ch 15 gen sci
Terms
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- thermosphere
-
above the mesosphere
filters out harmful x rays and gama rays from the sun - water cycle
-
never-ending process of water on earth
the sun's radiant energy powers this cycle - dew point
- the temperature at which condensation can occur on the ground
- relative humidity
-
the measure of the amount of moisture that is present compared to the that could be held at a specific temperature
if the dew point is close to the air temperature, then this is high
if the dew point is much lower than the air temperature, this is low - aerosol
- solids such as dust, salt, pollen, volcanic ash, droplets of acid in the atmosphere
- weather
-
current condition of the atmosphere
occurs only in the troposphere - conduction
-
a few centimeters of air near the earth's surface is heated by this method
the transfer of energy that results when molecules collide - pressure
-
the weight of air exerts this
less dense air exerts less of this
more dense exerts more of this - cumulus
-
middle layer clouds
puffy clouds that form when air currents rise, carrying moisture with them - cumulonimbus
-
can create the highest level clouds
thunderstorm clouds - exosphere
-
no clear boundary sepparates thisx layer from space
outermost layer of atmosphere
above the thermosphere - troposphere
- atmospheric layer closest to earth's surface
- convection
-
cool air pushes warm air upward creating this kind of current
the process of warm air rising and cool air sinking - atmosphere
-
the layer of gases surrounding earth
provides earth with all gases necessary to support life
layers based on temperature changes that occur with altitude - ozone
- prevents too much radiation from reaching earth's surface
- mesosphere
- this layer has no ozone, and is closer to the earth than the thermosphere
- temperature
-
the measure of how fast air molecules are moving
molecules moving rapidly makes this high, moving slow makes this low - humidity
-
the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere
when air is warmer, this can be higher - stratus
-
lowest clouds
form dull grey sheets that cover the entire sky - cirrus
-
wispy clouds
highest level clouds - nimbus
- this name attached to a cloud name means that these clouds can create heavy precipitation
- precipitation
-
when drops of water or ice crystals become too large to be suspended in a cloud, they fall as this
rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow hail
the type depends on the the temp of the atmosphere and and the temp of the earth's surface - stratosphere
- the second layer up from the earth's surface
- anemometer
-
device to measure wind speed
used to record the fastest wind speed of 371 km.hr on mt washington, new hampshire, 1934 - polar easterlies
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winds that move away from the poles
and blow from east to west - prevailing westerlies
- major wind cells between 30 degrees and 60 degrees latitude north and south of the equator
- trade winds
-
blow in an east to west direction toward the equator
also called tropical easterlies - jet streams
-
within the zone of prevailing westerlies are bands of strong winds that develop at high altitudes. they are called _____
important because weather systems move along their paths - wind belts
- these are created by the corolis effect
- air mass
-
large body of air that develops over a particular region of the earth's surface
There are 6 major types in north america: cool moist air, warm moist air, hot dry air, cold dry air, cool moist air, warm moist air - front
-
where air masses of different temperatures meet, a boundary between them called a _____ is created
along this the air does not mix - warm front
-
warm air meets cold air, warm wins
produces long steady precipitation over a large area
after this front passes the sky clears, wind changes direction, and temperature rises - cold fronts
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warm air meets cold, cold wins
produces short periods of storms with heavy precipitation
after this passes the skies clear, wind changes direction, and the temperature drops - stationary front
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warm air meets cold air, neither wins
can stay in same area for days
makes cloudy skies and precipitation along the boundary of the two air masses - occluded front
-
the faster wins over the slower, cold or warm can win
produces cloudy weather and precipitation -
low pressure
(low pressure center) -
air rises, water vapor condenses into clouds and moves in a counter clockwise motion because air flows into it
(high to low- least resistance) - high pressure
- air sinks, as it reaches ground it spreads outward and away from the area. as it spreads it begins to turn clockwise (in northern hemisphere) because clouds cannot rise abd condense, few clouds are formed
- thunderstorms
- develop from cumulonimbus clouds
- lightning
-
bottom of storm cloud has negative charge, earth has positive charge. The two are attracted and rush toward eachother, sparks fly when they meet
the only thing on earth in the plasma state of matter - positive charge
- the earth has this charge
- negative charge
- bottom of cumulonumbus clouds have this charge
- tornadoes
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caused by updrafts in a low pressure center
seldom lasts longer than 15 minutes - hurricanes
-
created by updrafts and downdrafts.
begins over oceans, sometimes never reaches shore
rotates counterclockwise around the center.
has an eye - national weather service
-
carefully monitors the weather in the U.S.
if it believes weather conditions are right for a severe storm to develop in a particular area, they issue a severe weather watch
has their own radio network called NOAA - watch
- weather conditions are right for severe weather such as a thunderstorm, tropical storm, hurricane, blizzard, flood, and tornadoes
- warning
- One of the following types of storms has been spotted either on radar or in person :thunderstorm, tropical storm, hurricane, blizzard, flood, and tornadoes
- barometer
- instrument used to measure air pressure
- rising air
- this means low pressure or warm air
- sinking air
- means cold air or high pressure
- counterclockwise
- the direction that air travels in a hurricane or low pressure center
- ocean
-
place where most of the moisture for clouds comes from
where hurricaines start - transpiration
- evaporation of water from plants
- condensation
- water molecules change into droplets of liquid water
- evaporation
-
occurs from all bodies of water
when water has enough energy it changes from a liquid to a gas - nitrogen
- most abundant element in air
- oxygen
-
second most abundant element in the air
element necessary for life - galileio galilei
- the scientist that first proved that air has witght and must contain matter
- updrafts
- air quickly rising upward, like in a tornado
- downdrafts
- air quickly moving down, this is what happens in a hurricane to cause an eye