Chapter 3 Flashcards

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1
Q

What was the greatest wind speed ever measured at Earth’s surface? Where? What year?

A

370 km/hr
Mount Washington
1934

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2
Q

True or False

Because air is a fluid, it can move easily from place to place.

A

True

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3
Q

What is the force that makes air move?

A

A difference in air pressure.

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4
Q

True or False

Fluids tend to move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure.

A

True

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5
Q

A __________ is the horizontal movement of air from and area of ______ pressure to an area of _____ pressure

A

wind
high
lower

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6
Q

True or false

All winds are caused by differences in air pressure.

A

True

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7
Q

What are most differences in air pressure caused by?

A

Unequal heating of the atmosphere.

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8
Q

How are winds described?

A

By their direction and speed

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9
Q

What measurement tool determines wind direction?

A

a wind vane

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10
Q

A south wind blows from the _________ to the ________.

A

south

north

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11
Q

A _________ wind blows to the south.

A

north

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12
Q

What tool is used to measure wind speed?

A

an anemometer

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13
Q

Describe an anemometer.

A

Has 3 or 4 cups mounted at the ends of spokes that spin on an axle. The force of the wind against the cups turns the axle.

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14
Q

What is attached to the axle of the anemometer to show wind speed?

A

Speedometer.

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15
Q

What is the increased cooling that a wind can cause called?

A

Wind chill factor

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16
Q

Convection currents form when an area of earth’s surface is heated by what?

A

sun’s rays

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17
Q

Air over the heated surface of the earth expands and becomes less ________.

A

Dense

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18
Q

As air becomes less dense, what happens to air pressure?

A

it decreases

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19
Q

If a nearby area is not heated as much, the air above the less heated area will be cooler and ______.

A

denser

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20
Q

Cool, dense air has a ________ air pressure so it flows underneath the _______, less dense air.

A

higher

warm

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21
Q

How many meters above sea level is the highest point in the northeastern USA? And where is it?

A

1917 meters

Mount Washington in New Hampshire

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22
Q

______ winds are winds that blow over short distances.

A

Local

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23
Q

Local winds are caused by the unequal heating of Earth’s surface within a _______ area.

A

small

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24
Q

Unequal heating often occurs on land that is next to a _____ ____ ___ ______.

A

large body of water

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25
Q

True or false

It takes more energy to warm up a body of water than it does to warm up an equal area of land.

A

True

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26
Q

As the sun heats earth’s surface during the day, the _____ warms faster than the water

A

land

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27
Q

The air over the land becomes _______ than the air over the water.

A

warmer

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28
Q

The warm air ______ and _____ creating a low pressure area.

A

expands and rises

29
Q

_____ air blows inland from the water and moves underneath the warm air.

A

Cool

30
Q

A wind that blows from an ocean or lake onto land is known as what?

A

Sea breeze or Lake breeze

31
Q

At night, land ____ more quickly than water so the air over the land becomes cooler than the air over the water.

A

cools

32
Q

The flow of air from land to a body of water is called:

A

land breeze

33
Q

In the summer in South and Southeast Asia, the land gradually gets _____ than the ocean.

A

warmer

34
Q

Sea and land breezes over a large region that change direction with the seasons are called:

A

monsoons

35
Q

As the humid air rises over the land, the air cools, producing _______ ________ that supply the water needed by rice and other crops.

A

heavy rains.

36
Q

Winds that blow steadily from specific directions over long distances are called _____ _____.

A

global winds

37
Q

Global winds are created by unequal heating of ______ surface.

A

earth’s

38
Q

Warm air rises at the ______ and cold air sinks at the _____.

A

equator

sinks

39
Q

Air pressure is ____ near the equator and ______ near the poles

A

lower

greater

40
Q

Winds at the earth’s surface to blow from ______ toward the ______.

A

poles

equator

41
Q

The movement of air between the equator and the poles produces _____ _______.

A

global winds

42
Q

The way if earth’s rotation makes the winds curve is called

A

the coriolis effect

43
Q

in the northern hemisphere, all global winds gradually turn toward the _____.

A

right

44
Q

In the Northern Hemisphere, a wind blowing toward the north gradually turns toward the __________.

A

northeast

45
Q

In the southern hemisphere, winds curve toward the _____. and, a south wind gradually changes to a _______ wind while a north wind becomes a ____ wind.

A

left
southeast
northwest

46
Q

The major global wind belts are:

A

the trade winds
the prevailing westerlies
the polar easterlies

47
Q

The Coriolis effect and other factors combine to produce a pattern of _______ areas and _____ belts around the earth.

A

calm

wind

48
Q

What do the calm areas include?

A

the doldrums

the horse latitudes

49
Q

About 10 km above earth’s surface are bands of high speed winds called _____ _____.

A

jet streams

50
Q

Jet streams are _____ of km wide and a ____ km deep.

A

hundreds

few

51
Q

Jet streams blow from _____ to _____ at speeds of ___ to ____ per hour.

A

west
east
200
400

52
Q

As jet streams travel around earth, they wander north and _____ along a wavy path.

A

south

53
Q

Pilots can save fuel and time by flying _____ in a jet stream

A

east

54
Q

Airplanes flying at jet stream altitudes are slowed down when traveling _____ against the jet stream winds.

A

west

55
Q

Cold air near the poles sinks and flows back toward lower ______.

A

latitudes

56
Q

The Coriolis effect shifts these polar winds to the _____, producing winds call the _____ _____.

A

west

polar easterlies

57
Q

The polar easterlies meet the prevailing westerlies at about ____ north and _____ south latitudes, along a region called the polar front.

A

60

60

58
Q

In mid latitudes, winds that blow toward the poles are turned toward the east by the ______ ______. And because they blow from _____ to the east, they are called ______ _______.

A

Coriolis effect
west
prevailing westerlies

59
Q

The prevailing westerlies blow from the southwest between _____ and ____ north latitudes and from the northwest between ______ and ____ south latitudes.

A

30
60
30
60

60
Q

Near the equator, the sun heats the surface strongly. Warm air _____ steadily, creating an area of _____ pressure.

A

rises

low

61
Q

Cool air moves into an area, warms rapidly, and rises before it moves very far. There is little _______ motion so the winds near the equator are (very strong/very weak). Regions near the equator with little or no wind are called _________.

A

horizontal
very weak
Doldrums

62
Q

Air stops moving at about 30 degrees north and south latitude. Hundreds of years ago, sailors in these waters ran out of food and water for their horses and had to throw the horses overboard. Because of this, this area is called ______ _______.

A

horse latitudes

63
Q

When cold air over the _____ ______ sinks, it produces a region of high pressure. This high pressure causes surface winds to blow toward the equator are turned _____ by the Coriolis effect.
As a result, winds in the Northern Hemisphere between 30 degrees north latitude and the equator blow generally from the ________northeast. In the Souther Hemisphere between 30 degrees south latitude and the equator, winds blow from the ________.
These steady easterly winds are called ______ ______. For hundreds of years, sailors relied on them to carry cargoes from Europe to West Indies and South America.

A

horse latitudes
west
southeast
trade winds

64
Q

Wind comes from ________ heating in the ______.

A

unequal

atmosphere

65
Q

A global winds affect a huge ____ _____.

A

land mass

66
Q

Which winds would you rely on to travel back to Spain?

A

Westerlies

67
Q

If you wanted to travel from Spain to the Caribbean on a sailboat, which winds would you rely on to get you there.

A

Trade Winds

68
Q

True or False

The smaller the temperature differences, the stronger the wind will be.

A

False. Larger temperatures create stronger winds

69
Q

True or False

Wind are named for the direction they are blowing toward.

A

False - Trade winds are not named for the direction they blow to