Chapter 6 Flashcards
What does weather mean?
the condition of the atmosphere as it is affected by temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind, and water.
What does air mass?
a large body of air with consistent temperature and moisture content throughout.
What does wind mean?
the horizontal movement of air that occurs as a result of pressure differences between two air masses.
What does the temperature of air determine?
Whether it rises or sinks.
What is thermal?
a small, upward flow of warm air.
How does specific heat play a role between sea breeze and land breeze?
Convection near coastlines causes SEA BREEZES during the day and land breezes at night.
What are convection cells?
large wind patterns in Earth’s atmosphere caused by convection.
What is the Coriolis Effect?
the bending of currents of air or water due to Earth’s rotation.
What changes the direction of airflow?
Earth’s rotation.
What are the three important global patterns?
trade winds, prevailing westerlies, and polar easterlies.
What is water vapor?
The result of liquid water after evaporation.
Air that contains the maximum amount of water is _______
Saturated.
What is relative humidity?
a measure of how much water vapor an air mass contains relative to the total amount of water vapor it could contain at a certain temperature.
What is a meteorologist?
an individual who uses scientific principles to forecast the weather.
What do meteorologists use to inform about the weather?
satellites and computer technology.
What is dew point?
the temperature at which more water condenses than evaporates in an air mass at a constant atmospheric pressure.
What is a cloud?
a group of water droplets or ice crystals that you can see in the atmosphere.
Types of clouds?
Look on page 130-131.
What types of precipitations are there?
rain, snow, sleet, dew, frost, and fog. Look on page 132 for descriptions of these precipitations.
What is a front?
the border between two different air masses.
What is a cold front?
a front that occurs when a cold air mass moves in and replaces a warm air mass.
What is a warm front?
a front that occurs when a warm air mass moves in and replaces a cold air mass.
What are jet streams?
high-altitude, fast- moving winds.
What is a low-pressure center?
a low- pressure area created by rising warm air.
What high- pressure center?
a high- pressure area created by sinking cold air.
What is an isobar?
a line on a weather map that connects place that have the same atmospheric pressure.
What is a storm cell?
a convection cell within cloud that is associated witha storm.
Whag is lightning?
a bright spark of light that occurs inside a storm cloud, between a cloud and Earth’s surface, or between two clouds.
What is thunder?
a sound that occurs when a lightning spark heats air and the air expands.
What is a cyclone?
a low-pressure center surrounded by rotating winds.
What is a hurricane?
a tropical cyclone with wind speeds of at least 74 miles per hour (119 kilometers per hour.)
What is a tornado?
a system of rotating winds around a low-pressure center; a tornado is smaller than a hurrican, but has faster winds.
What does climate mean?
the long term record of weather patterns and includes the temperature, precipitation, and wind for a region.
Whag does biome mean?
a major climate region with particular plants and animals. Earth has six major biomes.
What is a desert?
a climate region that averages less than 35 centimeters of rainfall per year.
What are grasslands?
climate regions with too little rainfall to support a forest. Grasslands have grasses as the main vegetation.
What are temperate deciduous forests?
-climate regions in the mid- latitudes that have four seasons.
What are tropical rainforests?
climate regions found near the equator that have a lot of rainfall and high biodiversity.
What is a taiga?
the largest climate region, found in the higher latitudes; also known as a boreal or coniferous forest.
What is a tundra?
a climate region located in high latitudes; the coldest land biome.
