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Meteorology > Exam 1 (Lessons 1-3) > Flashcards

Exam 1 (Lessons 1-3) Flashcards

1
Q

Define weather

A

the atmospheric state of a particular place and time of the current variables (temperature, humidity, cloudiness, precipitation, and wind speed and direction

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2
Q

Define climate

A

The average weather conditions at a specific location; measured over at least 30 years

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3
Q

Weather watch vs weather warning

A

Weather watch = possible hazardous weather

Weather warning = hazardous weather is imminent or happening

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4
Q

Define wind direction

A

The direction the wind is blowing FROM

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5
Q

What are time zones based on?

A

They are based on lines of longitude and distance from prime meridian (Greenwich England)

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6
Q

What is the longitude of the prime meridian?

A

0 degrees longitude

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7
Q

How many degrees of longitude different changes the time by 1 hour?

A

15 degrees

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8
Q

What is the preferred time zone?

A

UTC (Coordinated Universal Time)

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9
Q

Does air move from areas of low to high pressure? Or high to low pressure?

A

High to Low pressure

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10
Q

What is a cyclone?

A

A low pressure system

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11
Q

What is an anticyclone?

A

A high pressure system

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12
Q

How does air move in a low pressure system/cyclone?

A

Air moves inward and upward in a counter clockwise motion

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13
Q

How does air move in a high pressure system/anticyclone?

A

Air moves outward and down in a clockwise motion

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14
Q

What are the 4 general types of air masses

A

Cold, warm, wet (maritime), and dry (continental)

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15
Q

What are the different types of fronts?

A

Cold, warm, and stationary

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16
Q

Where do fronts develop?

A

Where low pressure systems bring contrasting air masses together

17
Q

What is a warm front?

A

Boundary of an advancing warm from and a retreating cold front

18
Q

What is a cold front?

A

Boundary of an advancing cold front and a retreating warm front

19
Q

Is severe weather a characteristic of a warm or cold front and why?

A

Cold front because an advancing cold front causes the warm air to rise rapidly which creates unstable air that can cause severe weather

20
Q

What are the key differences of a visible and infrared satellite?

A

Visible can only be used during the day, while infrared can be used day or night
Infrared allows for the comparison of high and low clouds
Infrared can measure the temperature of the surface where there is no cloud cover

21
Q

What are the 4 most abundant gases in our atmosphere? From most to least abundant

A

Nitrogen
Oxygen
Argon
Carbon Dioxide

22
Q

Difference between a hypothesis and a theory?

A 
Hypothesis = testable idea
Theory = an idea supported by data
23
Q

How did the early atmosphere form?

A

Through the process of outgassing

24
Q

What is outgassing?

A

The process in which gases are released from Earth rocky surface due to volcanic activity and then are held near Earth’s surface

25
Q

What is the Stefan-Boltmann law? Simplified

A

Hot objects emit more energy than cold objects

26
Q

What is relative humidity?

A

Percentage of actual water vapor concentration vs water vapor concentration if air was saturated

27
Q

What is air pressure?

A

The weight per unit area of a column of air

28
Q

What do radiosondes and dropsondes measure?

A

They measure temperature, dewpoint, and pressure

29
Q

What is the key difference of a radiosonde and a dropsonde?

A

Radiosonde is launched from ground via weather balloon and a dropsonde is released from an aircraft

30
Q

Layers of the atmosphere from lowest to highest

A 
Troposphere
Tropopause
Stratosphere
Stratopause
Mesosphere
Mesopause
Thermosphere
31
Q

Shortest wavelength to longest wavelength of different forms of electromagnetic radiation

A 
UV
Visible
Infrared
Microwaves
Radio waves
32
Q

What is the inverse square law?

A

Doubling the distance that radiation must travel reduces its intensity by 1/4 its initial value

33
Q

Solar radiation entering our atmosphere can be…

A

Absorbed, scattered, or reflected by gasses and aerosols or Earth’s surface

34
Q

Why is the ozone layer important?

A

Protects us from dangerous UV radiation that would make the planet inhabitable

35
Q

What is causing the ozone layer to deplete?

A

The use of CFCs

36
Q

What is the Wien’s displacement law?

A

The peak wavelength increases as the temperature decreases/The peak wavelength decreases as the temperature increases

Meteorology (3 decks)

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