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105 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Tides on Earth caused by
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gravitational pull of moon and sun
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season of winter in N. Hemisphere produced because
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N. hemispehre is tilted away from sun
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June 21st
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longest day - shortest night
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orbit of the earth around the sun
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revolution
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moon appears to be increasing in size night after night
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waxing
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avg. distance between Earth and Sun measured by
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astronomical unit
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N. Hemisphere sun is more directly overhead during
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summer
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energy in stars produced by
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nuclear fusion
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outward pressure from core of sun counteracted by the inward force of
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gravity
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Aurora Borealis caused by
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charged particles/ions
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only visible & lowest layer of sun's atmosphere
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photosphere
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top layer of sun's atmosphere
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corona
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period of minimum solar activity followed by a maximum, minimum,a dn maximum
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solar cycle
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constellations
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groups of stars that form a pattern
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streak of light- shooting star
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meteor
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prominences
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arc of gas ejected from the chromosphere
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Solar flares
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violent eruptions of particles and radiation from the surface of the sun
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sunspots
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cooler areas on the photosphere that appears darker than surrounding areas on the sun
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Sun & Earth located in
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disk of the Milky Way
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Our sun
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average star
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Big Bang Theory
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universe began as a point and has been expanding ever since
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Milky Way
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belongs to a cluster of galaxies known as the local group
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apparent magnitude
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how bright a star appears from the Earth
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absolute magnitude
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how bright a star is compared to other stars at the same distance from earth
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solar eclipse
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when sun's light is blocked because the Earths shadow falls upon the moon
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lunar eclipse
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characterized by either long days and short nights or vice versa
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solstice
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how bright a star appears from the earth
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Earths atmosphere contains more ______ than any othr substance
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nitrogen and oxygen
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condeensation nuclei are particles of atmpspheric dust around which
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cloud droplets form
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latent heat
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energy that is stored in a substance
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stability
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an air mass's ability to resist rising
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ozone
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Gas formed by adding a 3rd oxygen atom to an oxygen molecule
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radiation
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transfer of energy through space by electromagnetic waves
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dew point
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temperature to which air must be cooled at constant pressure to reach saturation
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COALESCENCE
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cloud droplets that collide to form laarger droplets
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Carbon Dioxide
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AMOUNT OF ENERGY THE ATMOSPHERE ABSORBS DEPENDED IN PART ON THE LEVEL OF THIS
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weather
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CURRENT short-term variations in the atmosphere
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lines on the map that connect points of equal or constant values
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Isopleths
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polar easterlies
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global winds that occur between the poles and about 60 degrees latitude in both hemispheres
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prevailing westerlies
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global winds that occur between 30- 60 degrees north& south latitude
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station model
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record of weather data for a [particular site at a particular time using symbols
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measure wind speed
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anemometer
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barometer
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measures air pressure
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ceilometer
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measures height of cloud layers and estimates percentages of sky covered by clouds
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hygrometer
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measures relative humidity
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thermometer
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measures temperature
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Air mass
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forms because of unequal heating of earth's surface within one air mass
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Tornadoes
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often associated with very severe thunderstorms called super cells
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cirrus
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high altitude clouds usuallu made of ice
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energy that drives the water cycle comes from
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the sun
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winds traveling at high speed that encircle the eart are
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the jet stream
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Examples of convection can be found in
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the inner layer of the earth in magma, in the atmosphere,in the layers
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the water cycle
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constant movement of water between the armosphere and the earth's surface
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air mass modification
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exchange of heat or cmoisture with the surface over which an air mass travels
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storm surge
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mound of water driven toward coastal areas by hurricane winds
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STRATOSPHERE
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OUTERMOST LAYER OF THE ATMOSPHERE
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exosphere
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contains concentrated ozone
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troposhere
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most weather occurs here
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cold front
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cold dense air that displaces warm air forcing the warm air up
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warm front
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advancing warm air that displaces cold air
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stationary front
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two air masses that meet and do not advance
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high pressure systen
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systen assicuated with dry air and clear skies
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front
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narrow region separating any tow air masses of different densities
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low pressure system
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system associated with unstable air and rain or snow
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drought
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extended period of well-below norman rain fall
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air mass formed over a continent near the equator is
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warm and dry
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hurricanes get their energy from
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warm ocean waters over 80 degrees
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Fujita scale
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measures tornado damage and intensity
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water
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heats slowly
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specific heat
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energy needed to raise a given volume of substance one degree Celcius
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subduction
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process in which the ocean floor returns to the earth's interior
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mid-oceanic ridges
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sea floor spreading occurs here
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When two continental plates collide
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both plates push upward to form mountains
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convection currents in magma
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the force that move tje plates of the earth
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transform boundary
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a fault whre 2 plates slide past one another
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ring of fire
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area of high vocanic activity found at the borders of the pacific plate. It is an are of high earthquake activity
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tranform boundary
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a fault where two plates slide past one another
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most violet earthquakes found
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at subduction boundaries
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New Madrid Fault
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caused by earthquakes that occur in the midwest
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plate tectonics
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earth's crust and rigid upper mantle ae divided into plates which moe in differenc directions and rates
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most divergent plates are found
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on the seafloor
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Wegner's hypothesis of cotinental drift
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couldn't explain how or why the continents moved
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early mapmakers thought earth's continents had moved based on
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matching coastlines
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transform
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crust is neither destroyed onor formed on these boundaries
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San Andreas Fault
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California
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Richter scale
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numerical scale of earth quake magnitude that takes into account the size of the earthquakes largest seismic wave
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focus
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point within the eath's crust whre a fault moves
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P- wave
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carries the least amount of energy
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S- wave
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only wave that is transverse
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surface wave
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can pass through Earth;s liquid outer core
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stress
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fracture in rock along which movement occurs
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fault
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fracture imn rock along which movement occurs
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tsunami
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wave generated by vertical motions of the seafloor
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the sun
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the ultimate source of energy on Earth
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chlorfluorcarbons
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gas responsible for ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere
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mature stage
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stage of thunderstorm when downdrafts and updrafts are equally present and the storm is at its strongest
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conduction
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earth heats the air above
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convection
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heat in the lower atmosphere circulated
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radiation
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sun heats the earth and the atmosphere
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wind chill
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takes the temperature and speed of wind into account
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heat index
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takes the relative humidity and temp. into account
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Coriolis Effect
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global winds do not blow directly north and south
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squalls
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when a hurricane hits land, it is divided smaller thunderstorms
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very low barometric pressure
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center of the hurricane
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meteorologists
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scientist who studies weather
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