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Weather District Test Flashcards

ALL CHAPTERS SINCE MIDTERM (93 cards)

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1
Q

What are the gases that make up the atmosphere and their percentages?

A

Nitrogen 78% , Oxygen 21%, other gases <1%

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2
Q

Identify the layers of the Earth’s atmosphere.

A

(ground-space) Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, {exosphere}

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3
Q

In which layer of the atmosphere does most weather occur?

A

Troposphere

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4
Q

What is precipitation?

A

Rain,sleet, snow, freezing rain- any water form that falls from clouds.

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5
Q

What is climate?

A

Averaged weather in a given area over a long period of time.

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6
Q

For how long is climate data gathered?

A

30 years

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7
Q

What is an air mass?

A

A large blob of air that has uniform temperature, humidity, and pressure.

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8
Q

Describe a continental polar air mass.

A

cP- dry and cold.

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9
Q

7) Describe a continental tropical air mass.

A

cT- dry and warm.

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10
Q

Identify the gases whose percentages vary in the atmosphere.

A

Water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane.

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11
Q

What is thermal energy?

A

Thermal energy is energy of heat.

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12
Q

What is radiation and give an example.

A

Radiation is the transfer of thermal energy by electromagnetic waves; the transfer of thermal energy from the sun to Earth by radiation. An example is how the sun heats the earth naturally.

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13
Q

What is conduction and give an example.

A

Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy between objects in contact by the collisions between particles in the objects. an example is a cast iron pot on a gas stove in which the pot heats from the fire and heats the food.

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14
Q

What is convection and give an example.

A

Convection is the transfer of thermal energy by the movement of heated material from one place to another.
An example is a pot of water - as water in the pot is heated it expands and becomes less dense than the water around it forcing it upward. When it rises it transfers the thermal energy to the cooler air.

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15
Q

What is temperature?

A

How hot or cool something is and measured by a thermometer.

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16
Q

What is air pressure?

A

Air pressure is the weight of which the atmosphere is pressing all around something. 14.7 lbs average per square inch.

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17
Q

What is a temperature inversion?

A

A temperature inversion is an increase in temperature with height in an atmospheric layer, which inverts the temperature-altitude relationship and can worsen air pollution problems.

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18
Q

What causes the wind to blow?

A

Natural movement of air. When air moves from a region of high pressure to a region of low pressure. Uneen heating of the Earth’s Surface

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19
Q

What is humidity?

A

The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere at a given location on Earth’s surface.

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20
Q

Describe saturated air?

A

The water vapor in air has reached its maximum amount. It cannot hold anymore water. If it gets more water, it will start raining or snowing.

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21
Q

What is the relative humidity of saturated air?

A

100 %

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22
Q

What is dew point?

A

Temperature to which air is cooled at a constant pressure to reach saturation, at which point condensation can occur.

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23
Q

What are condensation nuclei and give examples.

A

Small particle in the atmosphere around which cloud droplets can form. - -

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24
Q

Describe stable air.

A

An air mass that resists rising.

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25
Describe unstable air.
An air mass that continues to rise.
26
How do clouds form?
When a rising air mass cools. When warm air mass rises it expands and cools; in making this air condense.
27
How are clouds classified?
By their altitude and shape.
28
Identify several examples of low clouds.
Stratus and cumulus
29
Identify several examples of middle clouds.
altostratus and altocumulus.
30
Identify several examples of high clouds.
Cirrus, cirrocumulus, cirrostratus, cumulonimbus.
31
Identify the three ways in which heat transferred?
Radiation, conduction, and convection.
32
What is a cumulonimbus cloud?
A towering cloud most associated with thunderstorms. It is composed entirely of ice crystals.
33
What is a cumulus cloud?
A low cloud that is puffy and usually occur under 2000m.
34
What is a stratus cloud?
Also below 2000m and can cover much of the sky in a given area. They often form when fog lift away from the Earth's surface.
35
What is a cirrus cloud?
Very wispy and has an indistinct appearance. They are made entirely of ice crystals.
36
What happens on the leeward side of the mountain?
Air descends, dries out, and warms. This results in a drier and warmer climate compared to the windward side.
37
What is coalescence?
A process that occurs when cloud droplets collide and form larger droplets, which eventually become too heavy to remain aloft and can fall to Earth as precipitation.
38
What is weather?
Short term variations in the atmosphere phenomena that interact and affect the environment and life on Earth.
39
What is the Coriolis effect?
The coriolis effect is a rule in which because of Earth's rotation, it deflects winds each way.
40
How does the Coriolis effect deflect winds in each hemisphere?
In northern hemisphere, winds are directed right, and in the southern hemisphere, winds are directed left.
41
identify the four symbols of the four fronts.
cold front: blue line with spikes. stationary: red and blue alt. line with half moons and spikes. warm front: red line with half moons . Occluded: purple line with alt. half moons and spikes.
42
What is a front?
the barrier between two air masses
43
What weather is associated with high/low pressure systems?
High pressure= fair weather and clear skies Low pressure= poor weather and overcast.
44
How do winds move around H/L pressure systems in the Northern Hemisphere?
NORTHERN H. H: clockwise L: counter clockwise
45
How do winds move around H/L pressure systems in the southern hemisphere?
SOUTHERN H. H: counter clockwise L: clockwise
46
What is a barometer?
A scientific instrument that measures air pressure using the rising and falling of mercury.
47
What are isobars and what does their position mean?
Curved lines shown on a weather map in which if they are closer together, the stronger the wind is. The further they are from each other, the weaker the wind is.
48
What is a cold wave?
An extended period of below average temperatures caused by large, high pressure systems of continental polar/arctic air masses.
49
What is a drought?
A lengthy period of time without precipitation. Areas get very dry.
50
What is the wind-chill index?
Measures the wind-chill factor by estimating the heat loss from human skin caused by a combination of wind and cold air.
51
What is the heat index?
It assesses the effect of the body's increasing difficulty in regulating its internal temperature as relative humidity rises. It estimates how warm the air feels to the human body based on the actual air temperature and relative humidity.
52
What is a heat wave?
An extended period of above average temperatures caused by a large, high pressure systems that warm by compression and block cooler air masses.
53
What is the cause of most floods?
The cause of most floods occur from heavy rain events or snow melts.
54
What are isotherms?
Line on a weather map connecting areas of equal temperature.
55
What is the doppler effect?
Change in wave frequency that occurs due to the relative motion of the wave as it moves toward or away from an observer.
56
What is a radiosonde?
Balloon borne weather instrument whose sensors measure air pressure, wind speed, humidity, temperature, and wind direction of the upper atmosphere.
57
What is a hygrometer?
A scientific instrument used to measure humidity.
58
What is an anemometer?
A scientific instrument used to measure wind speed and sometimes wind direction.
59
Describe the jet streams.
A narrow band of fast wind. It's speed varies with the temperature differences between the air masses the wind zone boundaries. It is a strong westerly wind that is made from the coriolis effect and temperature gradient.
60
What are the horse latitudes?
Near latitudes 30*N and 30*S, the sinking air associated with the trade winds creates an area of high pressure. This results in a belt of weak surface winds which is horse latitudes.
61
Describe the trade winds.
Between Latitudes 30* N and 30* S; two circulation belts of wind.
62
Describe the prevailing westerlies.
Wind systems on Earth located between latitudes 30* N and 60* , and 30* south and 60* south. In the midlatitudes, surface winds move in a westerly direction toward each pole.
63
Describe the polar easterlies.
Wind zones between 60* N latitude and the North pole, and 60* S latitude and the South Pole. They begin as dense polar air that sinks. As Earth spins, this cold, descending air is deflected in an eastern direction away from each pole.
64
How are winds named?
Their location and direction.
65
If the Earth did not rotate, how would the global winds move?
Horizontally toward the poles.
66
Why is it warmer at the equator than at the poles?
The sun's radiation is more directed towards the equator, corresponding with Earth's rotation, rather than the poles at each top and bottom.
67
Describe what happens at a cold front.
A cold air mass slides under a warm air mass and kicks it out with an uppercut. The front brings colder weather with potentially strong thunderstorms and gusty winds.
68
Describe what happens at a warm front.
A warm air mass slide over a cold air mass and kicks it out with a sleeper hold. This front brings warmer weather and a rise in humidity with drizzles and possible fog.
69
Describe what happens at a stationary front.
A cold air mass and a warm air mass push against each other with the same for and therefore it stays stationary (meaning not moving). This front brings cloudiness and light precipitation.
70
Describe what happens at an occluded front.
One big cold air mass and one small cold air mass vs. one warm air mass. (also known as a three way brawl) This front brings rain and snow, temperature fluctuations, and maybe thunderstorms and severe weather depending on the area.
71
Describe the disposition stage of a thunderstorm.
Down drafts become stronger than the updrafts which cuts off the supply of warm moist air leading to a decrease in precipitation and the storm's eventual weakening and disappearance.
72
Describe the mature stage of a thunderstorm.
The presence of both strong updrafts and downdrafts with some precipitation which leads to the most intense and dangerous conditions.
73
Explain how a sea-breeze thunderstorm forms.
When a sea breeze, a wind blowing from the sea to the land, collides with the warmer, less dense air from over land causing it to rise and cool, leading to cloud and thunderstorm formation.
74
Why do hurricanes weaken over land?
They lose their source of energy and moisture from the sea.
75
How do hurricanes form?
They start as the grouping of tropical storms and rotates due to the coriolis effect. | (You dont rly need to know this)
76
What is a tornado?
A violently rotating column of air that extends from a storm cloud that touches the ground, often causing widespread damage.
77
What is the Saffir-Simpson scale and what is it used for?
A 1-5 scale based on the hurricane wind speed used to estimate potential property damage and categorize the intensity of hurricanes.
78
What is the eye of the hurricane?
The center in which it is quiet and barely stormy.
79
What is the eye wall of the hurricane?
A ring of intense thunderstorms and cumulonimbus clouds and heaviest rain and strongest winds; that surrounds the calm, near the eye of the storm.
80
Where do hurricanes form?
West coast of Africa.
81
What is a tropical cyclone?
A rapidly rotating, intense storm system that forms over warm tropical or subtropical waters. It is characterized by strong winds, heavy rainfall, and a low pressure center.
82
Where do most tornadoes occur?
Southeastern U.S. Aka tornado valley (Texas, Oklahoma Nebraska, Kansas)
83
When do most tornadoes occur?
April, May and June.
84
What is the Enhanced Fujita Tornado Damage Scale?
A scale used to classify tornado intensity based on the damage they cause. Ranked from 0 as weakest to 5 strongest. Each level coordinates specific wind speeds.
85
How does hail form?
Hail forms within thunderstorms when strong updrafts lift water droplets into the upper atmosphere, where they freeze and grow into hailstones, eventually falling when the updraft can no longer support them.
86
What is thunder?
The loud booming sound that follows a lightning strike caused by the rapid heating of air along the lightning channel, which creates a shockwave that we hear as thunder.
87
What is lightning?
A natural discharge of electricity of very short duration and high voltage that occurs between a cloud and the ground.It could also occur inside a cloud. This results in a flash and thunder.
88
Describe the cumulus stage of a thunder storm.
A strong, continuous updraft of warm, moist air that rises and forms a towering cumulus cloud. It has little to no precipitation at this stage.
89
What three components must be present in the formation of a thunderstorm?
Moisture, unstable air, and a lifting mechanism.
90
Identify and explain the examples of precipitation.
Snow- flakes of soft ice Rain- drops of water Sleet- ice pellets. Hail- Balls of ice Freezing Rain- originally rain that falls from clouds and freezes before it hits the ground.
91
What happens on the windward side of the mountain?
Moist air is forced to rise, cools, condenses, leading to increased precipitation and therefore lush vegetation.
92
What is heat?
The transfer of energy from a hot object to cool object due to a difference in temperature.
93
What is El Nino La Nina?
El Niño refers to the above-average sea-surface temperatures that periodically develop across the east-central equatorial Pacific. It represents the warm phase of the ENSO cycle. La Niña refers to the periodic cooling of sea-surface temperatures across the east-central equatorial Pacific.

Honors Science (4 decks)

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