CH 8

Question 1

Hadley cell

Answer 1

Near the equator, low atmospheric pressure.
Air in these cells rises near the equator because of strong solar heating there and falls because of cooling at about 30 degrees latitude.

Question 2

Ferrel cell

Answer 2

Mid latitudes, high atmospheric pressure.

Question 3

Polar cell

Answer 3

Near poles, high atmospheric pressure.

Question 4

Meteorological Equator (ITCZ)

Answer 4

Near the equator where the trade winds of the northern and Southern Hemisphere collide.

• changes with seasons.
• ITCZ is farthest north in July and farthest sound in January.

Question 5

Doldrums

Answer 5

Calm equatorial areas where two Hadley cells converge also known as the ITCZ( inter tropical convergence zone)

Question 6

Horse latitudes

Answer 6

Between Hadley and ferrel cells, high atmospheric pressure and little surface winds.

Question 7

Trade winds & Westerlies

Answer 7

Trade winds: surface winds of Hadley cells, also known as easterlies.
Westerlies: Surface winds of ferrel cells

Question 8

Air masses & Fronts

Answer 8

A large mass of air with nearly uniform temperature, humidity, and density throughout.

Fronts:the boundary between two air masses of different density. The density difference can be caused by differences in temp. Or humidity.

Question 9

In what layer does most weather occur on Earth?

Answer 9

Troposphere

Question 10

Know the top 2 components in our atmosphere.

Answer 10

Nitrogen & oxygen

Question 11

Know how water vapor affects the density of dry air.

Answer 11

Temperature and water content

Question 12

What happens to an air parcel as it is forced to rise or sink?

Answer 12

In order for clouds to form, air parcels must rise high enough for their temperatures to cool down to the dew point temperature, when saturation (100% relative humidity) occurs. Rising air takes place when it is warmer than the surrounding environment, or when forced to rise by mountains or a front.

Question 13

What causes summers and winters?

Answer 13

The earths tilt of 23.5 degrees

Question 14

Know the fundamentals behind a sea and land breeze.

Answer 14

Sea breeze: onshore movement of air as as inland air heats and rises.

Land breeze: movement of air offshore as marine air heats and rises.

Question 15

What is and what creates a monsoon?

Answer 15

A pattern of wind circulation that changes with the season. Also, the rainy season in areas with monsoon wind patterns.

Question 16

What is a “rain shadow”?

Answer 16

A rain shadow is a dry area on the leeward side of a mountainous area. The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems and cast a “shadow” of dryness behind them.

Question 17

What is meant by windward and leeward?

Answer 17

The leeward side is the drier side or the side where the trade winds pass after they hit a mountain. The windward side is the wetter side.

Question 18

How do winds generally move at different latitudes?

Answer 18

6

Question 19

Where(what latitudes) on the planet would you find areas of very little surface wind motion but a lot of vertical air motion?

Answer 19

7

Question 20

At what latitudes would you find deserts, why?

Answer 20

30 degrees latitude south and north where the air descends

Question 21

At what latitudes would you find rainy conditions, why?

Answer 21

This tropical rain belt runs along the equator and spreads out to about the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 north latitude) and Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 south latitude).

Question 22

What is the coriolis effect caused by?

Answer 22

The apparent deflection of a moving object from its initial course when its speed and direction are measured in reference to the surface of the rotating earth.

Question 23

How are the winds steered in the northern and Southern Hemispheres?

Answer 23

2

Question 24

In what direction do winds rotate around a low and high pressure in the northern and Southern Hemispheres?

Answer 24

3

Question 25

Know how tropical storms rotate and what direction they typically travel.

Answer 25

In the Southern Hemisphere, winds traveling toward the equator will move eastward, and winds traveling toward the South Pole will curve west. When these winds collide, they will swirl clockwise in the south, and counterclockwise in the north.

Question 26

How do winds move in the center of the storm?

Answer 26

Because of Earth’s spin and the Coriolis Effect, winds of a low pressure system swirl counterclockwise north of the equator and clockwise south of the equator. This is called cyclonic flow. … A high pressure system has higher pressure at its center than the areas around it. Wind blows away from high pressure.

Question 27

Know the energy source for tropical storms/hurricanes.

Answer 27

How do hurricanes form? Tropical cyclones develop when low-pressure systems gather heat and energy as they absorb warm ocean water near the equator. Evaporation from the ocean surface fuels them like giant heat engines, creating powerful winds twisting around a relatively peaceful center, called the “eye.”

Question 28

What is usually the minimum temperature for hurricane formation?

Answer 28

26.5 degrees Celsius 80 degrees Fahrenheit

Question 29

Why don’t hurricanes form on the equator?

Answer 29

Observations show that no hurricanes form within 5 degrees latitude of the equator. People argue that the Coriolis force is too weak there to get air to rotate around a low pressure rather than flow from high to low pressure, which it does initially. If you can’t get the air to rotate you can’t get a storm.