Exam 1 Flashcards by Brad Hunt

Gravity Equation

Force=G•(m1m2/d^2)

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What is an air mass

Parcel of air that is about 1000 miles across and has the same amount of moisture and temperature throughout

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What are the types of air masses

Latitude: polar and artic (cold and High latitude) tropical (warm and low latitude)
Surface: continental (over land and is dry)
Maritime (over water and is humid)

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Mid latitude cyclone

Air moves counter clockwiss and into the low pressure and rains at the center of the low pressure cyclone

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Nor Easter

Winter, low pressure, moves up the coast. Named that bc of the winds that come from the north east

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What makes up our air

78% nitrogen
21% oxygen
.93% argon
.038 CO2 
.13 all others

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Two categories of primary pollutants

Criteria air pollutants

Hazardous air pollutants

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Secondary pollutants

Formed from primary pollutants

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Clean air act of 1970

Industries must have an air permit to operate

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Hurricane characteristic

> 65 knot winds
Moist air in middle of troposphere
Cyclonic spin

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Tornados

Violent rotating column of air that is in contact with the ground and a cloud base, associated with super cells and have winds up to 300 mph

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Air mass thunderstorms are the result of what

Heating air parcels and creating cumulonimbus clouds

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What’re the 3 stages of a thunderstorm

Stage 1: updraft
Stage 2: downdraft
Stage 3 : downdraft takes over the updraft
Stage 3 is called the dissipating stage

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Lightning

Disparate charge causes a flow of charged lightning

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Synopticslly forced thunderstorms are associated with what

Low pressure systems and fronts

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Snow squall

Heavy brief burst of snow related to lake-effect snow

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Snow shower

Moderate but brief period of lightly accumulated snow

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Blizzard

At least three consecutive hours of winds above 35 mph and reduced visibility under .25 miles

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Bergeron process

Air reaches saturation and the temp is below freezing, ice crystals form and the air then becomes supersaturated and then the water vapor will sublimate from the ice crystals into gas

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How are winds named

Direction from which they come from

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How do the seasons change

With the movement of the sun

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Describe Hail

Begins as a frozen raindrop called Graupel. The size of Hail is proportional to the intensity of the updraft

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What are Aerosols

Salt, soil particles, smoke

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Parts of the atmosphere from farthest to closest

Thermosphere, Mesophere, Stratosphere, Troposphere

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What layer has to do with heat

The stratosphere (O3 layer) absorbs the suns rays and turns them to heat

In the troposphere what happens to altitude and temperature

As altitude increases temperature decreases

In the mesosphere what happens to altitude and temperature

Altitude increases as temperature decreases

Isotherm

Connects points of equal temperature values

Conduction

Transfer of heat by flame,molecules are touching

Convection

Transfer of heat by motion

Radiation

Transfer of heat by radiation

What causes our temperature

``` Intensity of suns rays Albedo Specific heat Altitude Cloud cover Urban vs. rural ```

Solar declination

Latitude at which the sun is directly overhead

Noon sun angle

90-(latitude+/-solar delineation) If sun is in same hemisphere:subtract If opposite hemisphere: add

Albedo

Ratio of reflected radiation from a surface 0-no reflection (black) 1- perfect reflection (white)

Specific heat

Amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a substance

What do clouds do

Reflect sunlight and hold in heat

Equation for relative humidity

Actual water vapor content divided by amount of water vapor required for saturation

Relative humidity

As RH increases temp decreases | And vise versa

When is air saturated

When relative humidity is 100%

Adiabatic change in temperature equation

PV=nRT

Adiabatic cooling

Is P decreases, V will Increase, and T will Decrease

Adiabatic warming

If P increases, V will decrease, and T will Increase

What does cool air do | What does warm air do

Cool air sinks | Warm air rises

What happens to air masses as they rise

Expands and cools

What causes air to rise

Orographic lifting, frontal lifting, convergence of air masses, convective lifting,

What are the three types of clouds

Cirrus Cumulus Stratus

Cirrus clouds

Curl of hair and wispy | Form at front end of warm fronts

Cumulus

Riding done fluffy formed from convective lifting

Stratus

Layers or sheets of clouds below 6500 feet

What does nimbus mean

Rain

Mercator projection

Cylindrical projection, scale is distorted

Albers projection

Conical

4 times of maps

Physical Topographic Political Geographic information science

Isoline map

Connects places of equal value, isolines don't cross, isobar measures pressure and isotherm measures temperature

How do topographic maps show changes in elevation

Contour lines

Atomic number

Number of protons

Atomic mass

N+P

Density Equation

Mass/Volume

Coriolous Force

Strongest near poles Non-existent at Equator In the northern hemisphere deflection is to the right

What does adiabatic mean

Describes a thermodynamic process that occurs without loss or gain of heat in a closed system

Calorie

Amount of heat required to raise the temp of water by 1 degree Celsius

Specific Heat

Amount of heat required to raise the temp of a substance by 1 degree Celsius

Endothermic versus exothermic

Endothermic requires/absorbs energy | Exothermic:gives off energy

Does temperature change when ice melts

How do fluids move

From high pressure to low pressure

Convective lifting

Air is cooling, and rising so clouds form

What causes air to rise

Convective lifting

What is frontal lifting

Warm, less dense air is forced over cold, dense air

Orographic lifting

Over mountains. Westward side=wet Leeward=dry

What has a shorter wave length, cool or warm objects

Warm

During the fall equinox the sun is directly over the WHAT

Equator

True or false, the larger the suns declination angle, the more intense the suns rays

True

How much is earths rotational axis tilted

23.5 degrees

In the northern hemisphere do air masses deflect to the left or right

Right

Isobars

Line of equal pressure on a barometric map

How does air move in a low pressure system

Inward and counter clockwise

How does air move in a high pressure system

Clockwise and outward

Any front that forms when two air masses meet must meet where

In an area of low pressure

Fair weather is associated with what pressure system

High pressure system

Where does air converge

At the center of low pressure systems

How many time zones are there? And what are the widths of the zones

24 zones each with a width of 15 degrees

What happens if you move west to eat over the date line

Fall behind one day

During the summer solstice, the sun is directly over

The Tropic of Cancer

Seasons occur due to

The earths tilt combined with parallelism