Chapter 6

Question 1

What is weather?

Answer 1

Short term atmospheric conditions

Question 2

Most weather we experience is

Answer 2

Cold air front and warm air front interacting

Question 3

What is a front?

Answer 3

Boundary between 2 air masses with different temperatures

Question 4

What is a warm air front?

Answer 4

Boundary between warm air mass and the cooler one it is replacing

Question 5

Which air front is: less dense, rises above cool air, and leads to rain?

Answer 5

Warm air front

Question 6

What is a cold air front?

Answer 6

Leading edge of cold air

Question 7

Which air front is: more dense, stays close to the ground, and produces thunderheads?

Answer 7

Cold air front

Question 8

What are jet streams?

Answer 8

Powerful winds near troposphere, travel up to 400 km/hr, 2-3 km deep

Question 9

What is weather affected by?

Answer 9

Up and down movements of masses of air with high and low atmospheric pressure

Question 10

Is atmospheric pressure greater near the Earth’s surface?

Answer 10

Yes

Question 11

What is a dew point?

Answer 11

Where condensation takes place when the temperature drops

Question 12

Where do tornadoes occur?

Answer 12

On land

Question 13

Where do tropical cyclones occur?

Answer 13

Warm ocean waters

Question 14

How many tornadoes does Canada have every year?

Answer 14

80

Question 15

What are tropical cyclones in the Atlantic called?

Answer 15

Hurricanes

Question 16

What are tropical cyclones in the Pacific called?

Answer 16

Typhoons

Question 17

What is the speed of a tropical depression?

Answer 17

Below 62 km/hr

Question 18

What is the speed of a tropical storm?

Answer 18

63-117 km/hr

Question 19

What is the speed of a hurricane?

Answer 19

118 km/hr

Question 20

What is the speed of a major hurricane?

Answer 20

178 km/hr

Question 21

What is climate?

Answer 21

Average temperature and precipitation of an area over a long time period (typically decades)

Question 22

What 4 factors determine global air circulation?

Answer 22

1. Uneven heating of Earth’s surface
2. Seasonal changes in temperature and precipitation
3. Rotation of Earth on axis
4. Properties of air, water, and land affect global air circulation

Question 23

The ocean absorbs heat from

Answer 23

Air circulation

Question 24

What is an upwelling?

Answer 24

Deep, cold water rises to the surface, bringing deep plant nutrients with it

Question 25

What are the greenhouse gases?

Answer 25

Water vapour (H2O), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O)

Question 26

What is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 26

Warming of the troposphere

Question 27

Which greenhouse gas is our primary concern?

Answer 27

Carbon Dioxide (CO2)

Question 28

What is methane?

Answer 28

Decomposition of organic matter

Question 29

What does ozone (O3) do?

Answer 29

Filters UV light

Question 30

What do halocarbons (CFCs) do?

Answer 30

Deplete the ozone layer

Question 31

What is the rain shadow effect?

Answer 31

Patch of land forced to become desert because mountain ranges blocked plant-growing, rainy weather

Question 32

What are microclimates?

Answer 32

When cities have haze and higher temperature because buildings absorb heat and block wind flow

Question 33

How many major biomes in the world?

Answer 33

12

Question 34

Which factors are most important in producing tropical, temperate, polar deserts, grasslands, and forests?

Answer 34

Annual precipitation and temperature, and soil type

Question 35

What is a desert?

Answer 35

Where evaporation exceeds precipitation

Question 36

What is a tropical desert?

Answer 36

Hot and dry most of the year, with few plants, and hard wind (often seen in movies)

Question 37

What is a temperate desert?

Answer 37

Daytime temperature high in summer, low in winter. More precipitation than a tropical desert.

Question 38

What is a polar desert?

Answer 38

Very cold winters, warm summers, low precipitation (less than 250 mm/year). Mean temperature during warmest month is less than 10 degrees Celsius.

Question 39

What is a semidesert?

Answer 39

Thorn trees and shrubs adapted to long dry spells, followed by brief and sometimes heavy rain.

Question 40

What are the 2 themes for desert survival?

Answer 40

Beat the heat, every drop of water counts.

Question 41

Which plants drop their leaves to survive in a dormant state?

Answer 41

Mesquite and creosote

Question 42

What are 3 adaptations of succulents?

Answer 42

1. No leaves (can lose water) 2. Store water and synthesize food in fleshy tissue 3. Reduce water loss by opening pores to take up CO2 only at night

Question 43

How do evergreen plants conserve water?

Answer 43

Having wax-coated leaves that minimize evaporation

Question 44

What are grasslands (prairies)?

Answer 44

Regions with enough annual precipitation to support grasses

Question 45

What are tropical grasslands?

Answer 45

Dry and wet seasons, warm all the time

Question 46

What are temperate grasslands?

Answer 46

Cold winter, hot summer, sparse precipitation

Question 47

What are polar grasslands?

Answer 47

Long and dark winter, sun shines 24/7 in summer

Question 48

What are forests?

Answer 48

Various species of trees and smaller vegetation

Question 49

What are tropical forests?

Answer 49

Heavy rainfall, diversity of life forms

Question 50

What are temperate forests?

Answer 50

Long, warm summer, cold winter, abundant precipitation

Question 51

What are boreal (polar) forests?

Answer 51

Long, dry, very cold winter, short summer