Exam 2

Question 1

absorption

Answer 1

melting, evaporation, and sublimation

Question 2

release

Answer 2

condensation, freezing, and deposition

Question 3

calorie

Answer 3

heat energy needed to raise the temp of 1g of water (at 15 degree C) by 1 degree C

Question 4

dew point

Answer 4

temp at which air will become saturated (100% RH)
the higher the water temp, the higher the dew point

Question 5

cirrus clouds

Answer 5

Latin for “a lock of hair”
thin and wispy
made up of ice crystals instead of water droplets
forms at high altitudes

Question 6

stratiform clouds

Answer 6

Latin for “spread out”
greyish sheets that cover most of sky, horizontal development
rarely broken up into individual cloud units

Question 7

cumulus clouds

Answer 7

Latin for “mass” or “pile”
big and rounded, puffy
usually have a flat base and billow upward to great heights

Question 8

weather

Answer 8

short-term (day-to-day) atmospheric conditions for a specific area, prone to great variability

Question 9

climate

Answer 9

aggregate long-term average (30 yrs or more)
of weather conditions

Question 10

air masses

Answer 10

distinctive bodies of air, characteristic of their source region
air masses interact to produce weather patterns

Question 11

properties of air mass

Answer 11

1. large (diameter > 1600km/1000mi, several km tall/deep)
2. uniform horizontal properties
3. consistent w/ surface properties (land or sea) from where they originate
4. distinct from surrounding air; travels as one, but migrates w/ general circulation
5. migrates into areas and displaces air collides w/ it

Question 12

convergent lifting

Answer 12

low pressure

Question 13

convectional lifting

Answer 13

local heating

Question 14

orographic lifting

Answer 14

forced over a barrier

Question 15

frontal lifting

Answer 15

collision of air masses
storms (severe)

Question 16

cold front (cold air advancing)

Answer 16

cold dense air forces lighter warm air aloft
400km wide
squall
high intensity, short duration precipitation

Question 17

warm front (warm air advancing)

Answer 17

warm air moves up and over dense cold air
1000km wide
fog and overcast, drizzly clouds
low cloud ceilings/visibilities

Question 18

tornado watch

Answer 18

conditions are right for a tornado to occur

Question 19

tornado warning

Answer 19

tornado sighted or observed on radar

Question 20

relative humidity

Answer 20

actual vapor pressure divided by saturation vapor pressure (x100) (%)
drier air = lower RH
wetter air = higher RH
given single parcel of air, RH is inversely related to temp
- as temp rises, RH falls

Question 21

air parcel

Answer 21

bodies of air w/ a specific temp and humidity
more buoyantly up or down
pushed along by prevailing winds, from HP to LP

Question 22

stability

Answer 22

tendency of an air parcel to remain in place
- stable air resist displacement
- unstable air rises until it reaches a similar air pressure

Question 23

adiabatic processes: cooling by expansion

Answer 23

air parcel cools internally as it expands under lower air pressure
from earth’s surface up

Question 24

adiabatic processes: heating by compression

Answer 24

air parcel heats internally as it is compressed by higher air pressure

Question 25

water makes up what % of the surface area of the planet

Answer 25

70%

Question 26

duration of water cycle

Answer 26

~ 8-10 days

Question 27

early earth outgassing

Answer 27

how earth got its water
volcanic outgassing