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108 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Why is the sky blue?
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because
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What are the three methods of heat transfer?
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Radiation
Conduction Convection |
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Define radiation
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the direct transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves
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define convection
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transfer of heat by movement of a fluid
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define conduction
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direct transfer of heat from one substance to another substance that is touching
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What is the boiling point of water for Celsius?
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100 degrees
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What is the boiling point of water for Fahrenheit?
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212 degrees
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What is the freezing point of water for Celsius?
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0 degrees
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What is the freezing point of water for Fahrenheit?
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32 degrees
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Warm water rising in a pot on the stove is what kind of heat transfer?
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Convection
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Burning your bare feet on hot sand is what kind of heat transfer?
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conduction
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Feeling the sun's warmth on your face is what kind of heat transfer?
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radiation
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What is the troposphere heated by?
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Convection
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How is heat transferred from the sun to the Earth?
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Radiation
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what tool measures the air temperature?
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thermometer
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How does a thermometer work?
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Liquid mercury expands when heated and contracts when cools, so the temperature moves up and down.
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what is thermal energy?
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total energy of motion in the particles of a substance
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What is a psychrometer?
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an instrument with two thermometers, a wet-bulb thermometer and a dry-bulb thermometer
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What does a psychrometer measure?
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relative humidity
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What instrument measures the wind direction?
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wind vane
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What instrument measures the wind speed?
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anemometer
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What causes wind?
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differences in air pressure
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the horizontal movement of air from an area of high pressure to a area of low pressure is called a WIND, true or false
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TRUE
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What are local winds?
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winds that blow over short distances
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What are global winds?
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winds that blow steadily from specific directions over long distances.
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Which way to trade winds blow?
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EAST
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Which direction do prevailing westerly winds blow?
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EAST
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Which way do polar easterly winds blow?
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WEST
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What direction does the jet stream blow?
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east to west
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How fast does the jet stream blow?
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200 to 400 km per hour
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What is the Coriolis effect?
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the way that the Earth rotates causes the wind in the Northern hemisphere to turn toward the right.
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global winds curve because of the Earth's rotation, true or false?
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TRUE
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what is one factor in creating global winds?
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unequal heating of the Earth's surface
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Movement between what two locations on the Earth's surface helps create global winds?
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equator and poles (North and South)
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What is the difference between the sea breeze and the land breeze?
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Sea breeze, the cool air moves from the sea to the land as the warm air rises off the land.
Land breeze, the cool air moves from the land to the sea as the warm air rises from the sea. |
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What are the doldrums?
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calm wind areas around the Earth
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Where are the doldrums
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horse latitudes?
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What are four types of clouds?
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cumulus
nimbostratus cirrocumulus cumulonimbus |
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What type of cloud is there in fair weather?
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cumulus
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What type of cloud is there in thunderstorms?
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cumulonimbus
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what type of cloud signals storm on the way?
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cirrocumulus
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what type of cloud is there for rain, drizzle or snow?
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nimbostratus
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what are cirrus clouds made of?
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ice crystals
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what two types of clouds produce rain or snow?
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cumulonimbus and nimbostratus
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what is a wispy, feathery cloud called?
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cirrus
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what type of cloud forms in flat layers?
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stratus
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what type of cloud looks like fluffy, rounded piles of cotton?
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cumulus
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What is the most common type of high cloud?
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cirrus
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What type of cloud tells you afternoon thunderstorms?
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altocumulus
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what type of cloud covers the whole sky at 2,000-7,000 meters?
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altostratus
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what type of clouds can build up to 1,000 meters tall?
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cumulus
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what type of cloud can grow up to 10 km tall?
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cumulonimbus
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How do clouds form?
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Water vapor CONDENSES to form liquid water or ice crystals
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What are the most common forms of precipitation?
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rain, sleet, snow and hail
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what is the definition of precipitation?
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any water that falls from clouds that reaches the Earth's surface.
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How many cm of snow is 1 cm of rain?
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10
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what is the most common form of precipitation?
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rain
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what is the smallest form of precipitation?
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rain
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What is sleet?
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freezing rain, smaller than 5 mm in diameter
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What is the difference between sleet and hail
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size, hail is larger that 5 mm in diameter
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how is mist and drizzle different from rain?
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they are smaller particles of water
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what type of precipitation is water vapor in a cloud converted directly to ice crystals?
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SNOW
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What type of precipitation is layers of ice on pellets moving through cumulonimbus clouds?
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HAIL
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What type of precipitation is rain that freezes when it hits the ground or other cold surface?
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FREEZING RAIN
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What type of precipitation is raindrops that freeze into tiny particles of ice as they fall through the air?
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SLEET
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What instrument measures rain?
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rain gauge
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What is evaporation?
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the process by which water molecules in liquid water escape into the air as water vapor
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What is condensation?
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water vapor becomes liquid water
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When does condensation start?
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at the dew point (the temperature of the dew point)
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What is relative humidity?
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it is percentage: the amount of water in the air over the maximum amount of water that air can hold
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What measure relative humidity?
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psychrometer
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Warm air becomes less dense, true or false?
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TRUE
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what is longitude?
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distance from the equator, measured in degrees.
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What is the difference between thermal energy (total) and temperature (average thermal energy)?
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TOTAL ENERGY OF MOTION in the particles of a substance is called THERMAL ENERGY
AVERAGE ENERGY OF MOTION in the particles of a substance is called TEMPERATURE |
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What are the types of electromagnetic radiation in the atmosphere?
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radiation...(steve to check this)
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define climate
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average, year-after-year conditions of temperature, precipitation, winds and clouds in an are
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What is a microclimate?
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small area with climate conditions that differ from those around it
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What are the four main factors that influence temperature?
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latitude
altitude, distance from large bodies of water ocean currents |
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why is it colder at high latitudes?
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because the Sun's rays strike the earth at a lower angle.
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What are the three temperature zones on Earth based on latitude?
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temperate
tropical polar |
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what is the latitude of tropical zone?
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23.5 north and 23.5 south
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what is the angle of the sun's rays in the tropical zone?
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direct or nearly direct
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what is the latitude of temperate zone?
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23.5 to 66.5 north
23.5 to 66.5 south |
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what is the angle of the sun's rays in the temperate zone?
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more direct in summer
less direct in winter |
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What is the polar latitude?
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66.5-90 north
66.5 to 90 south |
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what is the angle of the sun's rays on the polar zone?
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less direct all year
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A marine climate has cool summers and warm winters, true or false?
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TRUE
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A continental climate has cold winters and hot summers, true or false?
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TRUE
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What marine current affects Iceland?
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North Atlantic Drift
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What marine current affects the West Coast?
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California Current
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What two main factors affect precipitation?
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mountains
winds (prevailing and seasonal) |
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Which side of the mountain range does rain usually fall on?
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The side that is hit by oncoming wind.
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What happens when air rises to pass over a mountain range?
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Condenses, water vapor forms clouds.
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What are meteorologists?
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scientists who study the causes of weather and try to predict it.
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Name three instruments that meteorologists use to predict weather
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radar
instruments in balloons satellites |
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Can weather forecasts longer than three days be reliable?
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yes
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What data are indicated by symbols on a weather map?
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wind speed
air pressure temperature wind direction |
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What is an isobar?
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lines on a weather map joining places that have the same air pressure
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What is an isotherm?
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line on a weather map joining places that have the same temperature.
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What is the "butterfly effect"
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a small weather change today can have a larger weather effect a week later.
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Why is it colder in the winter in the Northern Hemisphere?
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shorter days and less direct sun
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Why is is warmer in the northern hemisphere in the summer?
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longer days and more direct sunlight.
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Which way does the Earth's axis tilt in the summer?
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towards the sun
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Which way does the Earth's axis tilt in September and March
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no tilt
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What does "leeward" mean?
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the side of the mountain that is downwind
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What does "polar zone" mean?
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the areas that extend from 66.5 north and south latitude to 90 north and south latitude
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What does "windward" mean?
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the side of the mountain that faces the oncoming wind
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What is a monsoon?
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sea and land breezes over a large region that change direction with the season.
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