click below
click below
Normal Size Small Size show me how
weather part 1 vocab
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| mesosphere | Middle layers of atmosphere; 51-85 km;coldest layer ; this is where meters burn up |
| 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 earths atmosphere ; 0-17 km above earths surface, site of weather, organisms, contains most atmosphere water vapor |
| Stratosphere | 2nd layer of atmosphere, extends from 10 to 30 miles up; location of ozone layers; absorbs 95% of Ultraviolet radiation |
| Thermosphere | The fourth layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases |
| Mesosphere | middle layer of the atmosphere; 51-85 km above earths surface; coldest layer, this is where meteors burn up |
| 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 that make up 21% of the air in earths atmosphere. it passes into the bloodstream at the lungs and travels to all body cells |
| Carbon dioxide | A greenhouse gas; a gas that absorbs and radiates heat |
| Trace Gasses | gasses such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide and argon that exits in very small quantities in the atmosphere; gasses that make up less that 1% of earths atmosphere |
| water vapor | water in the form of a gas |
| Fossil Fuels | a natural substance formed from the buried remains of ancient organisms that can be used as a source of energy |
| Greenhouse Gasses | gasses in earths atmosphere that trap heat near the surface |
| water cycle | the continuous process by which water moves from earths surface to the atmosphere and back |
| evaporation | the change of a substance from a liquid to a gas |
| condensation | the change from a gas to a liquid |
| precipitation | any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches earths 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 earths 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 (oz) | |
| greenhouse effect |