Weather and Climate

Question 1

What is precipitation?

Answer 1

Water falling from the sky in any form.

Question 2

What is temperature?

Answer 2

Exactly how hot or cold it is.

Question 3

What is wind speed?

Answer 3

How fast the wind is blowing.

Question 4

What is wind direction?

Answer 4

Where the wind is blowing from.

Question 5

What is humidity?

Answer 5

The amount of water vapour held in the air.

Question 6

What is air pressure?

Answer 6

How heavy the air is around us.

Question 7

What can we measure precipitation with?

Answer 7

A rain gauge.

Question 8

What can we measure temperature with?

Answer 8

A thermometer.

Question 9

What can we measure wind speed with?

Answer 9

Anemometer.

Question 10

What can we measure wind direction with?

Answer 10

A wind vane.

Question 11

What can we measure humidity with?

Answer 11

A hygrometer.

Question 12

What can we measure air pressure with?

Answer 12

A barometer.

Question 13

What is the unit of measurement for precipitation?

Answer 13

Mm.

Question 14

What is the unit of measurement for temperature?

Answer 14

°C.

Question 15

What is the unit of measurement for wind speed?

Answer 15

Kph.

Question 16

What is the unit of measurement for wind direction?

Answer 16

North, south, east, west.

Question 17

What is the unit of measurement for humidity?

Answer 17

%.

Question 18

What is the unit of measurement for air pressure?

Answer 18

Mb.

Question 19

What weather systems does the tropical continental air mass bring?

Answer 19

Hot summer weather.

Question 20

What weather systems does the polar continental air mass bring?

Answer 20

Snow in the winter.

Question 21

What weather systems does the polar maritime air mass bring?

Answer 21

Cold and showery.

Question 22

What weather systems does the tropical maritime air mass bring?

Answer 22

Moist air, rain.

Question 23

What weather systems does the arctic maritime air mass bring?

Answer 23

Snow in the winter.

Question 24

What is the North Atlantic Drift and what does it do?

Answer 24

It is a current in the sea that brings warm water from the Caribbean to the UK.

Question 25

What is meant by 'prevailing wind'?

Answer 25

The most common wind direction in an area.

Question 26

What are 'Jetstreams'?

Answer 26

Powerful bands of wind. Airplanes can sometimes use these to travel faster, depending on which direction they are going.

Question 27

Where can you find the Jetstream?

Answer 27

It is located in the middle and upper parts of a layer in the atmosphere called the troposphere. This is around the height where most airplanes fly.

Question 28

What is the water cycle?

Answer 28

The process by which water moves from the sea to the air to the land.

Question 29

What are 'Alcuclei'?

Answer 29

These are microscopic particles of dust, smoke or salt in the atmosphere on which water vapour condenses to form water droplets.

Question 30

Finish the sentences: First, the water starts off in the ______ and is then transferred to the air by the process of ___________, which is when the sun _____ water, turning it into water vapour. The water vapour then _____ and _________ to form clouds, and falls as ____. The precipitation then goes back to the sea by either _______-______ or ___________-____.

Answer 30

Oceans, evaporation, heats, cools, condenses, rain, surface-runoff, groundwater-flow.

Question 31

What is cloud cover measured in?

Answer 31

Oktas. We can divide the sky into 8 sections. If we can see a clear sky, there are 0 Oktas. If we cannot see any sky due to cloud cover, there are 8 Oktas.

Question 32

What are stratus/strato clouds?

Answer 32

Long, thin clouds that are low down.

Question 33

What are cumulus/cumulo clouds?

Answer 33

Short, thick clouds that are low down. Cumulo clouds also reach high and are rainy.

Question 34

What are cirrus/cirro clouds?

Answer 34

Wispy, small clouds that are high up.

Question 35

What are alto clouds?

Answer 35

Long, thin clouds that aren't really high or really low.

Question 36

What are nimbus/nimbo clouds?

Answer 36

Dark, thick and large clouds that are low, but reach up and are rainy.

Question 37

What is Frontal Rainfall?

Answer 37

A warm air mass meets a cold air mass. The warm air mass is forced to rise above the cold air mass. As the warm air mass rises, it cools and condenses - producing clouds.

Question 38

What is conventional rainfall?

Answer 38

The sun provides a heat source, heating up the ground quickly. The air rises very quickly through convection currents. As the air rises, it cools rapidly. Large air clouds develop above the rising air as it cannot hold as much water. Torrential rain and thunderstorms are produced.

Question 39

What is relief rainfall?

Answer 39

Warm moist air is forced to move over a mountain. The air cools and condenses, forming clouds. Dry air sinks and warms.

Question 40

Define a 'rain shadow'.

Answer 40

The dry area in the shadow of a mountain.

Question 41

What do climate graphs do?

Answer 41

They describe the average rainfall and temperature for a location or to compare the patterns between multiple areas.

Question 42

What are isobars?

Answer 42

These are lines joining areas of equal air pressure.

Question 43

What is a microclimate?

Answer 43

The long-term weather conditions that are found in a relatively small area. For example, a wood, a town or a mountain valley.

Question 44

What is an urban heat island?

Answer 44

A concentration of high temperatures. They are caused by absorption and slow release of heat from surfaces like tarmac roads and heat from vehicles and houses.