APES Unit 2: Weather and Climate

Question 1

Weather

Answer 1

short term atmospheric conditions (hours or days)

Question 2

Warm front

Answer 2

warm air rises over cold dense air - moisture forms layers or clouds

Question 3

Cold front

Answer 3

cold air is denser - stays close to the ground - high surface winds and thunderstorms produced

Question 4

Climate

Answer 4

long term atmospheric conditions

Question 5

what is climate determined by?

Answer 5

uneven heating of the earth’s surface - location relative to the equator

Question 6

Insolation

Answer 6

the amount of solar radiation (energy from the sun’s rays) reaching an area

Question 7

Coriolis Effect

Answer 7

as the earth rotates heated air masses rising above the equator and moving north and south to cooler areas are deflected to the west or east

Question 8

Sea breeze

Answer 8

cool breeze off the water - wind will blow from high pressure over water, to low pressure over the land

Question 9

Land breeze

Answer 9

cool winds blow off shore - air over the ocean is now warmer than over land

Question 10

Hadley Cells

Answer 10

air rises near the equator and flows north or south and sinks again near a latitude of 30 degrees in both hemispheres

Question 11

Westerlies

Answer 11

winds coming from the west

Question 12

easterlies

Answer 12

winds coming from the east

Question 13

jet stream

Answer 13

occurs at boundaries of these winds, horizontal river of fast moving air high in the atmosphere

Question 14

trade winds

Answer 14

air movements towards the equator

Question 15

prevailing westerlies

Answer 15

between 30 and 60 degrees latitude - winds that move towards the poles - curve to the east

Question 16

polar easterlies

Answer 16

60 degrees latitude in both hemispheres, prevailing westerlies join with polar easterlies to reduce upward motion

Question 17

Doldrums

Answer 17

trade winds coming from the south and north meet at the equator

Question 18

Gyers

Answer 18

long ocean circular patterns due to global wind

Question 19

upwelling zones

Answer 19

areas of ocean winds blow warm surface water away from a land mass, drawing up colder, deeper water to replace it

Question 20

cold ocean currents

Answer 20

large masses of cold water that move towards the equator, from high altitude to low altitude.

Question 21

warm ocean currents

Answer 21

warm water moves further from the equator at higher temperatures

Question 22

Thermohaline Circulation

Answer 22

connects all of the world’s oceans, mixing salt, nutrients, and temperature throughout

Question 23

El Nino

Answer 23

occurs due to changes in the normal patterns of trade wind circulation

Question 24

core

Answer 24

dense mass of solid nickel, iron, and radioactive elements that release massive amount of heat

Question 25

mantle

Answer 25

liquid layer of magma surrounding core, kept liquefied by intense heat from core

Question 26

asthenosphere

Answer 26

solid, flexible outer layer of rock floating on top of a mantle

Question 27

lithosphere

Answer 27

thin, brittle layer of rock floating on top of mantle

Question 28

crust

Answer 28

very outer layer of the lithosphere, earth's surface

Question 29

divergent boundary

Answer 29

new crust is generated as the plates pull away from each other

Question 30

ocean-ocean divergent

Answer 30

as plates made of oceanic crust pull apart, a crack in the ocean floor appears, then magma oozes up from the mantle to fill in the space between the plates Ex: mid-atlantic ridge

Question 31

continental-continental divergent

Answer 31

when 2 continental plates diverge, a valley like rift opens, as crust widens and things, valleys from in and around the area, as do volcanoes, which May become increasingly active

Question 32

ocean-continental convergent boundary

Answer 32

the thinner and more dense oceanic plate is overridden by the thicker and less dense continental plate

Question 33

subduction zone

Answer 33

oceanic plate sinks at a steep angle, and a volcanic arc grows above the subducting plate

Question 34

oceanic-oceanic convergent boundary

Answer 34

the older plate subducts under the other plate, that is heated as it is forced deeper into the mantle and begins to melt

Question 35

continental-continental convergent boundary

Answer 35

2 thick continental plates collide-no subduction

Question 36

continental-continental convergent boundaries can create what?

Answer 36

mountain ranges and earthquakes

Question 37

what do continental-continental divergent boundaries make?

Answer 37

rift valleys

Question 38

what do oceanic-oceanic divergent boundaries make?

Answer 38

mid-ocean ridges

Question 39

what do oceanic-continental convergent boundaries create?

Answer 39

volcanoes

Question 40

what do oceanic-oceanic convergent boundaries create?

Answer 40

volcanoes

Question 41

transform boundaries

Answer 41

two plates slide past one another

Question 42

what does transform boundaries create?

Answer 42

earthquakes

Question 43

tsunamis

Answer 43

series of waves with extremely long wavelengths that occurs when there is a sudden disturbance to the ocean, earthquakes, landslide, volcanic activity, found in Peru

Question 44

Tropical rainforest

Answer 44

closest to the equator, heavy rainfall, low pressure, highest biodiversity, soils are acidic and nutrient poor

Question 45

Tundra

Answer 45

found around arctic circle in northern hemisphere, coldest and driest, covers 1/5 of land on earth, permafrost, found in Canada.

Question 46

Grassland

Answer 46

found on every continent expect Antarctica, enough rainfall to support grass and plants, fertile soil, occurs in interiors of continents, Witchita, US

Question 47

Taiga

Answer 47

made up of coniferous forests and is the largest of all the land biomes, located in the northern parts of the world throughout Canada, Asia, and parts of Europe, winters are very cold, soil is poor, Russia

Question 48

Desert

Answer 48

extremely hot and dry, found between 15 to 43 degrees N and S, interior of continents, Saudi Arabia

Question 49

Temperate Deciduous Forest

Answer 49

climate has 4 seasons, occurs in mid-latitude, denser woods than coniferous trees, Greesnboro, US

Question 50

Order of biomes closest to the equator

Answer 50

1. Tropical Rainforest 2. Desert 3. Grassland 4. Temperate Deciduous Forest 5. Taiga 6. Tundra