Ch.28 and 29 Flashcards
What is a layer extending an average of 12 km above Earth’s surface called?
troposphere
What describes the increasing temperature of air with increasing altitude?
temperature inversion
What is a natural process in which certain gases in the atmosphere warm a planet as they absorb and emit infrared radiation called?
Greenhouse effect
How are the atmospheric layers divided?
the difference in composition and temperature
What gas makes up the majority of the atmosphere?
Nitrogen- 78%
Which gas makes up 21% of the atmosphere?
Oxygen
What is the remaining 1% of the atmosphere made up of?
Trace Gases
Majority of those trace gases are Argon
Within the troposphere, does temperature increase or decrease with altitude?
Decrease
How many layers are there in the Earth’s atmosphere?
5
What are the names of the atmospheric layers closest to surface then going up?
Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere
Which layer is the ozone layer found in?
stratosphere
Within the stratosphere, does temperature increase or decrease with altitude?
increase
Within the mesosphere, does the temperature increase or decrease with altitude?
the lower mesosphere it decreases and once it gets to 80 km it increases
Do the thermosphere and the exosphere impact weather ?
No
What is a narrow band of fast moving, high altitude air called?
jet stream
What is the apparent deflection of an object due to Earth’s rotation called?
Coriolis effect
What is a large volume of air with uniform moisture and temperature throughout called?
air mass
what is the zone along which two or more air masses interact, producing certain weather conditions called?
weather front
How many jet streams are there in the entire world?
4
How many pressure systems are there?
2
What are low pressure systems also know as?
Low(L)
Which direction does a Low rotate?
counterclockwise
What are some results over a low pressure system ?
air rises causing cloud formation and precipitation
What is a high pressure system also know as?
High(H)
Which direction does a high rotate?
clockwise
What is a result in high pressure systems?
the air sinks which results in clear skies
What are the 4 weather fronts?
Cold, Warm, Stationary, and Occluded
How are cold fronts created?
when cold air forces warm air upward in a fast and chaotic manner
How are cold fronts represented in a weather forecast?
blue triangles
How are warm fronts created?
warm air rises gently above cold air
How are warm fronts represented in a weather forecast?
red semicircles(half circle)
How are stationary fronts created?
cold and warm air masses meet and neither front advances
How are stationary fronts represented in weather forecast?
red semicircles and blue triangles alternating bottom and top
How are Occluded fronts created?
a fast moving cold front overtaking a slow warm front
How are Occluded fronts represented on forecast?
triangles and semicircles together alternating
What is a climate that is strongly affected by an ocean called?
maritime climate
What is a climate that is not directly affected by an ocean called?
continental climate
What is a local wind created by temperature and pressure called?
sea breeze
What is climate?
the long term average of weather conditions
What is weather
day to day outside conditions
What are the 5 spheres that make up Earths’s system?
Atmosphere, Biosphere, Hydrosphere, Lithosphere, Cryosphere
What is the atmosphere?
the air that’s around us
What is the bisophere?
everything organic/living
What is the hydrosphere?
any liquid water
What is the cryosphere?
frozen water in snow, ice, and glaciers
What is the lithosphere?
Earth’s outermost layer
What is the primary factor that influences climate at any given location?
Latitude
Where is solar radiation most intense on Earth’s surface?
Equator
At what angle do the sun rays hit the tropical zones?
90 degrees
At what angle do the sun rays hit Earth in the temperate zone?
45 degrees
At what angle to the sun rays hit the polar zone?
30 degrees
Which zone is Lamar CO gonna be located in ?
Temperate
What other factors determine climate?
Precipitation, Mountains, Water
What is the windward side conditions like?
cool and wet and there’s a lot of vegetation
What is the leeward side conditions like ?
warm and dry. There’s little to no vegetation
What is it called when the wind blows from the land to the sea ?
land breeze
Which climate zone and vegetation does Lamar CO have?
warm, semi-arid, and grassland
What does 100% of solar radiation come from?
sun
What percent of solar radiation is absorbed by Earth’s surface?
50%
What percent of solar radiation is reflected off of Earth’s surface?
5%
What percent of solar radiation is absorbed by particles in the atmosphere?
20%
What percent of solar radiation is reflected by particles in the atmosphere
25%
What the 3 basic cloud shapes?
stratus, cumulus, and cirrus
Describe stratus clouds
layered, sheet-like clouds associated with rain
Describe cumulus clouds
puffy and occur in fair weather
Describe cirrus clouds
wispy, high altitude clouds
An increase in the average temperatures of Earth’s near-surface air and oceans is called what?
global warming
What is the warming of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of western South America that occurs every 3 to 10 years called?
El Nino
What occurs when trade winds in the Pacific are unusually strong and surface water is colder than normal?
El Nina
What are two changes that Earth’s climate undergoes?
seasonal and long term changes
How do seasonal changes occur?
as Earth revolves around the sun
Which hemisphere experiences summer?
the hemisphere that is tilted towards the sun
What was the period called when most of Earth’s surface was covered in ice?
Ice age
About how long ago did the Earth’s climate reach its current pattern?
3,000 years ago
What are some factors that can cause climate change?
the tilt of Earth’s axis
the shape of the orbit
distance from the sun
How can humans impact climate change?
energy consumption, deforestation, industrial practices, and agricultural practices
What is deforestation ?
the clearing of large areas of forest land
What are 2 factors that affect gravitational strength?
masses of each object and distance between them
Which of Earth’s diameter is longer? Pull to pull or the equator?
Equator
What does the magnetic field protect Earth from?
harmful radiation from the sun
Which hemisphere is the south magnetic pole located?
northern hemisphere
At what degrees is Earth’s axis tilted?
11.7 degrees
Can the magnetic poles change?
yes
What is the name of the large scale movements where the magnetic poles switch?
magnetic reversals
How often to magnetic reversals occur?
200,000 years
Which part of Earth’s magnetic field deflects harmful radition from the sun?
magnetosphere
What are the two scientific names for the northern and southern lights?
aurora borealis and aurora australis
How are the aurora’s created?
electrically charged particles collide with atoms in the atmosphere and emit light
When is Earth closest to the sun?
January (147 million km away)
When is Earth farthest away from the sun?
July (152 million km)
what is an elongated, closed curve with two foci
ellipse
What is an area 15 degrees wide in which the time is the same called?
time zone
What is the spinning of Earth on its axis, an imaginary line drawn from Earth’s North Pole to its South Pole called?
Rotation
What is the motion of Earth in an elliptical orbit around the Sun ?
Revolution
What is defined as the plane of Earth’s orbit around the Sun?
ecliptic
What occurs when Earth’s rotational axis is tilted directly toward the Sun or away from the Sun?
solstice
What is it called when Earth’s rotational axis is perpendicular to a line drawn from the center of Earth to the center of the Sun?
Equinox
Who devised a method of timekeeping around 3000 B.C?
Babylonians
What was the symbol for degree taken from?
their symbol for the sun
How many degrees does the earth spin in one day?
360 degrees
How many hours does it take the earth to make one full rotation?
23 hours 56 min 4 s
How many degrees does the earth spin in one hour?
15 degrees
What direction does the sun rise?
East
What direction does the sun set?
West
True or False. All time zones are the exact same size?
False, they are modified to fit around cities, states, and country borders, and other key sites
How many time zones are there in the world?
24
Which direction do you move to add hours to the time?
East
Which direction do you move the subtract hours from the time?W
West
How many times zones are there in the US?
6
What are the names on the time zones in the US?
Pacific, Atlantic, Mountain, Eastern, Central
What is a solar day?
the time required for the Earth to rotate once relative to the background of the stars
What is a sidereal day?
where looking at one star appears again when looking at the again after rotating
What are the 2 main reasons for seasons?
revolution and tilt of the axis
Which 2 seasons have a solstice?
summer and winter
Which month is the summer solstice?
June 21st
Which month is the winter solstice?
December 21st
Which two seasons are equinoxes?
fall and spring
Which month is the spring equinox?
March 20th-21st
Which month is the fall equinox?
September 22nd-23rd
When is the longest day of the year?
June 21st
When is the shortest day of the year?
winter solstice (December 21st)
When are the days almost 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night?
equinoxes
What is a rise or fall in the ocean surface called?
Tide
What occurs when the moon moves directly between the sun and Earth and casts a shadow on Earth?
Solar eclipse
What occurs when Earth passes between the sun and the moon and casts a shadow on the moon?
Lunar eclipse
What reflects the change in appearance of the moon as seen from Earth?
Moon phase
What are the dark-colored, flat, lava-filled regions on the Moon’s surface called?
Maria
What is a layer of dusty lunar material produced by collisions between asteroids and comets and the moon called?
Regolith
How many days does it take the moon to revolve around Earth?
27.3 days
A complete lunar phase cycle takes 29.5 days, what is it called?
synodic month
Do we ever see the back side of the moon?
No
What causes a tide to rise or fall?
gravitational pull by the sun and moon
What is the rise of sea level called?
high tide
After the sea level rises, how many hours does it take for the sea level to drop?
6 hours
What is farther from Earth, the sun or the moon?
Sun
Doe the moon or the sun cause a greater effect on Earth’s tides?
Moon
How are the sun, the earth, and the moon aligned for a spring tide?
sun,earth, moon
In a straight line
How are the sun, the moon, and the earth aligned for a neap tide?
sun,earth,moon
90 degree angle
What does the phase of the moon you see depend on?
position of the Moon, Earth, and the Sun relative to one another
When does a new moon occur?
when the moon is between the earth and sun
How many phases of the moon are there?
8
What is the definition of waxing phases?
the illuminated portion of the moon that we see appears larger each night
What is the definition of waning phases?
the illuminated portion of the moon that we see begins to appear smaller
What are the moon phase names?
New moon, Waxing crescent, 1st quarter, Waxing gibbous, full, Waning gibbous, 3rd quarter, Waning crescent
Where is the word month derived from?
an old German word that also comes from the root word of moon
How is the earth, moon, and sun aligned during a solar eclipse ?
sun, moon, earth
What is an umbra?
the darkest portion of the moon’s shadow
What is a penumbra?
the lightest portion of the Moon’s shadow that a partial solar eclipse
How is the earth moon and sun aligned during a lunar eclipse?
sun, earth, moon
How are the depressions on the moon formed?
asteroids, meteorites, and comets
Are there mountains on the moon?
Yes
Which side of the moon is thicker?
the dark side of the moon/ side not facing earth
Is the mantle of the moon a solid or a liquid?
solid
What did the Clementine spacecraft do?
confirmed that the crust on the side facing earth is much thinner than on the far side and also provided information on the mineral content of Moon rocks
What did the Lunar Prospector do?
took photographs of the surface, confirmed that the moon had a small iron rich core, and collected evidence that supports the presence of water-ice on the Moon
What is the Giant Impact Theory ?
where a mars sized object collided with earth sending debris out into orbit that debris condensed into a large mass, forming the Moon
