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41 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What is an air mass?
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a huge body of air that has a similar temperature, humidity and and air pressure at a given height.
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What are the four types of air masses that affect the US weather?
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maritime tropical
maritime polar continental tropical continental polar |
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What is humidity?
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moisture content of an air mass
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Air masses over tropical regions are warm, true or false?
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true
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Air masses over polar regions are cold, true of false?
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true
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What is the characteristic of continental air masses?
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dry, because they form over land (a continent)
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What is the characteristic of maritime air masses?
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humid, because they form over oceans.
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Where do maritime tropical air masses usually form?
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equator
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Where do maritime polar air masses usually form?
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Over the Pacific Ocean in both the winter and summer
Over the North Atlantic in the summer. |
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Where does the continental tropical air mass usually form?
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Mexico in the summer
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Where does the continental polar air mass typically form?
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Canada in the winter
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What is a front?
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boundary where two air masses meet.
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What are the four different types of weather fronts?
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cold, warm, occluded and stationary.
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What happens in a cold front?
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cold air masses meets warm air mass and slide under the warm air. VIOLENT STORMS FOLLOWED BY FAIR COOL WEATHER.
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What happens in a warm front?
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warm air overtakes cold airs. RAIN FOLLOWED BY HOT, HUMID WEATHER
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Which type of front travels faster, warm or cold?
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cold
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When a cold front overtakes a warm front and the warm air is cut off from the ground, what is that called?
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occluded front
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warm air meets cold air and neither front moves, what is this called?
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stationary front
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Which type of front is likely to produces the most days of rain?
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stationary front
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Where do polar air masses form?
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north of 50 north latitude
south of 50 south latitude |
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Occluded fronts produce less extreme weather than other fronts, true or false?
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true
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What type of clouds are formed when warm front meets cold front?
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nimbostratus
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What type of weather in the summer occurs when warm front meets cold front? In the winter?
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steady rainfall
heavy snowfall |
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What type of clouds are forms when cold front meets warm front?
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cumulonimbus
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What type of weather occurs in the summer when cold front meets warm front?
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violent thunderstorms
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Why do you see lightening before you hear thunder?
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Lightning travels much faster (300,000 km per second) than the sound wave (340 m per second)
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What is an area of low pressure that contains rising warm air called?
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cyclone
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Why do cyclones spin?
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As the warm air rises, cooler air takes its place and makes the air currents spin
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What direction do cyclones spin in the Northern Hemisphere?
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counterclockwise
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What is a high pressure area that contains cold, dry air called?
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anti-cyclone
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In the Northern Hemisphere, what direction do anti-cyclones spin?
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counter clockwise
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What type of weather is associated with cyclones?
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rainy, storm weather
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What type of weather is associated with anti-cyclones?
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clear, dry and fair
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What is a hurricane?
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a powerful cyclone that forms over tropical oceans.
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Hurricanes are in the Atlantic Ocean, typhoons in the Pacific Ocean, true or false?
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true
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Why do the air currents in the cyclones and hurricane spin?
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Because the warm air rises, the cool air moves in and begins to spin and drops the air pressure in the center and draws more air into the center and increases the spinning.
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What is a tornado?
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a whirling, funnel shaped cloud. The air pressure at the bottom of the funnel is very low and it acts like a vacuum when it touches the ground.
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What are the dangers of hurricanes?
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high waves,
strong winds heavy rain long, big and wide storms |
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What are the dangers of tornadoes?
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violent, quick, hard to predict, destructive winds.
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Which way do the major wind belts blow in the US?
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West to East
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How do scientists classify air masses?
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temperature and humidity.
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