click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
weather part 1 vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| air pressure | the measure of the force with which air molecules push on a surface |
| altitude | elevation (height) above sea level |
| troposphere | lowest layer of earth's atmosphere; 0-17 km above earth's surface, site of weather, organism,contains most atmospheric water vapor |
| stratosphere | 2nd layer of atmoshere;extends from 10 to 30 miles up ; location of ozone layer; absorbs 95% of ultraviolet radiation; temperature increases as altitude increases |
| thermosphere | the fourth layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases |
| exosphere | the outer layer of the thermosphere,extending outward into space |
| atmospheric gases | nitrogen makes up 78% 21% oxygen, and remaining 1& is carbon dioxide, water vapor and other gasses |
| nitrogen (n2) | most abundant gas in the atmosphere (78%) |
| oxygen (o2) | gas the makes up 21% of the air in earth's atmosphere. it passes into the bloodstream at the lungs and travels to all body cells |
| carbon dioxide (co2) | a greenhouse gas: a gas that absorbs and radiates heat |
| trace gases | gasses such as hydrogen,helium,carbon dioxide and argon that exist in very small quantities in the atmosphere;gasses that make up less than 1% of earth's atmosphere |
| water vapor | water in the form of a gas |
| fossil fuels | a natural substance formed from buried remains of ancient organisms that can be used as a source of energy |
| greenhouse gases | gasses in earth's atmosphere that trap heat near the surface |
| water cycle | the continuous process by which water moves from earth's surface to the atmosphere and back |
| evaporation | the change of a substance from liquid to a gas |
| condensation | the change from a gas to a liquid |
| precipitation | any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches earth's surface (rain or snow or hail or sleet or mist) |
| transpiration | evaporation of water from the leaves of a plant |
| crystallization | the process by which a substance becomes a solid, sort of like freezing |
| surface runoff | water that flows over land until it reaches lakes, rivers,or other areas |
| groundwater flow | water that is flowing beneath earth's surface |
| dew | water that has condensed on a cool surface overnight from water vapor in the air |
| frost | ice formed when water vapor changes directly into ice crystals |
| ozone (o3) | part of earth's upper atmosphere; it protects people by absorbing harmful rays from the sun |
| greenhouse effect | a warming of earth's surface and the air above it. it is caused by gasses in the air that trap energy from the sun. |
| mesosphere | middle layer of atmosphere;51-85 km; coldest layer; thisis where meteors burn up |