Vocab I
What is a large body of air that has a similar temperature and humidity throughout?
Air mass
What is the rise in global average temperature near Earth's surface?
Global warming
Ice caps absorb __________________ light from the sun than the ocean.
less
Answers will vary
What is a period of time characterized by specific weather patterns and by the length of day and night?
Season
What is the circulation of water through the hydrosphere from Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back?
The water cycle
What are the conditions of the atmosphere (temperature, humidity, wind speed, air pressure, and precipitation) in a particular place at a time?
Weather
The Earth is heated unevenly because of...
Earth's tilt
What is the most common greenhouse gas?
CO2 (carbon dioxide)
Burning fossil fuels (carbon sinks) releases what into the atmosphere?
Carbon dioxide
What is the boundary between two air masses?
Front
What is the measure of a location's position relative to the equator?
Latitude
What powers the water cycle?
the sun/heat from the sun
How is energy/heat from the sun trapped in Earth's atmosphere?
Greenhouse gases
What is the average weather over a span of 30 years?
Climate
What are molecules in the atmosphere that absorb thermal energy from the sun and warm Earth's surface and atmosphere?
Greenhouse gas
What is a mixture of gases, dust, water vapor, and other molecules above Earth's crust?
Atmosphere
Heat is transferred around the planet by what?
Ocean currents
A Continental air mass is represented on a map by what?
c
What is a significant change in the average weather in a location over 30 years or more?
Climate change
What is the Earth's ability to reflect the sun's light?
Albedo
What is heat transfer in fluids (liquids and gases) where warmer, less-dense fluid rises, allowing cooler, denser fluid to take its place?
Convection
If a warm front moved into a cold region, what would happen to the temperatures?
It would get warmer
A warm front followed by a cold front that often produces precipitation is called what?
An occluded front
What parts of the Earth experience the most water cycling? Why?
Answers will vary
(The sun powers the water cycle)