Characteristics of Air
What characteristic of air describes how close together the molecules are?
Density
What makes lightning happen?
Negative charges in the bottom of a cloud are attracted to and connect with positive charges in the top of a cloud or in the ground
What causes wind?
Air moves from high pressure areas into low pressure areas
What are the 5 main parts of the water cycle?
Evaporation (liquid turns to water vapor), Condensation (water vapor cools to liquid), Precipitation (liquid or solid water falls from sky), Run-off (extra water returns to lakes, rivers, ocean, etc), & Transpiration (water vapor escapes plant leaves) (plus Infiltration)
If you put a balloon on top of an empty water bottle and then heat up the water bottle, what will happen and WHY?
The balloon will inflate because the air inside of the empty water bottle will heat up, spread out, and rise into the balloon.
How might air feel (temperature or humidity) in a high pressure system?
What causes thunder?
When energy travels between positive and negative charges (lightning), the energy makes air molecules move suddenly, creating a sound wave
If a warm air mass moves into an area where there is a cold air mass, what kind of weather would you expect?
steady rain and then warmer temperatures
What kind of precipitation would form if the temperature in a cloud is below freezing, and the temperature in the atmosphere and on the ground is also below freezing?
Snow
There are two containers of salt water in front of you. The only difference you can see is that one is dyed orange and the other is blue. You decide to pull them up into a straw one at a time. If you pull the blue water up first followed by orange and then the colors mix, which one has the most salt in it?
blue has more salt (because it sinks to the bottom while orange moves to the top, causing the colors to mix)
Besides temperature, what characteristic of air might determine how easily a cloud can form?
Humidity (more water vapor in the air means clouds will form more easily)
Why do cold fronts cause more severe weather than warm fronts?
In a cold front, the cold (dense) air pushes the warm (lighter) air out of the way suddenly. The warm air cools and condenses quickly, resulting in thunderstorms or snowstorms.
If a cold air mass moves into an area where there is a warmer air mass, what kind of weather would you expect?
potentially severe snowstorms or thunderstorms followed by colder temperatures
What kind of precipitation would you see if the temperature in a cloud and on the ground is below freezing, but the temperature in the atmosphere is warmer (above freezing)?
sleet or freezing rain (snow would melt and then re-freeze)
When reading a weather map, what kind of weather would you expect to see if you saw a large red L?
Stormy weather (rain, snow, or thunderstorms)
If air heats up, it will become less dense and it will rise, leaving behind an area of ________ pressure near the ground.
Low
What causes air to begin spiraling when tornadoes form?
Wind moving in two different directions makes air start to spiral horrizontally
Why do areas near beaches or lakes nearly always have wind?
The land heats up faster than the water, so air above the land heats up and rises faster than the air above the water. When the air above the land rises it leaves an area of low pressure and air from above the water moves in to fill the space.
What would a "nimbostratus" cloud look like?
"Nimbostratus" would be dark clouds ("nimbo") that form in layers ("stratus") across the entire sky.
If you blow air between two empty soda cans, what will happen to them and WHY?
The cans will move together because the moving air in between the cans will have lower air pressure than the air everywhere else. Therefore, the air on the outside of the cans will push them together.
Besides being warm, what else can make air more likely to rise?
warm, HUMID air rises fastest (water vapor is lighter than other gas molecules in our atmosphere, so very humid air rises faster than dry air)
What gives thunderstorm clouds so much energy?
Warm, humid air - When water vapor cools and condenses, it releases thermal energy into the air around it. The air rises, leaving a low pressure area where more air comes in and water vapor cools and condenses and the process repeats. The more moisture in the air, the more condensation can happen, releasing more energy.
Which is associated with cold fronts and warm fronts - a high pressure system or a low pressure system? WHY?
Low Pressure System (air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, so the front will be moving away from a high pressure system and toward a low pressure system.)
Why are cumulus clouds flat on the bottom?
Water vapor has to cool to a certain temperature for condensation to happen. The cloud starts forming at the height where the atmosphere cools enough, creating a flat cloud bottom.
Predict what kinds of weather the US is experiencing today based on the projected current surface map.
Check your work by changing the map to the "extended forecast map" on the dropdown menu at the top left.