Atmosphere Layers and Properties
Clouds
Causes of Weather
Weather Systems and Weather Prediction
Climate and Climate Change
100
What are the 2 most common gases in the Earth's atmosphere?
nitrogen and oxygen
100
Name the three major times of clouds
cirrus, cumulus, stratus
100
A boundary in which two different air masses meet and do not mix, causing a change in the weather is called
Front
100
when are you most likely to observe severe weather, such as thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hurricanes?
summer
100
How are human negatively affecting the climate
aerosols, transportation, factories, loss of trees, etc
200
What is the hottest layer of the atmosphere?
thermosphere
200
What is a condensation nuclei? Give two examples.
a particle around which water droplets can condense to form clouds-smoke, dust, ice, salt
200
Why do we have different weather in different seasons of the year?
the Earth is tilted on it's axis and revolves around the sun, causing certain parts of the Earth to receive more or less sunlight at different times of the year
200
What type of front is being shown?
occluded
200
Describe a Tropical climate
warm water year round
300
What happens to air temperature in the troposphere as you go up in altitude?
it decreases (gets colder)
300
Cumulonimbus clouds indicates ____ is coming
rain/storm
300
What type of air mass forms over cold water?
maritime polar
300
What causes a hurricane to decrease in intensity and eventually dissipate?
hurricane hits land, moves over cooler water, movement
300
What are 3 consequences of climate change?
more extreme weather patterns, rising sea levels and flooding, droughts that can affect food sources, disappearance of habitats and extinction of species
400
In which layer of the atmosphere does weather occur
stratosphere
400
What is the water cycle process that involved water vapor being cooled within clouds?
Condensation
400
What does the Earth's shape (sphere) have to do with uneven heating of the Earth resulting in different weather?
since the Earth is a sphere, sunlight does not hit all parts of the Earth at the same angle, some parts it is more direct causing it to be warmer and some parts are less direct causing it to be colder
400
What type of weather can a cold front bring?
heavy precipitation and thunderstorms
400
Is the following a true statement "My town just had the largest snowfall on record in the past 100 years, so obviously global warming is a joke."
This person is confusing weather with climate-just because there is a spike in cold weather or snow for a few days does not mean that the annual temperatures around the globe are not rising.
500
Order the layers of the atmosphere, beginning with the closest to Earth.
troposphere → stratosphere → mesosphere → thermosphere → exosphere
500
What type of air mass forms in the Gulf of Mexico?
maritime tropical
500
List the 4 main types of air masses (can use abbreviations).
cP, cT, mP, mT,
500
What is another name for a hurricane?
typhoon, cyclone
500
What is the greenhouse effect? How do humans contribute to the greenhouse effect?
greenhouse gases trap radiation from the sun in the atmosphere causing the Earth to warm, the burning of fossil fuels by humans releases carbon dioxide which is a greenhouse gas