climate change vocab

Question 1

weather

Answer 1

the state of the air and atmosphere at a particular time and place : the temperature and other outside conditions (such as rain, cloudiness, etc.)

Question 2

climate

Answer 2

prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years.

Question 3

altitude

Answer 3

The height of an object or structure above a reference level, usually above sea level or the Earth’s surface

Question 4

latitude

Answer 4

A measure of relative position north or south on the Earth’s surface, measured in degrees from the equator

Question 5

temperature

Answer 5

a measure of how hot or cold something is; specifically, a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles in an object, which is a type of energy associated with motion

Question 6

thermal expansion of water

Answer 6

one of the primary causes of the rising sea levels on earth.

Question 7

greenhouse gasses

Answer 7

a warming of Earth’s surface and the air above it. It is caused by gases in the air that trap energy from the sun

Question 8

fossil fuels

Answer 8

A hydrocarbon deposit, such as petroleum, coal, or natural gas, derived from the accumulated remains of ancient plants and animals and used as fuel

Question 9

ozone

Answer 9

a form of oxygen with a peculiar odor suggesting that of weak chlorine, produced when an electric spark or ultraviolet light is passed through air or oxygen.

Question 10

chloroflurocarbons (CFC)

Answer 10

any of a class of compounds of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and fluorine, typically gases used in refrigerants and aerosol propellants.

Question 11

carbon “sink”

Answer 11

a forest, ocean, or other natural environment viewed in terms of its ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Question 12

carbon “footprint”

Answer 12

the amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted due to the consumption of fossil fuels by a particular person, group, etc.

Question 13

greenhouse gas effect co2

Answer 13

The greenhouse effect is a warming of Earth’s surface and the air above it. It is caused by gases in the air that trap energy from the sun

Question 14

methane (CH4)

Answer 14

A colorless, odorless, flammable gas that is the simplest hydrocarbon. It is the major constituent of natural gas and is released during the decomposition of plant or other organic compounds, as in marshes and coal mines.

Question 15

nitrous oxide (NO2)

Answer 15

a colorless gas that when inhaled produces loss of sensibility to pain preceded by exhilaration and sometimes laughter and is used especially as an anesthetic in dentistry called also laughing gas.

Question 16

effects of climate change (give 5)

Answer 16

Wildfires 
Loss of sea ice which increases the sea level 
More intense heat waves 
Tropical storms 
Greenhouse gas effect

Question 17

proxy record

Answer 17

a Paleoclimatologist that gathers proxy data from natural recorders of climate variability such as tree rings, ice cores, fossil pollen, ocean sediments, corals and historical data.

Question 18

feedback loop

Answer 18

the equivalent of a vicious or virtuous circle something that accelerates or decelerates a warming trend. A positive feedback accelerates a temperature rise, whereas a negative feedback decelerates it

Question 19

mountain pine beetle

Answer 19

a bark beetle of the western U.S. that is extremely destructive to stands of lodge, pole and sugar pines

Question 20

ice core

Answer 20

Cylinders of ice obtained by drilling into a glacier

Question 21

anthropogenic

Answer 21

chiefly of environmental pollution and pollutants originating in human activity.

Question 22

CO2

Answer 22

one carbon atom bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is a waste product in our bodies and is also produced by burning fossil fuels