what is weather? |
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the condition of the earth's atmosphere |
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what is climate? |
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a steady condition that prevails day in and day out in a particular region of the earth |
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where does thermal energy come from? |
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the sun |
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what does insolation mean? |
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radiation that hits the earth |
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how do clouds affect insolation? |
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they decrease it. because the insolation "bounces" off the clouds therefore not much insolation gets through because of the clouds. |
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how does water and land affect insolation? |
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they absorb it |
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name 2 factors involving the earth and sun that affect thermal energy |
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distance from the sun and the axial tilt |
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how do clouds form? two processes from earlier modules |
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cloud condensation nuclei and adiabatic cooling |
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how does water vapor get from the ground into a cloud? (hydrosphere module) |
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evaporation and transportation |
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what does a cumulus cloud look like, how are they formed? |
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big and fluffy. cold front. and as air rises it fans out in all directions expanding the volume |
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what alto mean? |
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high |
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what does nimbus/nimbo mean? |
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dark |
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what does a cirrus cloud look like and how are they formed and where do you usually find them? |
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very thin. since it is cold in the troposphere they are made ice and all the wind spreads them out to be very thin. top of the troposphere. |
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what does a stratus cloud look like and how are they formed? |
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they are layered. when a mass of warm air is lifted slowly upward |
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what does a lenticular cloud look like and how are they formed? |
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an oval. when air encounters low pressure regions |
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what shape of orbit does the earth have around the sun? |
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ellipse |
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what is an aphelion? |
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the point at which the earth is farthest from the sun |
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what is a perihelion? |
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the point at which the earth is closest to the sun. |
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which gets more solar energy? |
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perihelion |
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which corresponds to our summer? |
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aphelion |
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what is a solstice? |
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the longest and shortest days of the earth |
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what is an equinox? |
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when day and night are both 12 hours long |
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what is latitude, longitude? equator? prime meridian? |
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imaginary lines on the earth that go north, south, east and west. an imaginary line around the earth in between the poles. an imaginary line used as a reference in longitude |
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what causes a region of low pressure? high pressure? |
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when hot air rises. when cold air sinks. |
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which rotates faster equator or poles? |
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equator |
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describe the coriolis effect and how it affects thengs traveling north in the northern hemisphere and south in the northern hemisphere |
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coriolis= the difference in speed between equator and poles. it curves east. it curves west. |
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where are the easterlies? westerlies?trade winds located? |
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poles(60-90 degrees), in between easterlies and trade winds(30-60), 0-30 degrees |
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when does a land breeze happen and why? |
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at night, land cools faster than water , temp difference creates breeze opposite of what happens during day |
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when does a sea breeze happen and why? |
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during day, land heats faster than water temp difference cause breeze that blows from water to land. |
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what is a weather front? |
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a boundary between two air masses |
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name the three types of air masses |
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arctic, polar, and tropical |
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what does maritime and continental mean in reference to air masses? |
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maritime= when air mass form over seas continental= when air masses form over land |
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name the four types of weather fronts. |
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cold,warm,stationary,occluded |
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which weather front produces the most violent weather? |
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cold |
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which moves faster a cold or warm front? |
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cold |
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what is the reason we have seasons? |
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the axial tilt |
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