Weather Vocabulary Hillview School 6th Grade
Terms
undefined, object
copy deck
- What causes the Coriolis Effect?
- The rotation of the Earth
- What is air pressure?
- Force that excerts over a certain area due to it's weight or motion.
- What are the three types of heat exchange?
-
1. conduction
2. convection
3. radiation - What is conduction?
- The transfer of heat within or from a substance to another as a result of molecular motion. ALWAYS FROM WARM TO COLD!
- What is convection?
- Convection - transfer of energy and mass by motions in a liquid or gas. In the atmosphere, convection usually refers to the vertical interchange of air masses. An example of convection is the rising of warm surface air and the sinking of cold air from upper levels of the atmosphere.
- What is radiation?
- Radiation - The emission or release of energy in the form of waves or rays.
- What is temperature? (Define it in two different ways.)
- Temperature - A degree of hotness or coldness the can be measured using a thermometer. Also a measure of how fast the atoms and molecules of a substance are moving (see Kinetic energy).
- How is temperature measured?
- Temperature is measured in degrees on the Fahrenheit, Celsius, and Kelvin scales.
- What is volume?
- Volume - The amount of space occupied by a substance or object.
- What is a vortex?
- Vortex - Whirling motion or mass.
- What is a wind shear?
- Wind shear - Any sudden change in wind speed or direction.
- What is mass?
- Mass - The amount of matter in an object. It can be expressed in math as the total weight of the atoms or molecules in the object.
- What is a molecule?
- Molecule - a substance composed of two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds.
- What is a liter?
- Liter - Basic unit of volume in the metric system.
- What is kinetic energy?
- Kinetic energy - The energy of motion; the energy an object has as a result of its motion.
- What is a funnel cloud?
- Funnel cloud - A rotating column of air extending from a cloud but not reaching the ground.
- What is force?
- Force - Push or pull that gives energy to an object, sometimes causing a change in the motion of the object.
- What is density?
-
Density - The mass per unit volume of an object.
Density = (mass/volume) - What is high density?
- High density - a relatively large amount of mass for a given volume.
- What is low density?
- Low Density - a relatively small amount of mass for a given area.
- Does air have density?
- Yes
- Does warm air have low of high density when compared to cold air?
- Warm air has high density when compared to cold air.
- Does cold air have low or high density when compared to warm air?
- Cold air has high density when compared to warm air.
-
Trick Question!
Which has more density: warm air or hot air? - Warm air is more dense than hot air.
- What is condensation?
- Condensation - The process by which a gas or vapor changes to a liquid.
- What is a cloud?
- Cloud - A visible collection of very fine water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere at altitudes from just above the ground to several miles above sea level.
- What is an atom?
- Atom - The smallest part of an element that has all the properties of the element.
- How wide can hurricanes be?
- Hurricanes can be up to 600 miles across.
- Describe 3 characteristics of the winds of a hurricane?
-
Hurricane winds:
1. SPIRAL counter-clockwise in the northern hemispher;
2. inward and upward;
3. from 75 mph to 200 mph. - Which part of the hurricane is the calmest part? What is it called?
- The eye of a hurricane is the calmest part with light rain and light winds.
- Which direction does the low level winds blow on a hurricane in the Northern Hemisphere?
- Counter-clockwise
- Which direction does the low level winds blow on a hurricane in the Southern Hemisphere?
- Clockwise
- Why do lower level winds of a hurricane blow counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere?
- The Coriolus Effect in the Northern Hemisphere force the winds of a hurricanes to the right or counter-clockwise.
- Why do lower level winds of a hurricane blow counter-clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere?
- The Coriolus Effect in the Southern Hemisphere force the hurricanes to the left or clockwise.
- Do hurricanes need cold or warm water to form? Why?
- Hurricanes need warm ocean water, above 80 degrees F, to provide energy and causes more evaporation making the air and clouds humid.
- What wind speed does a Tropical Depression have?
- Tropical Depressions have wind speeds between 20 and 34 knots (23-39 mi/hr).
- What wind speed does a Tropical Storm have?
- Tropical Storms have wind speeds between 35 and 64 knots (40-73 mi/hr.)
- What wind speed does a Hurricane have?
- Hurricanes have wind speeds speed greater than 64 knots (74 mi/hr).
- Why are hurricanes important?
- Hurricanes are important because they push warm air from the tropics to the cooler temperature areas.
- At what lattitudes do hurricanes typically form?
- Hurricanes typically form between 5 and 15 degrees lattitude north or south of the equator
- Name for major oceans that hurricanes usually form?
- Hurricanes thunder across the warm oceans of the world such as the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and the Western Pacific Ocean (where they are called typhoons), up to higher latitudes.
- What are hurricanes called in the Western Pacific Ocean?
- Hurricanes in the Western Pacific Ocean are called typhoons.
- What months and seasons do Hurricanes usually form? Why?
- Hurricanes happen when the oceans have been warmed during summer months. In the North Atlantic, hurricane season is from June 1 to November 30, but most hurricanes happen during the fall.
- What is a storm surge?
- A hurricane’s winds spiral around and around the storm, they push water into a mound at the storm’s center (eye). This mound of water becomes dangerous when the storm reaches land because it causes flooding along the coast. The water piles up, unable to escape anywhere but on land as the storm carries it landward.
- Is a storm surge dangerous? Why or why not?
- The water in the eye of the hurricane is full of water. When the hurricane comes over land, there is not other place for the water to go but on the land. It causes flooding.
- Do storm surges come at high tide? If so, what is it called.
- When high tide happens at the same time as a storm surge, the combination of the two is called storm tide. During a storm tide, the water level may be 20 feet or more above normal. This causes huge floods.
-
True or false?
A storm tide of only a few feet is not dangerous? Why or why not? - A storm tide of a few feet can still cause large area of flooding.
-
True of false?
A hurricane with winds of 125 miles per hour means that the hurricane moves across the ocean or land at 125 mph. Why or why not? - No, hurricanes with winds from 75 to 200 mph only travels about 15 mph.