Science Test 7, Chapter 7 Flashcards
The outermost layer of the atmosphere is the
exosphere
Air flowing up a mountain’s slope due to differences in temperature and pressure is a(n) ____ wind.
anabatic
What type of wind occurs when dense, cold air flows from higher to lower elevations due to gravity?
fall wind
What very dry and often dusty wind blows in Southern California?
Santa Ana
Which layer of the atmosphere ‘‘bounces’’ certain types of radio waves back toward the ground?
ionosphere
Heat transfer by electromagnetic waves is
radiation
Heat transfer by moving currents of hot air is
convection
A cool, gentle wind that blows from the land to the sea is a
land breeze
What is the most powerful and dangerous form of UV radiation?
UVC
What type of radiation causes tanning and sunburns?
UVB
Which layer of the atmosphere is characterized by high temperatures?
thermosphere
The most abundant gas in the homosphere is
nitrogen
The process in which the temperature of a gas rises as the gas is compressed with no heat is lost is ___ heating.
adiabatic
The coldest point in the atmosphere is the
mesopause
What marks the upper boundary of the thermosphere?
thermopause
Which of the following statements is false?
Insolation warms water more quickly than it warms land.
Winds that reverse their direction from season to season are called
monsoons
A warm, dry wind that travels down a slope is a
foehn
Label each convection cell beside the corresponding number.
polar cell, Ferrel cell, Hadley cell
Upper troposphere waves that play a large part in the formation of cyclones and anticyclones are called
Rossby waves
The four main factors that affect insolation are __, __, ___, and Earth’s distance from the sun.
Cloud cover, length of daytime, angle of the sun’s rays
The scientific name for the northern and southern lights is
auroras
The layer of the atmosphere that acts as a ‘‘shield’’ to protect the earth’s surface is the
ozone layer
least understood layer of the atmosphere
mesosphere
the atmosphere’s ‘‘weather layer’’
troposphere
strong, steady winds but few changes of weather
stratosphere
portion of the earth’s magnetic field that is affected by the solar winds
magnetosphere
What term refers to the decimal equivalent of solar radiation that an object reflects?
albedo
What is the blanket of gases that surrounds our planet?
atmosphere
What is a circulating spiral of wind around a low-pressure system?
cyclone
What term refers to the amount of energy available to hear the earth’s land, water, and air?
energy budget
Name the process that traps heat in the earth’s atmosphere.
greenhouse effect
What beltlike regions surround the earth and trap particles from the solar wind?
Van Allen radiation belts
regions of high pressure and gentle wind at 30* north and south latitude
horse latitudes
surface winds that blow from high-pressure regions toward the equator
trade winds
equatorial zone where sailing ships were often left without wind
ITCZ
high-altitude wind in a narrow, meandering band
jet stream
A circulating spiral of wind around a high-pressure system is called a ____
anticyclone
Atmospheric pressure at sea level is ___ pounds per square inch.
14.7
Extremely powerful radiation that comes from deep space is ____
cosmic rays
The most important greenhouse gas is ____
water vapor
The region in which a magnet affects other objects is the _____
magnetic field
The lower layer of the atmosphere is the ____
homosphere
Explain what the Coriolis effect is and why it occurs.
- The Coriolis effect is the way in which the earth’s rotation causes a change in the course of the winds.
- One factor that causes the Coriolis effect is inertia, the tendency for matter to stay at rest if at rest or to continue moving if in motion. Inertia makes an object tend to keep the same condition of motion with which it started out.
- Another factor that causes the Coriolis effect is that objects on the earth’s rotating surface travel at different speeds depending on their distance from the axis.
- The combined effect of these two factors causes an apparent shift in the earth’s winds as they move north and south.
