Unit 5 Vocab

Question 1

air mass

Answer 1

a large area of air that has uniform temp, humidity and pressure

Question 2

air pressure

Answer 2

the force that a column of air applies on the air or a surface below it

Question 3

albedo

Answer 3

the measure of the sun’s reflectivity on earth’s diff. surfaces

Question 4

atmosphere

Answer 4

the layers of gases surrounding the earth

Question 5

climate

Answer 5

average weather conditions in a specific region over a long period of time

Question 6

coriolis effect

Answer 6

the movement of wind or currents in a curved path due to earth’s rotation

Question 7

eddy

Answer 7

smaller, temporary, loops of swirling water that can travel long distances before dispesing

Question 8

front

Answer 8

a boundary between two air masses

Question 9

greenhouse gas

Answer 9

a gas in the atmoshphere that absorbs earth’s outgoing IR

Question 10

gyre

Answer 10

a large circular system of ocean currents

Question 11

humidity

Answer 11

the amount of water vapor in the air

Question 12

hydrosphere

Answer 12

system containing all the solid and liquid water on earth

Question 13

jet stream

Answer 13

narrow bands of high speed wind high in the troposphere that move from w to e

Question 14

land breeze

Answer 14

winds that blow during the night from the land towards sea. this is bc land has a lower specific heat capacity than water, and cools faster than water, creating hp over the land at night, causing wind bc it moves from hp to lp

Question 15

local winds

Answer 15

winds that blow over short distances

Question 16

polar eaterlies

Answer 16

cold winds that blow from the e to w near Np and Sp

Question 17

prevailing wind

Answer 17

distinct wind patterns caused by diff. in pressure and coriolis effect

Question 18

sea breeze

Answer 18

winds that blow during the day from the sea toward land due to water having a high specific heat capacity and it does not heat or cool quickly. high pressure then forms over the water during the day and blows toward the land

Question 19

specific heat capacity

Answer 19

the amount of heat that must be added to a substance to increase the temp by 1 degree

Question 20

storm surge

Answer 20

water that has blown outward from the center of a tropical cyclone or hurricane and creates an abnormal rise in ocean water on the coast

Question 21

surface current

Answer 21

currents near the surface of the ocean; driven by wind, the coriolis effect and continental deflection

Question 22

trade winds

Answer 22

steady winds that flow from e to w between 30 degrees north and south along the equator

Question 23

tropical cyclone

Answer 23

a rotating and organized system of clouds and thunderstorms that originates over tropical or subtropical waters

Question 24

typhoon

Answer 24

a tropical cyclone occurring in the pacific

Question 25

weather

Answer 25

the short-term atmospheric conditions in a given place and time

Question 26

westerlies

Answer 26

steady winds that flow from w to e in the middle latitudes (they impact the weather in US)

Question 27

wind shear

Answer 27

a large shift in wind speed and direction