Atmosphere
Nitrogen
Which air mass would have warm moist air?
Maritime tropical.
What usually is created when warm and cold air meet?
Clouds
What is density?
Density refers to how closely packed/crowded the molecules in a material is.
Which layer of the Earth's atmosphere does weather happen in?
Troposphere
What is a weather front?
It is where at least two air masses meet.
Troposphere --> Stratosphere --> Mesosphere --> Thermosphere (Ionosphere + Exosphere)
Name all four types of air masses that we learned in class and describe their humidity and temperature.
mP - cold, wet
cP - cold, dry
mT - warm, wet
cT - warm, dry
Draw the symbols for all four types of weather fronts and name them correctly.
Cold front, warm front, stationary front, and occluded front.
What happens to the density of air as you travel up the atmosphere? Why does this trend happen?
The density of air decreases as you travel up because gravity weakens further away from Earth, thus the gases are held less tightly.
What causes wind to blow around Earth?
Wind is the movement of air that is caused by unequal heating around Earth. Air rises in places that are warm, leaving behind a "gap" of low pressure. Air in colder areas sink and create high pressure. Air from the high pressure areas blow into the "gaps" of the low pressure areas.
What happens when warm and cold air meet? Why?
Cold air sinks underneath the warm air because it is denser.
What is the Greenhouse Effect? Explain.
The Greenhouse Effect is caused by greenhouse gases in the air, mainly by O3 molecules in the mesosphere. They keep harmful UV rays out and keep in heat that would otherwise be lost.
Which air mass is Michigan most affected by and what kind of weather does that give Michigan?
Michigan is affected mostly by Canada's continental polar air, which gives Michigan dry cold winters. (Michigan's snow is mostly from the Great Lakes)
Click the link below to see the current weather map:
https://weather.com/maps/currentusweather
Identify the following:
- direction of wind
- at least 2 different weather fronts
- weather prediction for Michigan
Answers will vary.