Atmosphere

Front 1

atmosphere

Back 1

the layer of gases surrounding earth

Front 2

characteristics of the mesosphere

Back 2

1. middle layer
2. extends up 50-80 km
3. temperatures drop to their lowest here

Front 3

composition of the atmosphere

Back 3

21% oxygen
78% nitrogen
1% other
aerosols

Front 4

characteristics of the thermosphere

Back 4

1. extends 85-500 km above earth's surface
2. temperatures increase rapidly
3. filters out x rays and gamma rays from the sun

Front 5

characteristics of the ionosphere

Back 5

1. actually a portion of both thermosphere and mesosphere
2. can reflect radio waves
3. makes long distance communication possible

Front 6

layers of the atmosphere

Back 6

1. troposphere
2. stratosphere
3. mesosphere
4. thermosphere
5. ionosphere
6. exosphere

Front 7

characteristics of the exosphere

Back 7

1. outermost layer
2. extends out toward space
3. contains few atoms
4. no clear boundary separates exosphere from space

Front 8

characteristics of the troposphere

Back 8

1. layer closest to the earth
2. extends up to 10 km
3. makes up 3/4 of all layers
4. clouds and weather happen here
5. starts out with warm air and gets cooler as you travel up

Front 9

characteristics of the stratosphere

Back 9

1. next layer after the troposphere
2. extends 10-50 km up
3. most of the ozone is located here
4. warms up as you move through it
5. absorbs most of the uv rays

Front 10

the water cycle

Back 10

1. rains runs off into streams, etc.
2. water evaporates
3. clouds are formed
4. water drops inside clouds form bigger drops
5. when drops get too heavy, they fall to the ground

Front 11

weather

Back 11

describes the current condition of the atmosphere

Front 12

conduction

Back 12

transfer of energy when molecules collide

Front 13

factors of weather

Back 13

1. temperature
2. cloud cover
3. wind speed
4. wind direction
5. humidity
6. air pressure

Front 14

convection

Back 14

the process of warm air rising and cool air sinking

Front 15

humidity

Back 15

the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere

Front 16

air pressure

Back 16

1. the weight of air
2. develops because gases, liquids, and solids have mass and are pulled toward the earth's surface (gravity)

Front 17

relative humidity

Back 17

the amount of water vapor that is present compared to the amount that could be held at a specific temperature

Front 18

how is heat distributed on earth

Back 18

1. conduction
2. convection
3. radiation

Front 19

types of clouds

Back 19

1. low clouds-cumulus and stratus
2. middle clouds-alto
3. high-cirrus

Front 20

precipitation

Back 20

when drops of water or ice crystals become too large and heavy to stay up in the clouds

Front 21

how is hail formed

Back 21

1. strong winds toss ice crystals up and down in the clouds
2. as the crystals move up and down, drops of water freeze around them
3. keep going up and down and getting bigger
4. when they get too heavy they fall to the ground

Front 22

types of wind

Back 22

1. general air circulation
2. surface winds
3. westerly winds
4. eaterly winds
5. jet streams

Front 23

coriolis effect

Back 23

1. warm air flows toward the poles
2. cold air flows toward the equator
3. as earth rotates, moving air is DEFLECTED to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left south of the equator

Front 24

why are temperatures warmer at the equator

Back 24

the sun's rays strike more directly near the equator than at the poles

Front 25

characteristics of jet streams

Back 25

1. bands of strong winds
2. develop at higher altitudes
3. like giant rivers of air

Front 26

characteristics of easterly winds

Back 26

1. near the poles, cold air sinks and flows away
2. replaced by warmer air flowing in
3. turns by the coriolis effect
4. blows from the east

Front 27

characteristics of westerly winds

Back 27

1. blows from the west
2. called prevailing winds
3. form the boundary between cold air from the poles and warm air from the equator
4. major weather systems usually form along this boundary

Front 28

characteristics of surface winds

Back 28

1. air sinks and flows to the equator
2. coriolis effect turns them
3. called tradewinds or tropical easterlies
4. generally blow east to west

Front 29

doldrums

Back 29

quiet area near the equator where the winds don't blow for long periods of time