Water Cycle
Clouds
Air Masses
Storms
Weather
100
The water cycle is..
What is the movement of water through Earth's systems powered by the suns energy
100
When do clouds form, in what process are clouds formed, and what two conditions are required for this process?
What is clouds form when water vapor in the air condenses to form liquid water or ice crystals. Clouds are formed in the process of condensation. The two conditions required for condensation is the cooling of the air and the presence of particles in the air.
100
What is an air mass, what are the major types of air masses, and what are their definitions?
What is a huge body of air in the lower atmosphere that has similar temperature, humidity, and air pressure at any given height. Maritime Tropical, Continental Tropical, Maritime Polar, and Continental Polar. Maritime means air masses that form over oceans (Wet.) Tropical means warm air masses that form in the tropics and have low air pressure (Warm.) Continental means air masses that form over land (Dry.) Polar means cold air masses that form N of 50 degrees north latitude and S of 50 degrees south latitude, and have high air pressure (Cool.)
100
What is a storm?
What is a violent disturbance in the atmosphere.
100
What are meteorologists?
What is scientists who study and try to predict the weather.
200
How many main stages in the water cycle, and what are they (in order?)
What is 3, evaporation, condensation and precipitation
200
Describe cloud formation.
What is 1.Warm, moist air rises from the surface. As the air rises, it cools. 2. At a certain height, air cools to the dew point and condensation begins. 3. Water vapor condenses on tiny particles in the air.
200
What is a jet stream? What is a front?
What is bands of high-speed winds about 10 kilometers above Earth's surface. A front is the boundary where air masses meet.
200
What is a thunderstorm, where does it form, and how does it form?
What is a small storm often accompanied by heavy precipitation and frequent thunder and lightning. Forms in cumulonimbus clouds (thunderheads.) It forms when warm, humid air rises rapidly and eventually cools, forming dense air. Then there is rapid condensation and then precipitation.
200
What is the difference isobars and isotherms?
What is isobars join places with similar air pressure, and isotherms join places with the same temperature.
300
Describe the water cycle
What is molecules of liquid water escape into the air and become water vapor. Some of the water vapor in the air condenses and forms clouds. Rain and snow fall from the clouds toward the surface as precipitation.
300
1. What is a stratus cloud? 2. Name the different types of stratus clouds and the definitions of them.
What is 1. Clouds that form in flat layers, bring gloomy weather. 2. Altostratus- medium level, indicate precipitation. Nimbostratus- dull gray, thick stratus clouds that may produce drizzle, rain or snow.
300
Describe the four types of fronts, and weather with them.
What is cold fronts, warm fronts, occluded fronts, and stationary fronts. - Cold fronts- cold air sinks, warm air rises, air going opposite directions, cold air slides under light warm air and warm air is pushed upward along edge of cold air. Weather might include rain, snow, or thunderstorms. - Warm fronts- warm air moves over cold air, warm air humid means light rain or snow and warm air dry means scattered clouds form. Weather includes rain and precipitation. - Occluded fronts- warm air mass caught between two cooler air masses. Cool air(s) pushes warm air upward. Warm air is OCCLUDED from the ground and the temp. on the ground becomes cooler. Weather includes clouds, rain, and snow. - Stationary fronts- when cold and warm air masses meet but cannot move one another (For example, half of room cold, half of room hot, middle where they mix = stationary front.) Water vapor in warm air condenses where warm and cold air meet. If stationary front stalls, it brings clouds and precipitation. Weather includes rain, snow, fog, or clouds.
300
What is a hurricane and how does it form?
What is a tropical cyclone (tropical disturbance) with winds 119 km/h or higher. Formation: Begins over warm ocean water as low pressure area. Draws energy from warm, humid air at oceans surface. Air rises and forms clouds and more air is drawn into the system. Driven by Easterly Trade Winds, winds spiral towards center with lowest air pressure called the eye. Stops when there is no more moist air to draw in.
300
Describe the different types of precipitation.
What is - Rain- drops of water at least 0.5 millimeters in diameter. - Freezing rain- raindrops that fall as water and freeze when they touch a cold surface. - Snow- when water vapor in a cloud is directly converted into ice crystals. - Hail- round pellets of ice larger than 5 millimeters in diameter. - Sleet- When raindrops fall through a layer of air that is below 0 degrees C and freeze into solid particles of ice.
400
What is the difference between humidity and relative humidity?
What is humidity is a measure of the amount of water vapor in the air and relative humidity is the percent of water vapor in the air compared to the maximum amount of water vapor the air can hold at a particular temperature.
400
1. What are cirrus clouds? 2. Name the different types of cirrus clouds and the definitions of them.
What is 1. Wispy, feathery clouds at high altitude, indicate fair weather. 2. Cirrocumulus- clouds that look like cotton balls and often indicate a storm on its way.
400
What symbol on the map represents cyclone? Anticyclone?
What is L (low pressure) for cyclone and H (high pressure) for anticyclone
400
What is a tornado, where and how do they form, and how long do they normally last? What are they called when they form over a lake or ocean?
What is a rapidly spinning column of air that touches Earth's surface. Forms when cold air from Canada mixes with hot air from Gulf of Mexico and warm air rotates, and they form usually in thunderheads (cumulonimbus.) They are called waterspouts when they form over a lake or ocean.
400
What is the butterfly effect?
What is small change in weather can make big change in later weather
500
What happens after precipitation?
What is water runs off the surface back into lakes, streams, and oceans and the water cycle starts up again with evaporation.
500
1. What are cumulus clouds? 2. Name the different types of cumulus clouds and the definitions of them.
What is 1. Clouds that look like cotton low to the ground, usually indicate fair weather. 2. Cumulonimbus- towering clouds with flat tops that produce thunderstorms. Altocumulus- like altostratus: medium level, indicate precipitation.
500
What is a cyclone, and what weather does it bring? What is a anticyclone, and what weather does it bring?
What is - Cyclone- swirling center of low air pressure with weather including clouds, wind, and precipitation. - Anticyclone- high pressure centers of dry air generally with weather dry and clear.
500
Describe damage of storms and safety from storms.
What is 1. Winter storms can block roads, cause accidents and crop damage, and burst pipes. Safety from winter storms is to try and find shelter from wind. 2. Thunderstorms cause lightning strikes and floods/flash flooding. Safety from thunderstorms is to avoid: - places where lightning may strike - objects that can conduct electricity 3. Hurricane damage includes high waves, severe flooding, wind damage, ocean rise above sea level, and storm surge. Safety from hurricanes: EVACUATE 4. Tornado damage includes sucking objects into funnel, leveled houses, branches broken off trees, mobile homes overturned, trees uprooted, roofs and walls torn down, and houses carried away. The safest place during a tornado is in a storm shelter or a basement. If you are outdoors, lie flat in a ditch.
500
Describe the four types of weather technology and what type of data they collect.
What is - Automated Weather Stations- weather stations that gather data for air pressure, relative humidity, rain fall, and wind speed and direction. - Weather Balloons- Large balloons that carry instruments into the atmosphere that measure temperature, air pressure, and humidity. - Weather Satellites- Satellites that show images of Earth (clouds, storms, snow cover, etc.) and collect data on temperature, humidity, solar radiation, and wind speed and direction. - Computer Forecasts- computers that process weather data quickly to help forecaster make predictions, uses equations from weather models to make forecasts.
M
e
n
u