Greenwich, England |
| Do the lines of longitude increase or decrease the farther away you move from the prime meridian? | increases |
| Does hot air rise or sink? What does this create? | rise; a region of low pressure |
| When cold air sinks it creates a region of high or low pressure? | high |
| The effects of high and low pressure regions,causes loops of winds to develop as air tries to move from where to where? These winds are bent by the what? | cool regions of the earth like the poles to warm regions of the earth like the equator. Coriolis effect. |
| What is the coriolis effect? | stems from the fact that different parts of the earth move at different speeds. |
| What is the result of the coriolis effect? | prevailing winds in the polar regions called polar easterlies, prevailing winds in the mid latitudes called westerlies, and prevailing winds near the equator called trade winds |
| Because of the coriolis effect where will a missile fired due north from the equator end up hitting a target? What if it is fired due south from near the north pole? | northeast of its launch site;southwest of it's launch site |
| Is the coriolis effect strong enough to significantly affect how water drains in a basin? | no |
| prevailing wind patterns can be easily disrupted by what? give 2 examples | local winds; sea breezes near the ocean shore which blow during the day and land breezes which blow near the ocean shore during the night. |
| What is an air mass? a large body of air with relatively uniform pressure, temp, and humidity | a large body of air with relatively uniform pressure, temp, and humidity |
| What are the 3 basic types of air masses? | arctic, polar and tropical |
| What are the characteristics of arctic air masses? | very cold and dry |
| What are the characteristics of maritime tropical air masses? | warm and moist |
| What are the characteristics of maritime polar air masses? | cold and moist |
| What are the characteristics of continental tropical air masses? | warm and dry |
| What are the characteristics of continental polar air masses? | cold and dry but not as cold as arctic air masses |
| What is a weather front?and what are the 4 basic types? | a boundary between two air masses; cold, warm, stationary, and occluded |
| What happens when a cold front moves in? | cumulonimbus clouds are formed by the warm air rising in response to the cold air mass, temp decreases |
| What type of front ususlly carries the most severe weather systems including thunderstorms? | Cold fronts |
| What happens when a warm front moves in? | warm air tends to rise above the cooler air that was in the region causing a progression of clouds from cirrus to cirrostratus to stratus to nimbostratus which generally heralds a slow and steady rain as well as increased temp |
| When do occluded fronts occur? | when a cold front meets up with a slower moving warm front they usually result in slow steady rains followed by thunderstorms |
| What kind of front results in weather that doesn't change much for a long period of time? | A stationary front |
| What is aphelion? | the pt at which the earth is farthest from the sun |
| What is perihelion? | the pt at which the earth is closest to the sun |
| What is the coriolis effect? | the way in which the rotation of the earth bends the path of winds, sea currents, and objects that fly through different latitudes |
| What is an air mass? | a large body of air with relatively uniform pressure, temp, and humidity |
| What is a weather front? | a boundary between two air masses |
| of the 3 main factors that influence weather which is mostly responsible for winds? | uneven distribution of thermal energy |
| What 3 factors influence weather? | thermal energy, uneven distribution of thermal energy and water vapor in the atmosphere |
| What are drk cumulus clouds called? | cumulonimbus |
| If an area receives a large amount of insolation is it likely to be warm or cold? | warm |
| In the northern hemisphere are the day lengths greater than or less than 12 hrs between the winter solstice and the spring equinox? are the day lengths increasing or decreasing during that time? | Less than 12 hrs, increasing |
| Suppose you are at the equator and want to fire a missile at a target due north of your location. Would you aim the missile north, nw, or ne, in order to ensure it hits the intended target? | nw |
| Without 2 specific factors, the global wind patterns would be simple. They would blow from the poles to the equator. What 2 factors shape the global winds into the complex patterns that we actually see? | The change in temp caused by air changing latitude and the coriolis effect |
| What causes the wind in a certain region to be different from what we expect based on the global patterns we see? | local winds interfere with the global wind pattern |
| An air mass is dry and warm. What kind of air mass is it? | continental tropical |
| You watch the sky as cirrus clouds form followed by stratus and nimbostratus clouds. Do you expect a violent rainstorm or a long, lighter rain? | long, lighter rain |
Created by:
kimberi10