Atmosphere
What is the layer of the atmosphere we live in?
the troposphere
What cloud is a high altitude cloud?
What does polar and tropical mean with respect to air masses and fronts
Polar-cool air
Tropical- warm air
what are the stages of the water cycle
Precipitation
Evaporation
Condensation
Infiltration
Transpiration
what type of storm is the worst
hurricane
What are the 5 layers of the atmosphere in order
Troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere
Exosphere
What kinds of clouds are vertical development clouds
Cumulus & Cumulonimbus
Define altitude
The height of something from ground/sea level
Which stage of the water cycle involves water vapor cooling and forming clouds?
Condensation
Draw and label all the air mass symbols
*reference notes*
What does the chlorofluorocarbon molecule look like?
Describe a lenticular cloud or noctilucent cloud
Lenticular- Lens shaped clouds that form over mountains
Noctilucent- a high-altitude cloud that you can see glowing at dawn
Define Dew point
the temperature at which air is cooled to become saturated with water vapor and can no longer hold water in gas form
What is the role of the sun in the water cycle
Solar energy heats the water systems(oceans, rivers, lakes, etc.) causing them to vaporize an rise into the atmosphere.
How does the Coriolis effect affect airtravel/storms
Things in the north will deflect towards the right and things in the south will deflect towards the left
What are chlorofluorocarbons and do to the atmosphere
They are gas molecules made from aerosols, plastics, and refrigerants that cause damage the ozone layer
Warm air rises, cools, and condenses turns into water vapor and bonds with dust/ice crystals int he air to form condensation nuclei and then build into clouds
Define Adiabatic cooling
Rising air expands and cools
What is transpiration?
The process by which plants release water into the atmosphere through their leaves, stems, and flowers. It's a passive process that doesn't require energy from the plant
Name all of the air masses
Continental polar
Continental tropical
Continental Artic
Maritime polar
Maritime tropical
Name 2-3 characteristics about each layer of the atmosphere in order?
Troposphere- weather, people, planes
Stratosphere- ozone layer, radiosondes collect data
Mesosphere- meteors burn up, thin air/ low pressure, coldest layer
Thermosphere- no clear boundary, individual gas molecules, northern/southern lights, hottest layer
Exosphere- Satellites, enters the vacuum space
Explain how clouds fit into the atmosphere
Molecular density
the number of molecules present within a given volume/space
What is infiltration
Precipitation that soaks into the soil. Runoff is precipitation that does not soak into the soil but instead moves on the Earth's surface toward streams.
Describe all the fronts
Cold Front-Cold air mass moves under a warm air mass
Warm Front- Warm air moves over a cold air mass
Stationary- Two air masses meet and neither is strong enough to move the other
Occluded- A warm air mass is caught between two cold air masses