Question | Answer |
Weather | Describes the conditions in the atmosphere at a specific time/place |
What causes weather? | The uneven heating of the earth by the suns rays |
In what layer does weather mostly occur in? | Troposphere |
Air Temperature- | The amount of heat energy in the atmosphere at a place |
Air Pressure- | The amount of force exerted by the air hitting a given surface area |
Humidity- | The amount of water vapor in the air |
Wind speed- | The rate of moving air |
Wind direction- | The direction that the wind blows from |
Precipitation - | Falling moisture from the clouds |
Instrument to measure air pressure | Barometer |
Instrument to measure humidity | Sling Psychrometer |
Instrument to measure wind speed | Anemometer |
Instrument to measure wind direction | Wind Vane |
Instrument to measure precipitation | Rain Gauge |
Condensation | Water going from a gas to a liquid (looses energy) |
Evaporation | Water going from a liquid to gas (gains energy) |
Transpiration | Evaporation of water from/out of plants |
What is wind caused by | Differences in air pressure |
Hot air ________ | Rises |
Cool air ______ | Sinks |
Low pressure= | Hot air rises |
Cold air sinks= | High pressure |
Large difference in air pressure= | Strong winds |
Small difference in air pressure= | Weak winds |
Coriolis Effect | Wind appears to curve to the right in the northern hemisphere |
What causes the Coriolis Effect? | Earths rotation |
Dew Point | The temperature at which water vapor condenses out of the air bc the air is saturated |
How do clouds form? | When the air is cooled to the dew point and water condenses into tiny water droplets |
How does precipitation occur? | Once the water droplets get too large they fall |
Dark clouds mean what type of precipitation(usually)? | Storms/precipitation |
Cirrus | High wispy clouds |
Cumulus | Low puffy clouds |
Cumulonimbus | Tall dark thunderstorm clouds |
Stratus | Flat low clouds (gloomy) |
Field map | A region of space that has a measurable quantity or value at every point |
Isolines | Lines with the same field value |
Isobars | Lines of equal air pressure |
Isotherm | Lines of equal temperature |
As latitude increases temperatures __________ | Decreases |
An air mass that forms over water would be dry or moist? | Moist |
An air mass that is over land would be dry or moist? | Dry |
Air Mass | Air with generally uniform characteristics |
Source region | Surface over which an air mass forms |
Front | The boundary (on the ground) between 2 air masses |
Arctic(A) | Formed over extremely cold, ice covered regions |
Polar(P) | Formed over regions of high latitudes where temperatures are usually low |
Tropical(T) | Formed over regions of low latitudes where the temperatures are usually high |
Maritime(M) | Formed over water, moist |
mP | Cold moist
Formed over North Atlantic and North Pacific |
mT | Warm,moist
Formed over guild of Mexico, middle Atlantic, Caribbean, Pacific |
Continental | Formed over land, dry |
cA | Dry frigid
Formed North of Canada |
cP | Cold dry
Formed over northern and central Canada |
Ct | Warm dry
Formed over southwestern US in summer |
5 air masses | Arctic
Polar
Tropical
Maritime
Continental |
Cold front symbol | Triangles pointing towards where it's heading |
Weather during a cold front: | Strong storms |
Weather after the cold front | Cold
Dry |
Air masses typically move from _______ to _______ | west to east |
Weather before cold front | Warm
Humid |
Warm front symbol | Circles facing the way the front is moving |
Weather before warm front | Cold |
Weather during warm front | Wet
Rainy |
Weather after warm front | Warm
Humid |
What is a cyclone | Inward and counterclockwise air circulation around a low pressure center |
What is a hurricane? | Huge cyclonic storms (low pressure system) that form in the summer over warm ocean water |
How do winds blow around a hurricane? | Counterclockwise around the center |
What fuels a hurricane and gives it power? | The sun |
Wind blows from _____ pressure to ______ pressure | High to low |
Climate | Long term behavior of atmosphere |
Layers of the atmosphere (from outer to inner) | Exosphere,ionosphere,mesosphere,stratosphere,thermosphere,tro-posphere |
Relative humidity | Measure of the amount of moisture in the air compared to what the air could hold (how full of water the air is) |
100% relative humidity = | Precipitation is occurring |