MIDTERM

Question 1

trapping of the sun’s energy by Earth

Answer 1

Greenhouse Effect

Question 2

lines that connect points of equal pressure

Answer 2

Isobars

Question 3

lines that connect points of equal temp

Answer 3

Isotherm

Question 4

gas–> liquid

Answer 4

Condensation

Question 5

liquid–> gas

Answer 5

Evaporation

Question 6

the temperature at which water vapor condenses at the same rate it evaporates

Answer 6

dew point

Question 7

thin and whispy high clouds; ice crystals; fair weather

Answer 7

cirrus cloud

Question 8

low sheets; covering ;rain

Answer 8

stratus cloud

Question 9

piled thick fluffy masses “piles” good weather

Answer 9

cumulus cloud

Question 10

large clouds produce very large thunderstorms

Answer 10

cumulonimbus

Question 11

boundary between 2 air masses having different temps and humidity

Answer 11

air front

Question 12

a large body of air that has the same temp and humidity throughout

Answer 12

air mass

Question 13

a transition zone where warm air mass replaces cold

Answer 13

warm front

Question 14

a transition zone where a cold air mass replaces warm

Answer 14

cold front

Question 15

front is stalled

Answer 15

stationary front

Question 16

a tool that measures relative humidity

Answer 16

psychrometer

Question 17

instrument that measures wind speed

Answer 17

anemometer

Question 18

definition of wind and ocean currents due to earth’s rotation

Answer 18

coriolis effect

Question 19

water that falls from atmosphere to earth

Answer 19

precipitation

Question 20

pressure that the air exerts on the earth

Answer 20

air pressure

Question 21

small balloon carried observatory which carries a radio transmitter

Answer 21

radiosonde

Question 22

anywhere a river joins the ocean and freshwater mixes with salt water

Answer 22

estuary

Question 23

all of the non-living things in an environment

Answer 23

abiotic factors

Question 24

all of the living things in an environment

Answer 24

biotic factors

Question 25

factors that limit the size of a population and only exist because the size of the population got too big

Answer 25

density dependent factors

Question 26

biotic factors in an area and the abiotic factors that impact them

Answer 26

ecosystem

Question 27

the place where an organism lives out its life

Answer 27

habitat

Question 28

the role of a species has in its environment

Answer 28

niche

Question 29

intense rainfall, many different species, warm climate, located near equator, many different niches, and little humus

Answer 29

tropical rain forest

Question 30

large communities covered in grass and other similar plants, little tree life bc dry seasons, hella humus

Answer 30

grasslands

Question 31

bit warmer than tundra, bit more rainfall, long severe winters, short mild summers, large animals, also called "Boreal Forest"

Answer 31

taiga

Question 32

region on earth where living organisms are found

Answer 32

biosphere

Question 33

the number of organisms of one species that a habitat or environment can hold

Answer 33

carrying capacity

Question 34

the place in the orbit of a planet is farthest from the sun

Answer 34

aphelion

Question 35

the point in the orbit of the planet where its closest to the sun

Answer 35

perihelion

Question 36

the way in which the sun provides energy; occurs when less massive nuclei combine with massive nuclei to create a rly big nuclei

Answer 36

nuclear fusion

Question 37

a group of stars, dust, and gases held together by gravity

Answer 37

galaxy

Question 38

List the layers of the atmosphere in order from ground up and describe what happens in each layer

Answer 38

troposphere-temp increases as you get higher stratosphere- ozone layer where planes fly mesosphere- VERY HOT!; space shuttles and auroras exosphere- atoms escape into space, satellites orbit

Question 39

what is the main cause of air pollution?

Answer 39

the burning of fossil fuels

Question 40

what is acid rain and what are the pollutants that contribute to it

Answer 40

Acid drops that fall to the ground made up of nitrate and sulfate particles that come from burning fossil feuls

Question 41

what are the most common greenhouse gases?

Answer 41

``` Water vapor Carbon dioxide Methane Nitrous oxide Ozone Chlorofluorocarbons ```

Question 42

what is the purpose of the ozone layer?

Answer 42

absorbs 99% of harmful UV rays from the sun

Question 43

what are low-pressure systems called and what kind of weather do we associate with them?

Answer 43

cyclones- cloudy wet and stormy weather

Question 44

What does a rising barometer indicate? A falling barometer?

Answer 44

rising barometer- cool,dry weather | falling barometer-warm,humid weather-predictor of storms

Question 45

What is the difference between El Niño and La Nina?

Answer 45

El Niño- periodic warming of the ocean that occurs in the central and eastern pacific El Niña- surface temperatures in the eastern pacific are cooler than usual

Question 46

what is the difference between a frontal thunderstorm and an air mass thunderstorm?

Answer 46

Air-mass thunderstorm- form in warm, moist airmass occur in spring/summer and last up to an hour Frontal Thunderstorms- occur in lines along a frontal surface, are stronger and can last several hours-create flooding and heavy rain

Question 47

What scale is used to categorize tornado intensity? Hurricane intensity?

Answer 47

tornadoes- fujita scale | hurricanes- saffir-simspon scale

Question 48

What is the most damaging part of a hurricane

Answer 48

storm surge

Question 49

Difference between and land breeze and sea breeze

Answer 49

sea breeze is daytime and land breeze is night

Question 50

What are 3 ways heat is transferred through the Earth's atmosphere?

Answer 50

convection, conduction, radiation

Question 51

What happens in the carbon cycle?

Answer 51

driven by photosynthesis and cellular respiration

Question 52

What happens in the Water cycle?

Answer 52

water is evaporated by the sun and creates clouds, clouds condensate and become too heavy and rain, runoff back into rivers and ground, plants

Question 53

differences between herbivore, omnivore, carnivore, scavenger and decomposer

Answer 53

herbivore- no meat or fungi; vegetation only omnivore- eats everything; fruit, veggies, meat, fungi carnivore- only eats meat scavenger- eats leftover carcasses of animals decomposer- mushroom/fungi that breakdown material into soil

Question 54

difference between a J-shaped curve and S-shaped curve

Answer 54

J-shaped: Exponential growth when # of organisms increase by an ever rising rate S-shape: Logistic growth when a populations growth slows or stops following a period of exponential growth

Question 55

How does the amount of available energy change as you move through trophic levels?

Answer 55

100%-->10%-->.1% with every passing level, 90% of energy is lost

Question 56

What causes earth's seasons?

Answer 56

The tilt of Earth's axis (23.5%)

Question 57

What causes day and night on earth?

Answer 57

The rotation of earth about the sun

Question 58

what are kepler's 3 laws of planetary motion?

Answer 58

1. planets orbit the sun in an elliptical path 2. planets move fastest when they're closest to the sun in their orbits 3. the farther away the planet orbits, the longer it takes to revolve around the sun

Question 59

Describe the geocentric model of the solar system?

Answer 59

where the earth is placed at the center of the universe