Water Cycle
What is the primary driver of the water cycle?
The Sun
What layer of the atmosphere do we live in?
Troposphere
What is an air mass?
A large body of air
What type of weather does a cold front bring?
Rainy, stormy weather
What is a general definition for Earth's atmosphere?
Gases that protect us from the elements of outer space.
What is the process in which clouds form?
Condensation
Which layer of the atmosphere is the hottest?
What is the boundary called when two air masses meet?
Weather Front
How do you know what direction a front is moving?
The direction the shapes are pointing.
What are the 3 most abundant gases in the atmosphere?
Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon
What are the 4 main processes of the water cycle?
Evaporation, Condensation, Precipitation, Accumulation
Does air pressure increase or decrease with altitude?
Decrease
What two characteristics are used to identify an air mass?
Source region and temperature
Explain a stationary front as well as the weather that develops.
A frontal boundary when two air masses meet but neither has enough force to move the other. Weather may include wind or rain for several days.
What is the difference between evaporation and precipitation?
Evaporation is water changing into a gas and rising into the atmosphere while precipitation is water in a liquid state falling to Earth's surface.
List the layers of the atmosphere in order from closest to the surface to the farthest.
Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere.
Which type of air mass is cold and forms over water?
maritime polar
What type of weather does a warm front bring?
Light rain, some clouds, warm weather
List three ways that gases are recycled around the atmosphere.
Respiration, Photosynthesis, Decomposition
What role does temperature play in the water cycle?
Water cooling or losing heat energy causes condensation and water gaining heat energy or heating up causes evaporation.
What is the greenhouse affect and what are some gases responsible for it?
Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. Gases may include Ozone or Carbon Dioxide
Which type of air mass is associated with warm, dry atmospheric conditions?
cT, continental tropical
What is an occluded front and what type of weather can occur?
When a warm air mass gets trapped between two cold air masses. Weather can include storms, gusty winds and heavy rain.
Why don't we feel the effects of air pressure on our bodies?
the air inside our bodies is pushing outward with the same force, balancing the pressure from the air outside.