Exam 3 Flashcards
______ provides the energy that drives Earth’s weather.
The radiant energy of the Sun.
What kind of system is Earth’s climate and why?
It is an open system because the Sun’s energy comes from outside the system.
Where does the argon in Earth’s atmosphere come from?
The radioactive decay of unstable isotopes in Earth’s crust.
Where does carbon dioxide in the atmosphere come from?
From animals respiration and from the burning of fossil fuel.
Where does atmospheric oxygen come from?
cyanobacteria and plant photosynthesis.
Overall, which of the following atmospheric gases is the MOST abundant gas in the Earth’s atmosphere?
Nitrogen
Overall, which of the following atmospheric gases is the LEAST abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere?
Carbon Dioxide
Anthropomorphic (man-made) activities are measurably adding more of this greenhouse gas to Earth’s atmosphere over time and as this happens it traps more heat in Earth’s atmosphere, causing the phenomena of global warming.
Carbon Dioxide
The ozone of the famous ozone layer that blocks much of the Sun’s harmful ultra-violet radiant energy from reaching the surface of the Earth is a tri-atomic molecular form of ______.
Oxygen
Where is the ozone layer located?
IN the Earth’s stratosphere (the lower stratosphere)
Most of the mass of Earth’s atmosphere and most of its weather happens in the layer of the atmosphere called the _________.
The Troposphere
The _______ is in the upper atmosphere and consists of charged atoms of atmospheric gases formed by the Sun’s radiant energy. It is where the aurora happens and it reflects certain frequencies of radio wave, such as shortwave and the AM radio band, back to the ground to enable radio broadcasts using those frequencies to be received over the horizon from the broadcasting station.
The Ionosphere
The part of the Earth that rotates the fastest is _______?
The Equator
Most storms move from west to east across Kansas because we are in the ____________.
The Prevailing Westerlies
Which of the following is the most accurate description of a monsoonal climate?
A warm, humid climate in the summer and a cool, dry climate in the winter
Air masses moving north or south from the Earth’s Equator are deflected to the _________; air masses moving toward the Earth’s Equator from the north or south are deflected to the __________
Defected to the east; deflected to the west
What has to rotate the fastest to complete a revolution in 24 hours?
The Earth’s Equator
the influence of the Earth’s rotation on movements across its surface
The Coriolis (Momentum) Effect
Anticyclones are ______ pressure areas, while cyclones are _______ pressure areas.
high pressure areas; low pressure areas
An anticyclone is Earth’s northern hemisphere rotates ________; a cyclone in Earth’s northern hemisphere rotates ___________.
clockwise; counterclockwise
Anticyclones in the southern hemisphere rotate _______ while cyclones in the southern hemisphere rotate ________.
counterclockwise; clockwise
A parcel of air that will always rise of its own accord because it is always warmer and less dense than the surrounding air is called ____________.
Unstable air
Daily temperatures are reported in the ___________ for most countries of the world.
Celsius Scale
What temperature scale is Celsius?
Metric System
The Dew Point is a(n)
temperature
when the atmosphere cools with increasing height, the dew point is a temperature that occurs at ____________.
altitude
Kansas gets most of its moisture from ________.
The Gulf of Mexico
The rising air is colder and more dense than the air around it only at low altitudes. At higher altitudes, it first reaches the same temperature then eventually becomes warmer and less dense that the surrounding air.
conditionally unstable air
The rising air is always cooler (and denser) than the surrounding air, regardless of altitude.
Stable air
An immature, developing thunderstorm cloud is called a(n) ____________
Cumulus cloud
A mature thunderstorm cloud is called a(n) _________.
cumulonimbus cloud
a narrow band of precipitation associated with a cold front of a mid-latitude cyclones called a __________.
squall line
the bend in the polar jet stream bringing us in Kansas our cold weather this week is called a _______________.
Rossby Wave
What place on Earth has the greatest thunderstorm frequency?
The Intertropical Convergence Zone
The dissipating stage is sometimes called ________ because it rains out from the bottom up.
orphan anvil
Where are the highest winds in a tropical cyclone found?
In the eyewall of the tropical cyclone
Where would you NOT expect a tropical cyclone to form?
Along the Equator
During the course of the 20th century, the number of deaths caused by hurricanes _______________.
decreased
The property damage caused by hurricanes ___________________.
increased
The Hurricanes of 1780 may have aided a revolution in what became the independent country called ________.
The United States
The Samoan Cyclone of 1889 may have prevented a war between the United States and ____________.
Germany
A tornado outbreak means ________ from the same storm system in 24 hours.
6 to 99
________ tornadoes from the same storm system in 24 hours are called a tornado super outbreak
100 or more
When was the last time that Manhattan, KS and Topeka, KS, were struck by tornadoes on the same day?
1966
Manhattan, KS was most recently struck by a tornado in _______.
2022
According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, what is the safest place to use as a shelter from a tornado?
Specially designed safe rooms or tornado shelters that meet safety criteria.
How are windstorms in the United Kingdom currently named?
By common first names of people
Hailstorms tend to form in the _______ of a supercell thunderstorm
in the middle of a supercell thunderstorm
This late-season hurricane merged with a westward-moving low-pressure system to be a snow event after doing considerable damage as a hurricane:
Hurricane Sandy
Your instructor said that the first time that the hurricane evacuation plan for New York City was implemented in a real-life situation was for _______.
Hurricane Irene
