Science test card Flashcards
What are natural resources?
Parts of environment that provide materials useful for living things
What is the difference between renewable and nonrenewable resources?
Renewable resources replenish as quickly as we use them and nonrenewable do not replenish as fast as we use them
Can a resource be classified as either one? What would cause this?
Yes, If we use them too fast they become nonrenewable
What is pollution?
Contaminating the environment with harmful substances
What is the atmosphere?
A thin layer of gas surrounding the earth
What is the composition of the atmosphere?
78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% other
How is energy transferred through the atmosphere?
Convection currents
What are the 5 layers of the atmosphere?
Exosphere, Thermosphere, Mesosphere, Stratosphere, troposphere
What happens to temp. as you move in the troposphere?
It decreases
Where is the ozone layer found?
Stratosphere
What does the ozone layer do?
Protect us from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays
How do scientists hypothesize that the atmosphere formed?
When the earth was magma, it started cooling and it released gasses from volcanic eruptions that formed around the earth. It then cooled and formed the atmosphere
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather is the atmospheric condition of a specific place at a specific time. Climate is the weather conditions over a specific period of time
What is an anomaly?
Something that occurs that is unusual, out of the ordinary and is hard to classify
What is air temperature?
Measure of the average kinetic energy of the molecules in the air
What is an air pressure?
The force that a column of air applies to the ground and or column below
What is another name for air pressure?
Barometric pressure
How is wind created?
When air moves from high pressure to low pressure
How is wind measured?
Anemometer
What is the difference between humidity and relative humidity?
Relative humidity compares current humidity to the max humidity in the air. Humidity is just the amount of water vapor present per cubic metre
How is relative humidity measured?
Psychrometer
What is the dew point?
Temperature at which air is as full of water as it can be
What are clouds?
Droplets of ice crystals and water vapor
What is fog?
Clouds near the surface
What is stability?
Whether circulating air is strong or weak. Stable air currents are weak and unstable currents are strong
What kind of weather is associated with air movements that are classified as unstable?
Warm and sunny
What kind of weather is associated with air movements that are classified as stable?
Ground-level air is nearly the same temperature as higher-altitude air
What is a temperature inversion?
Occurs in the troposphere when temperature increases as altitude increases
What happens with a high-pressure air system?
Low pressure center high pressure outside
What is an air mass?
Large body of air with uniform temperature, humidity, and pressure
What is the difference between continental and maritime air masses?
COntinental air masses are over land and maritime air masses are over the ocean
Where do polar and tropical air masses form?
Polar: over colder regions and Tropical: over warmer regions
What is a front?
Boundary between two air masses
What is a cold front?
Cold air mass pushes against warm air mass and warm air rises creating clouds and precipitation
How does it impact the weather?
It makes precipitation
What is a warm front?
When a warm air mass pushes on a cold air mass and the warm one rises slowly creating a blanket of clouds
How does it impact weather?
It makes precipitation
What is a stationary front?
2 fronts hit and don’t move
What is an isobar?
Line on weather map showing places with the same pressure
What does it tell us when isobars are close together vs farther apart on a map?
Winds are strong when isobars are close together and they are weak when isobars are further apart
What is an Isotherm?
Lines on a weather map that connect lines with the same temperature
What are some examples of severe weather?
Hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts
What factors impact a region’s climate?
Where they are, what kinds of weather they have
How does climate change as you move away from the equator?
It becomes colder and more extreme
How does altitude impact climate?
Altitude increase means the temperature decreases since we are in the troposphere
How can mountains impact climate?
They can block wind and make rain shadows
What is a rain shadow?
Area of low rainfall ona downwind slope of a mountain
How can large bodies of water impact climate?
It makes the land around it have a more consistent climate due to the high specific heat of water
What is specific heat?
Amount of thermal energy needed to raise the temperature of 1kg of a material by 1℃
What is a microclimate?
Localized climate from the larger climate surrounding it. Ex: a Urban heat island
What factors could create a microclimate?
Forest, hilltops and large amounts of concrete and steel
How are climates classified?
Polar, continental, dry, tropical, mild
How can human activities affect climate?
We burn fossil fuels and destroy forests
What is the greenhouse gas effect?
Gasses released into the atmosphere and trap the sun’s heat that would otherwise have escaped
Where does our knowledge of past climates come from?
From scientists taking samples of ice from the arctic and fossilized pollen
What is an ice age?
Millions of years in which ice covers the earth
What is an interglacial?
The period after an ice age where the glaciers retreat
What causes long-term climate cycles?
The shape of orbit affects the amount of solar energy we receive
What causes the seasons?
The tilt of the earth’s rotation away from the sun (23.5 degrees)
