Chapter 7 Quiz Flashcards

1
Q

What is the atmosphere?

A

Layer of gases that surround a planet or moon that protect from extreme temperatures

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2
Q

What is the most important factor that affects climate on earth?

A

Energy from the sun

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3
Q

What are 3 types of movement changes?

A

Eccentricity- change in orbit
Tilt - angle changes
Wobble - wobbles as it rotates on axis (precession)

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4
Q

How do the sun’s rays strike earth?

A

Perpendicular to the earth’s surface

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5
Q

What is the atmosphere mainly composed of?

A

Nitrogen and oxygen

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6
Q

What is the greenhouse effect?

A

Natural warming caused by when gases in atmosphere absorb thermal energy
Keeps earth temp. in check

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7
Q

What is wind?

A

Movement of air from high to low pressure

Result in uneven heating of earth surface

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8
Q

What are prevailing winds?

What are jet streams?

A

Prevailing - blow in constant direction

Jet stream - high altitude winds, travel fast at high speeds

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9
Q

What is the hydrosphere?

A

The collective mass of water found anywhere on earth in liquid gas or solid form

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10
Q

What can the ocean do better than the atmosphere?

A

Oceans can hold more heat, known as heat reservoirs

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11
Q

What is specific heat capacity?

A

The amount of heat required to raise the temp of one gram of a substance by 1 degree Celsius

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12
Q

What is the albedo effect?
Which colours have a greater albedo?
How efficient is water at reflecting sun?

A

Albedo - fraction of energy reflected by a surface
Lighter colours reflect heat, don’t absorb
Water is 7% efficient, ice and snow 80-90

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13
Q

What are tectonic plates?

How many does earth have?

A

Piece of earth’s outer shell (lithosphere) moves around underlying rock (asthenosphere)
12 plates
Thai results in continent shapes changing

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14
Q

What do volcanic eruptions spew?

What affect do aerosols have on climate?

A

Ash and aerosols

Aerosols reflect solar radiation and thus have a cooling affect on global climate

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15
Q

Definition of anthropogenic?

A

Caused by humans, ex. the Industrial revolution that begun in the 1700s and required fossil fuel powered technologies

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16
Q

What are climate zones?

A

Regions that share similar weather conditions

17
Q

Aristotle identified 3 major climate zones based on distance from the equator. What were they?

A

Tropical zone - between tropic of cancer and tropic of capricorn
Polar zone - between north and south pole
North and south temperate zone - between tropical zones and polar zones (either very warm or very cold)

18
Q

What are climatographs?

A

Graphs that display information about monthly precip. and temp. based on 30 years of observations

19
Q

The Koppen Climate Classification system identifies how many diff. zones based on what three factors?

A

5 zones! Depends on monthly temp. and precip. and annual precip.
TM Tropical moist
D Dry
MMM Moist, mid-latitude with mild winters
MMC Moist, mid-latitude with cold winters ONTARIO!
P Polar

20
Q

What are biomes?

A

Regions classified by climate and plant/animal species

21
Q

What are the 8 major biomes (excluding one) ?

A

P permanent ice (graph stuck to dotted line)
B boreal forest (the perfect graph)
T tundra (low temp., low precip.)
TD temperate deciduous forest (high temps. high precip.)
TR temperate rainforest (high temps. dip in precip. in summer)
G grassland (line at peak of temp.)
D desert (high temp. almost no precip.)

22
Q

Which biome is not found in Canada?

A

Tropical rainforest

23
Q

What are bioclimate profiles?

A

Graphs of climactic conditions (probability of frost, median temperature, water surplus)
Compare to an interview

24
Q

What are ecozones?

A

Regions separated by geological features (ocean, mountain, desert)

25
What are ecoregions?
Subdivisions of ecotones characterized by smaller landforms (lake)
26
Which climate zone is Ontario found in? (Note there is 5!)
North temperate zone
27
Which Koppen climate category is Southern Ontario found in?
Moist, mid-latitude with cold winters
28
What is global warming?
Increase in average global temperature
29
What do changes in polar and glacial ice cause?
Rising sea levels
30
pH levels or acidity in the oceans are dropping. what is causing this?
Non-metal oxides (CO2 and SO2 dissolve in water)
31
How does changing climate affect health?
Smog causes respiratory issues | In higher temps. disease and infections spread quickly
32
What causes more precip. in hotter climates?
Water evaporates, and condenses as rainfall
33
How do humans district forests?
Logging for urban sprawl and clearing for agriculture | Reduces CO2 removed through photosynthesis
34
Why are wetlands crucial for life?
Supply water and habitats