Atmosphere & Layers
Which atmospheric layer is closest to Earth and is where almost all weather occurs?
Troposphere
What name is given to the calm region near the equator characterized by light winds and rising warm air?
The doldrums
On a weather map, what symbol usually shows the position of a cold front? (short)
A cold front is usually shown with a blue line with triangles (pointing in the direction of movement) on weather maps.
What do we call a large rotating storm with strong winds that forms over warm ocean water?
A hurricane
How are air pressure and altitude related?
As altitude increases, air pressure decreases.
Which layer contains the ozone layer that protects Earth from much of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation?
Stratosphere
Which winds generally blow from east to west near the equator and help move tropical air and storms?
Trade winds
If a map shows an area of high pressure moving in, what general weather should people expect?
Clearer, calmer, drier weather (high pressure brings sinking air and fair conditions)
Thunderstorms over ocean areas often begin because of what process involving warm air? (short)
Rising warm air creating low pressure cells (warm, moist air rises, creating low pressure and convection)
What kind of weather are people living at the equator most likely to experience regularly?
People at the equator are most likely to experience warmer weather and more rain due to increased evaporation and rising warm, moist air (tropical climate with frequent convection and rainfall)
Which atmospheric layer is where meteors typically burn up as they enter Earth’s atmosphere?
Mesosphere
What are westerlies and where on Earth do they usually blow (general hemisphere)?
Westerlies
A 24-hour surface map shows a cold front approaching a city. What two kinds of weather changes might the city observe as the front passes? (two effects)
As a cold front passes a location you might see: (1) temperature drop, and (2) increased winds and often showers or storms followed by clearer skies.
Match direction: Hurricanes that form off the west coast of Africa (in the Atlantic) often move toward which region (in general)?
They commonly move westward from near Africa toward the Caribbean and North America (trade-wind steering in the Atlantic) — in general, many form off West Africa and travel west/northwest.
Explain why winds are usually stronger at the boundary between hot and cold air masses
Winds are stronger at boundaries between hot and cold air masses because the temperature difference leads to larger pressure differences; air moves from high to low pressure and a steeper pressure gradient produces faster winds. At a sharp boundary (front), the contrast produces turbulence and strong winds
Name two characteristics that make the thermosphere different from the troposphere (student gives two).
Thermosphere is much warmer (temperature increases with altitude there) and it is very thin; the troposphere is where weather occurs and temperature generally decreases with altitude.
How does unequal heating of Earth (equator vs. poles) help create large global wind patterns? (2–3 sentence answer)
Unequal heating (the equator receives more solar energy than the poles) causes warm air to rise at the equator and cooler air to sink at higher latitudes. These rising and sinking motions set up large circulation cells
How can meteorological computer models (like the hurricane model image) help scientists with storms? Give two benefits (based on the file content).
they allow scientists to view and track changes in the atmosphere during the storm and to test how the storm may evolve given current observations; models help forecasters estimate likely storm behavior and impacts. (Note: Models do not predict exact paths with certainty; they show probable outcomes.)
explain (2–3 sentences) why hurricanes usually weaken when they move over cool ocean water or over land.
: Hurricanes weaken over cool water because they lose the warm ocean heat and moisture they need for energy and convection; over land, they also lose the ocean heat source and experience friction and disruption of their circulation, so winds and organization fall apart.
Describe how the movement of air from high pressure to low pressure creates wind — include why pressure differences develop (2–3 sentences).
Air moves from high pressure toward low pressure; the greater the pressure difference (pressure gradient), the faster the wind. Pressure differences develop because of uneven heating of Earth’s surface (solar heating varies with latitude, time of day, land/ocean differences) and the atmosphere’s response to that heating.
Explain why the exosphere is considered the “farthest” atmospheric layer and describe one reason satellites use regions above the atmosphere (short answer).
The exosphere is the outermost layer, where the atmosphere thins into space — molecules are very sparse and can escape into space; satellites use regions above the dense atmosphere (near or above the thermosphere/exosphere) because there is less air resistance and a more stable orbital environment.
Describe how ocean surface temperatures can affect the strength of a storm that passes over the water (include why cold water weakens storms and warm water strengthens them).
Warm ocean water provides heat and moisture that fuel and strengthen storms by increasing evaporation and latent heat release in rising air; cold ocean water cannot supply as much heat/evaporation, so storms have difficulty intensifying and usually weaken.
If Alex’s city is just ahead of a cold front shown moving east, predict the weather change for Alex’s city in the next 12 hours and explain why using air mass movement.
: If Alex’s city is ahead of an approaching cold front, expect increasing clouds and chances of precipitation (showers or thunderstorms), gusty winds, then a drop in temperature and clearing after the front passes. This occurs because the cold front forces warm air upward, producing clouds and precipitation, then cooler, drier air follows
Name one limitation of hurricane models — why they cannot be perfectly exact (short).
they depend on input data quality and resolution, have uncertainties in the physics or initial conditions, and therefore cannot predict exact storm tracks or intensities perfectly.
explain how unequal heating and Earth's rotation contribute to both global wind belts and patterns like trade winds and westerlies
Unequal heating causes large-scale rising of warm air at low latitudes and sinking at higher latitudes, forming circulation cells (Hadley, Ferrel, Polar). Earth’s rotation (Coriolis effect) bends moving air to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, turning the straight north–south flows into east–west wind belts (trade winds, westerlies). Together, heating-driven circulation and the Coriolis effect create the major global wind patterns.