Seasons, Air Pressure, Wind, Atmospheric Moisture, and Air Masses

  1. When do all latitudes get 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of night?
    On March and December 21st.
  2. In what month does the south pole get 24 hours of daylight?
    December
  3. On what degree angle is the Earth's axis on?
    23.5 degrees
  4. What is the numerical significance of the latitudes of the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of cancer?
    The fact that the degrees of their latitudes are the same as the angle of the earth's tilt.
  5. Which direction does Earth orbit the sun in?
    Counter-clockwise
  6. which way does the Earth rotate?
    Counter-clockwise
  7. What are two reasons why our winter is colder than our summer?
    • 1. Winter has the least direct insolation
    • 2. It has the shortest daylight hours
  8. What is the term that describes the day(s) a year that the sun rises in the due east?
    the EQUINOX
  9. In New York State, at solar noon on June 21st, what angle is the sun at?
    71.8 degrees
  10. In NY State, when is the sun at a 24.5 degree angle?
    December 21st
  11. At what angle is the sun on the Equinoxes?
    48 degrees
  12. In summer, which half of the sky does the sun rise and set on if one is standing on the equator?
    The SOUTHERN half of the sky.
  13. On the equator, when is the sun directly overhead?
    On March and September 21st
  14. What latitude receives a 90 angle of insolation on June 21st?
    25.3 degrees north (the Tropic Of Cancer)
  15. What is the term for the line separating night and day?
    the TERMINATOR.
  16. Why do latitudes above the Arctic circle and below the Antarctic circle receive 24 hours of daylight in summer and 24 hours of night in winter.
    Because the earth's tilt makes it so that one pole is pointing into the terminator, and the other pointing out.
  17. At what latitude(s) does the terminator end?
    66 degrees north and 66 degrees south
  18. What is barometric pressure?
    The pressure extended by the weight of the athmosphere.
  19. What is athmospheric pressure measured in?
    Millibars and Inches Mercury
  20. The _________ the air pressure is, the _____ the weather is.
    LOWER, WORSE
  21. As elevation increases, air pressure ____________.
    DECREASES
  22. What is the average air pressure and where is this measured?
    14.7lbs/in2 at sea level
  23. The amount of water vapor present in air expressed as a percentage of the amount needed for saturation at the same temperature is called __________________.
    RELATIVE HUMIDITY
  24. What is ABSOLUTE HUMIDITY?
    The total amount of moisture in the air, not as a percentage.
  25. _______er air contracts, which in turn leads to a decrease in ____________.
    COLDer, VOLUME
  26. The __________ it is, the more air pressure.
    COLDER
  27. Warmer air expanding outward causes less molecule density and ______ air pressure.
    LESS
  28. The further below sea level you are, the ______er the air pressure.
    Higher
  29. What happens to colder air? In turn, what does this do to volume?
    It contracts, which leads to a decrease in volume.
  30. What is the term for when relative humidity is so high (100%) that the air cannot hold any more of it?
    SATURATION
  31. If the absolute humidity stays the same, as temperature increases, relative humidity ________________.
    DECREASES
  32. When humidity increases, what happens to air pressure?
    It INCREASES
  33. What defines wind?
    The horizontal movement of air from an area of high pressure to low pressure.
  34. In what direction must wind move?
    HORIZONTALLY
  35. Wind must move from areas of ______ pressure to areas of _____ pressure.
    HIGH, LOW
  36. Is temperature higher in areas of high pressure or low pressure?
    In areas of HIGH PRESSURE.
  37. As air pressure increases, what happens to density and volume?




    A) density increases, volume decreases
  38. A barometer indicates a pressure of 30 inches of mercury at sea level; at 3.5 miles above sea level, it indicates a pressure of 15 inches. What is the best conclusion you can draw from this data?




    D) of the total mass of air, about 50 percent is less than 3.5 miles above sea level
  39. At sea level, as the temperature of the atmosphere decreases, the air pressure usually



    B) increases
  40. If the air humidity increases and the temperature remains the same, the air pressure will




    C) decrease
  41. As a parcel of air increases in altitude, its pressure will



    C) decrease
  42. Over a period of one year, which location would probably have the greatest average intensity of insolation per unit area? Assume that there is equal atmospheric transparency at each location.




    C) Tropic of Cancer, 23.5oN
  43. The most logical conclusion that can be made from the relationship between the altitude of the sun throughout the day and the amount of insolation is that, as the sun's altitude




    A) increases, the insolation increases
  44. At which time of day would an observer's shadow cast by the sun be shortest?




    B) 12:00 noon
  45. At the time of the fall equinox, the number of hours of daylight in New York City is generally about




    B) 12
  46. Which two factors determine the number of hours of daylight at a particular location?




    C) latitude and season
  47. A balloon carrying weather instruments is released at Earth's surface and rises through the troposphere. As the ballon rises, what will the instruments generally indicate?




    A) a decreases in both air temperature and air pressure
  48. As the pressure gradient increases, wind velocity



    C) increases
  49. The weather element determined by an anemometer is




    A) wind velocity
  50. Winds blow from regions of _____ air pressure to regions of _____ air pressure.
    high, low
  51. Which is NOT true about wind?




    A) Wind direction is named for the direction toward which the wind blows
  52. The steeper the gradient, the _____er the wind speed.
    GREATER
  53. In a diagram of isobars, which area has the highest air pressure?
    The CENTER
  54. Lines that show areas of equal air pressure are called _________.
    ISOBARS
  55. Generally, clouds ___crease surface temperatures.
    DEcrease
  56. How do clouds decrease surface temperatures?
    By absorbing, reflecting, and scattering insolation.
  57. What are the three different types of wind?
    • 1. GLOBAL WIND
    • 2. REGIONAL WIND
    • 3. LOCAL WIND
  58. The energy needed to raise 1 gram of H20 by 1 degree celsius is called ___________________.
    SPECIFIC HEAT
  59. The ____er the specific heat, the longer it takes an object to heat up.
    HIGHer
  60. Of all objects on Earth, what takes the longest to heat up (and has the highest specific heat)?
    WATER
  61. Objects with _____ specific heat take a short time to heat up and a short time to cool down.
    LOW
  62. What is the term for air traveling vertically?
    a CONVECTION CURRENT
  63. When WIND is combined with a CONVECTION CURRENT, what does it create?
    a CONVECTION CELL
  64. What are the two types of air convection cells?
    • 1. SEA BREEZE
    • 2. LAND BREEZE
  65. ______ BREEZES occur during the day, while ______ BREEZES occur at night.
    SEA, LAND
  66. What generates waves?
    WIND far out in the open ocean
  67. Between what hours does the strongest sea breeze occur?
    between 2PM and 4PM
  68. Image Upload 2
    In diagrams A and B above, which one represents a SEA BREEZE. Which one represents a LAND BREEZE
    • A = SEA BREEZE
    • B = LAND BREEZE
  69. The ____er _____er air moves inward, forcing the ____er ____er air upward
    COOLer, HEAVIer, WARMer, LIGHTer
  70. During a _____ BREEZE, the pressure is lower on land than it is at sea.
    SEA breeze
  71. Where is the pressure highest when there is a land breeze? Why?
    On land, because the CONVECTION CURRENT pushes downwards on it.
  72. ______er air cannot hold as much moisture as ______er air.
    COLDer, WARMer
  73. Winter tends to have a ______er relative humidity than summer.
    HIGHER
  74. Summer has a _______er absolute humidity than Winter.
    HIGHer
  75. Winter tends to have a higher __________ humidity than summer, but summer tends to have a higher _________ humidity than Winter.




    D) relative, absolute
  76. At what temperature (celsius) can air hold about 8 grams/cm3 of water (see figure 7-9, and 7-10 on pgs 137-139 for answer)
    10 degrees celsius
  77. The _______er the air is, the more moisture it takes to saturate it 100%




    B) warmer
  78. What is the term that describes the pressure involved with water molecules that want to go up into the air?
    VAPOR PRESSURE
  79. Any liquid that turns into a solid is considered to be __________.
    FROZEN
  80. Ice has a _____ freezing temperature.



    A) low
  81. In joules per gram, what is the amount of energy that water must lose in order to freeze?
    it must loose 334 j/g
  82. What is it called when water turns to vapor?
    VAPORIZATION
  83. The process of turning matter from a liquid state into a gas state is called ______________.
    EVAPORATION
  84. In joules per gram, how much heat is gained when water evaporates (see page 137 for answer)
    2260 j/g
  85. What must happen in order for vaporization to occur?
    VAPOR PRESSURE must exceed AIR PRESSURE
  86. What is it called when vapor turns into water?
    CONDENSATION
  87. The lower the air pressure, the _____er the boiling point.
    LOWer
  88. What temperature does water not get any hotter than?
    BOILING TEMPERATURE
  89. How much heat, in joules per gram, is released during condensation? (see p.137 for answer)
    2260 j/g
  90. What is ADIABATIC COOLING?
    Cooling by expansion.
  91. What is the term for dust and dirt particulates in the air?
    CONDENSATION NUCLEI
  92. On what surface are water molecules likely to congregate on first?
    DUST
  93. The more CONDENSATION NUCLEI, the ______ rain droplets in the air.
  94. As air contracts, relative humidity ___creases
    INcreases
  95. The temperature where condensation occurs is called _______________________________________________.
    DEW POINT TEMPERATURE
  96. Why does warm air rise?
    because it is LESS dense
  97. What do clouds represent?
    CLOUDS represent the stage where the rising parcels of air where dew point was reached.
  98. What type of precipitation is most likely to occur when the ground temperature is below freezing, but the air temperature is above freezing?
    FREEZING RAIN
  99. What type of clouds cause hail?
    TALL clouds
  100. When water droplets get pushed by updraft until they freeze, and then back down by gravity, and then back up by the updrift again in a cycle, what must happen in order for the water to fall as hail?
    THE WEIGHT OF THE FROZEN PELLETS (that increases with each repetition of the cycle) MUST OVERCOME THE FORCE OF THE UPDRIFT.
  101. The _______er the updrift, the _______er the size of hail
    STRONGer, LARGer
  102. For ___________ to occur where the clouds are, the middle layer of the atmosphere and the ground must both be below freezing.
    SNOW
  103. What defines an air mass?
    A body of air with horizontally uniform temperature, humidity and pressure.
  104. What is mT a symbol for
    Maritime Tropical
  105. What is cP a symbol for
    Continental Polar
  106. What is mP a symbol for?
    Maritime Polar
  107. What moisture classification would an air mass have if it was moist?
    MARITIME (m)
  108. Continental air masses are ____er because _____________________________________.
    DRYer, THEY FORM OVER LAND
  109. When classifying and air mass, one must first list _______________, then _________________.




    A) moisture, temperature
  110. Where does NY state get most of its Continental polar (cP) and Continental Arctic (cA) air from?
    CANADA
  111. What type of air is dry and hot and comes from southwestern desert source regions?
    CONTINENTAL TROPICAL (cT) air
  112. What type of air mass forms for the most part in the Gulf of Mexico?
    MARITIME TROPICAL (mT) air masses
  113. What is one of the most common air masses in Seattle and Portland?
    MARITIME POLAR (mP)
  114. What develops clouds?
    FRONTAL LIFTING OF WARM MOIST AIR
  115. What forms when an mT air mass comes in contact with a cooler dryer air mass?
    a FRONT
  116. At warm fronts, how does less dense air condense?
    By rising, cooling and expanding
  117. What type of front causes long but mild periods of rain?
    a WARM front
  118. What causes cloud development?
    FRONTAL LIFTING OF WARM MOIST AIR
  119. As a warm front gets closer, what will it produce?
    LOWERING CLOUDS and SHOWERY PRECIPITATION
  120. Why do warm fronts have flatter slopes than cold fronts?
    because of friction with the surface
  121. What do cirrus clouds indicate?
    an incoming WARM FRONT
  122. What is one of the very first indications of an incoming warm front?
    the appearance of CIRRUS clouds
  123. For what reason do warm fronts cause mild rain but for long periods of time?
    Because the clouds produced by warm fronts are very wide but not that tall.
  124. As the slope of a front increases, the width of the clouds it produces ________es.
    DECREASes
  125. What is the relationship between the slope of a front and the vertical size of the clouds it creates?
    As the slope of a front INCREASES, the vertical size of the clouds it creates DECREASES.
  126. What type of front causes severe and intense thunderstorms that last for short periods of time.
    a COLD front
  127. What type of cloud causes moderate precipitation at warm fronts?
    NIMBOSTRATUS (Ns)
  128. What happens when cold air advances into warm air?
    It produces convergence and pushes the warm air UPWARD
  129. In New York State, dry, cool air masses (cP) often interact with moist, warm air masses (mT). Which statement correctly matches each air mass with its usual geographic source region?




    B) cP is from northern Canada and mT is from the Gulf of Mexico
  130. In general, the probability of flooding decreases when there is an increase in the amount of




    B) infiltration
  131. Which surface ocean current transports warm water to higher latitudes?




    D) Gulf Stream
  132. Why are thunderstorms intense but short?
    Because cumulus clouds are not very wide
  133. When cP air meets mT air, what does it create?
    a COLD FRONT
  134. What two types of air masses must collide in order to create a COLD FRONT?
    Continental Polar (cP) and Maritime Tropical (mT) air masses
  135. What type of cloud is created by cold fronts?
    a CUMULUS cloud
  136. In the Northern Hemisphere, what is the direction in which high pressure systems move?
    CLOCKWISE, and OUTWARD
  137. _______ pressure is cooler and dryer than _______ pressure
    HIGH, LOW
  138. What is formed when an advancing cold front begins to overtake a warm front?
    an OCCLUDED FRONT
  139. What type of cloud is formed by OCCLUDED FRONTS?
    STRATOCUMULUS clouds
  140. What type of front often causes longer and more intense rain than expected?
    an OCCLUDED FRONT
  141. What type of front separates cold polar easterlies from warm westerlies?
    a POLAR FRONT
  142. When warm air and cold air form a frontal boundry that is initially stationary, what is it called?
    a STATIONARY FRONT
  143. The apparent deflection of moving objects when they are viewed from a rotating reference frame is called _________________________
    the COREOLIS EFFECT
  144. In the northern hemisphere, which direction do objects deflect to?
    the RIGHT
  145. What does a NORTHERN HEMISPHERE HIGH indicate?
    DENSE FALLING AIR
  146. _______ pressure systems generally cause worse weather.
    LOW
  147. While clouds in the ___________ make it colder, clouds in the ___________ trap in the heat from the ground
    SUMMER, WINTER
  148. In which direction does the air in LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS move?
    INWARD
  149. _______ winds come from the northeast
    Maritime Polar (mP)
  150. In order for a NOREASTER to hit New York, where must its position be in relation to the city?
    Just to our south.
  151. ______ pressure systems cause NOREASTERS.
    LOW
  152. What determines the shape of the bottom of a cloud?
    CLOUD BASED ALTITUDE
  153. In a classic supercell thunderstorm, what does the top of the anvil indicate?
    The top of the TROPOSPHERE
  154. What are winds in the stratosphere called?
    SHEERING WINDS
  155. What is it called when updraft is so strong that it bursts into the stratosphere?
    OVERSHOOT
  156. When air rises on its own because of its heat, what is it called?
    INSTABILITY
  157. What does INSTABILITY create?
    ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS
  158. The _______er the air rises, the more massive the clouds.
    FASTer
  159. What type of tornado has the widest damage path?
    a WEDGE TORNADO
  160. Where do the hurricanes come from that effect New York State?
    The WEST COAST OF AFRICA
  161. What is the term for hurricanes that form in the Pacific?
    Typhoons
  162. Hurricanes that form in the INDIAN ocean are called ____________.
    CYCLONES
  163. When colliding winds of equal density move in an upward direction, it is called ______________.
    CONVERGENCE
  164. What is the name for a storm that has potential of becoming a hurricane but is not big enough for coriolis to begin to rotate it?
    a TROPICAL DISTURBANCE
  165. What is the next thing that a tropical disturbance is called when it becomes strong enough to be effected by Coriolis?
    a TROPICAL DEPRESSION
  166. What is a storm called when it is in the stage just before it turns into a hurricane?
    a TROPICAL STORM
  167. What does a hurricane need to form?
    It needs WATER OF MORE THAN 80 DEGREES FARRENHEIT to form.
  168. In the formation of a hurricane, what happens after warm ocean water provides energy for the hurricane and causes more evaporation making humid air and clouds?
    WINDS COMING TOGETHER FORCE AIR UPWARD
  169. _______ pressure deflects hurricanes.
    HIGH
  170. Many belts of thunderstorms revolving around a common center are called _________________.
    a HURRICANE
  171. The more distinct the eyewall, the _______er the storm.
    STRONGer
  172. In the eye of a hurricane, there is ______ pressure.
    HIGH
  173. As the difference between the readings of a dry bulb thermometer and a wet bulb thermometer decreases, relative humidity ____creases.
    INcreases
  174. The closer the readings of a wet and dry bulb thermometer are to each other, the ______er the relative humidity.
    HIGHer
  175. What is the name for the scale on which tornados are measured?
    The FUJITA SCALE
Author
mglicc
ID
73906
Card Set
Seasons, Air Pressure, Wind, Atmospheric Moisture, and Air Masses
Description
flash cards for the Seasons, Air Pressure, Wind, Atmospheric Moisture, and Air Masses packets.
Updated