The Atmosphere
This is the layer of air closest to the ground. It is where all weather, like rain and snow, happens.
What is the troposphere?
This is when the sun heats up water and turns it into a gas (vapor).
What is evaporation?
This is the very calm and quiet center of a hurricane.
What is the eye?
This is the tool used to measure air pressure.
What is a barometer?
This describes the weather in a place over a long period of time (many years).
What is climate?
This gas is found in the stratosphere. It protects us from the sun’s dangerous rays.
What is ozone?
This is when water falls from the sky as rain, snow, or hail.
What is precipitation?
This type of front happens when cold air moves quickly under warm air, often causing big thunderstorms.
What is a cold front?
Wind always moves from an area of high pressure to an area of ____ pressure.
What is low?
This is an imaginary line around the middle of the Earth where the climate is very hot.
What is the equator?
This happens when warm air sits on top of cold air, trapping smog and pollution near the ground.
What is a temperature inversion?
These clouds are fluffy, white, and look like cotton balls.
What are cumulus clouds?
This is a giant spark of electricity in the sky.
What is lightning?
This "effect" explains why winds curve instead of moving in a straight line because the Earth is spinning.
What is the Coriolis effect?
Earth has seasons because it is _______ on its axis.
What is tilted?
These are the two most common gases in our air.
What are nitrogen and oxygen?
These clouds are high in the sky and look thin or "wispy," like feathers.
What are cirrus clouds?
This is the loud sound caused by the air expanding after a lightning strike.
What is thunder?
This is the "weight" of the air pressing down on us.
What is air pressure (or barometric pressure)?
This "effect" helps keep Earth warm by trapping heat in the atmosphere.
What is the greenhouse effect?
This is the coldest layer of the atmosphere.
What is the mesosphere?
When you see the word "nimbus" in a cloud's name, it means the cloud will produce this.
What is rain (or precipitation)?
These are giant, spinning storms that form over warm ocean water.
What are hurricanes?
This type of barometer is easy to carry because it does not contain liquid.
What is an aneroid barometer?
When these erupt, they can release gases that reflect sunlight and make the Earth cooler.
What are volcanoes?