Final Flashcards
How are climate zones classified?
Temperature and precipitation
What type of energy heats up Earth’s atmosphere?
Infrared Radiation
What are isotherms?
Line on a map that connect two places with the same temperature.
Why does air have pressure?
Because it has mass
How does the Coriolis Effect effect ocean currents
It curves the direction of them
What causes a land breeze?
At night, the air above land cools down faster than the land over the water.
What is the cause of wind?
The uneven heating and cooling of the Earth
What is the significance of the Coriolis Effect?
The Coriolis Effect causes the global winds to curve instead of blowing in straight lines
What is the weather caused by a low pressure system
Clouds and precipitation
What are isobars?
They connect two areas with the same air pressure
What is the density of air?
How many molecules it contains per square mile.
What’s significant about the Stratosphere?
It contains the Ozone layer
What are the main layers of the Atmosphere?
Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere
What is special about the Troposphere?
It’s where weather happens
What are the three ways heat can be transferred?
Conduction, convection, radiation
What is conduction?
The transfer of thermal energy from one substance to another it’s touching
What causes a sea breeze?
During the day, the air above the land cools faster than the land above the water, causing uneven heating and a breeze from the sea
What are the main gases in the Atmosphere?
Nitrogen and Oxygen
What is heat?
The transfer of thermal energy from one object to another because of a difference in temperature.
What is radiation?
The direct transfer of thermal energy by electromagnetic waves.
What is temperature?
A measure of how hot or cold an object is compared to a reference point.
What is thermal energy?
The total energy of motion in the particles of a substance
What’s an example of conduction?
Touching a hot stove
What’s an example of radiation?
The Sun warming the Earth
What’s an example of convection?
Boiling water- The cooler water sinks down, gets heated, rises, cools down, and then the whole process restarts.
What percentage of the main gases is in the air
78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 1% others
Name 6 of the gases under 1% in the Atmosphere.
Carbon Dioxide, Neon, Helium, Hydrogen, Methane, Krypton, Argon
What is convection?
The transfer of thermal energy by the movement of fluid
How often does El Niño occur?
Every 3-5 years
How often does La Niña occur?
Every 3-5 years
What are the 4 types of air masses?
Maritime Tropical (mT), Maritime Polar (mP), Continental Tropical (cT), and Continental Polar (cP)
What type of temperature/ humidity is associated with Maritime Tropical?
Warm and wet
What type of temperature/ humidity is associated with Maritime Polar?
Cool and wet
What type of temperature/ humidity is associated with Continental Tropical?
Warm and dry
What type of temperature/ humidity is associated with Continental Polar
Cold and dry
Where do Maritime Tropical and Maritime Polar form?
Over the ocean, tropical near the equator, and polar near the poles
Where do Continental Tropical and Polar form?
Over land, tropical near the equator and polar near the poles.
Where do El Niño and La Niña develop?
In the equatorial Pacific
What’s the connection between ocean currents and global winds?
Surface currents are a product of global winds.
What’s the significance of the Coriolis Effect on currents?
It makes current gyres turn clockwise above the equator, and counterclockwise below it.
What’s the relationship between currents and climate?
Warm currents bring warm temperatures to cooler places, and vice versa
