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

When do all latitudes get 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of night?

In what month does the south pole get 24 hours of daylight?

On what degree angle is the Earth's axis on?

What is the numerical significance of the latitudes of the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of cancer?

Which direction does Earth orbit the sun in?

which way does the Earth rotate?

What are two reasons why our winter is colder than our summer?

What is the term that describes the day(s) a year that the sun rises in the due east?

In New York State, at solar noon on June 21st, what angle is the sun at?

In NY State, when is the sun at a 24.5 degree angle?

At what angle is the sun on the Equinoxes?

In summer, which half of the sky does the sun rise and set on if one is standing on the equator?

On the equator, when is the sun directly overhead?

What latitude receives a 90 angle of insolation on June 21st?

What is the term for the line separating night and day?

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.

At what latitude(s) does the terminator end?

What is barometric pressure?

What is athmospheric pressure measured in?

The _________ the air pressure is, the _____ the weather is.

As elevation increases, air pressure ____________.

What is the average air pressure and where is this measured?

The amount of water vapor present in air expressed as a percentage of the amount needed for saturation at the same temperature is called __________________.

What is ABSOLUTE HUMIDITY?

_______er air contracts, which in turn leads to a decrease in ____________.

The __________ it is, the more air pressure.

Warmer air expanding outward causes less molecule density and ______ air pressure.

The further below sea level you are, the ______er the air pressure.

What happens to colder air? In turn, what does this do to volume?

What is the term for when relative humidity is so high (100%) that the air cannot hold any more of it?

If the absolute humidity stays the same, as temperature increases, relative humidity ________________.

When humidity increases, what happens to air pressure?

What defines wind?

In what direction must wind move?

Wind must move from areas of ______ pressure to areas of _____ pressure.

Is temperature higher in areas of high pressure or low pressure?

As air pressure increases, what happens to density and volume?

A) density increases, volume decreases
B) density increases, volume increases
C) density decreases, volume increases
D) density decreases, volume decreases

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?

A) humidity affects the pressure
B) temperature affects the pressure
C) of the total mass of air, about 99 percent is within 3.5 miles of sea level
D) of the total mass of air, about 50 percent is less than 3.5 miles above sea level

At sea level, as the temperature of the atmosphere decreases, the air pressure usually

A) decreases
B) increases
C) remains the same

If the air humidity increases and the temperature remains the same, the air pressure will

A) remain the same
B) increase
C) decrease
D) first increase, then decrease

As a parcel of air increases in altitude, its pressure will

A) increase
B) remain the same
C) decrease

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.

A) New York City, 41^ON
B) the North Pole 90^oN
C) Tropic of Cancer, 23.5^ON
D) the Arctic Circle 66^oN

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
B) increases, the insolation decreases
C) decreases, the insolation increases
D) decreases, the insolation remains the same

At which time of day would an observer's shadow cast by the sun be shortest?

A) 6:00 PM
B) 12:00 noon
C) 3:00 PM
D) 6:00 AM

At the time of the fall equinox, the number of hours of daylight in New York City is generally about

A) 18
B) 12
C) 9
D) 15

Which two factors determine the number of hours of daylight at a particular location?

A) latitude and Earth's average diameter
B) longitude and season
C) latitude and season
D) longitude and Earth's average diameter

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
B) an increase in both air temperature and air pressure
C) an increase in air temperature and a decrease in air pressure
D) a decrease in air temperature and an increase in air pressure

As the pressure gradient increases, wind velocity

A) remains the same
B) decreases
C) increases

The weather element determined by an anemometer is

A) wind velocity
B) pressure
C) visibility
D) humidity

Winds blow from regions of _____ air pressure to regions of _____ air pressure.

Which is NOT true about wind?

A) Wind direction is named for the direction toward which the wind blows
B) Wind moves from regions of higher pressure to lower pressure
C) Wind is the horizontal movement of air
D) The steeper the gradient, the greater the wind speed

The steeper the gradient, the _____er the wind speed.

In a diagram of isobars, which area has the highest air pressure?

Lines that show areas of equal air pressure are called _________.

Generally, clouds ___crease surface temperatures.

How do clouds decrease surface temperatures?

What are the three different types of wind?

The energy needed to raise 1 gram of H20 by 1 degree celsius is called ___________________.

The ____er the specific heat, the longer it takes an object to heat up.

Of all objects on Earth, what takes the longest to heat up (and has the highest specific heat)?

Objects with _____ specific heat take a short time to heat up and a short time to cool down.

What is the term for air traveling vertically?

When WIND is combined with a CONVECTION CURRENT, what does it create?

What are the two types of air convection cells?

______ BREEZES occur during the day, while ______ BREEZES occur at night.

What generates waves?

Between what hours does the strongest sea breeze occur?

In diagrams A and B above, which one represents a SEA BREEZE. Which one represents a LAND BREEZE

The ____er _____er air moves inward, forcing the ____er ____er air upward

During a _____ BREEZE, the pressure is lower on land than it is at sea.

Where is the pressure highest when there is a land breeze? Why?

______er air cannot hold as much moisture as ______er air.

Winter tends to have a ______er relative humidity than summer.

Summer has a _______er absolute humidity than Winter.

Winter tends to have a higher __________ humidity than summer, but summer tends to have a higher _________ humidity than Winter.

A) absolute, relative
B) relative, compressive
C) compressive, absolute
D) relative, absolute

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)

The _______er the air is, the more moisture it takes to saturate it 100%

A) higher
B) warmer
C) colder
D) denser

What is the term that describes the pressure involved with water molecules that want to go up into the air?

Any liquid that turns into a solid is considered to be __________.

Ice has a _____ freezing temperature.

A) low
B) varying
C) high

In joules per gram, what is the amount of energy that water must lose in order to freeze?

What is it called when water turns to vapor?

The process of turning matter from a liquid state into a gas state is called ______________.

In joules per gram, how much heat is gained when water evaporates (see page 137 for answer)

What must happen in order for vaporization to occur?

What is it called when vapor turns into water?

The lower the air pressure, the _____er the boiling point.

What temperature does water not get any hotter than?

How much heat, in joules per gram, is released during condensation? (see p.137 for answer)

What is ADIABATIC COOLING?

What is the term for dust and dirt particulates in the air?

On what surface are water molecules likely to congregate on first?

The more CONDENSATION NUCLEI, the ______ rain droplets in the air.

As air contracts, relative humidity ___creases

The temperature where condensation occurs is called _______________________________________________.

Why does warm air rise?

What do clouds represent?

What type of precipitation is most likely to occur when the ground temperature is below freezing, but the air temperature is above freezing?

What type of clouds cause hail?

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 _______er the updrift, the _______er the size of hail

For ___________ to occur where the clouds are, the middle layer of the atmosphere and the ground must both be below freezing.

What defines an air mass?

What is mT a symbol for

What is cP a symbol for

What is mP a symbol for?

What moisture classification would an air mass have if it was moist?

Continental air masses are ____er because _____________________________________.

When classifying and air mass, one must first list _______________, then _________________.

A) moisture, temperature
B) temperature, moisture
C) moisture, wind speed
D) temperature, wind speed

Where does NY state get most of its Continental polar (cP) and Continental Arctic (cA) air from?

What type of air is dry and hot and comes from southwestern desert source regions?

What type of air mass forms for the most part in the Gulf of Mexico?

What is one of the most common air masses in Seattle and Portland?

What develops clouds?

What forms when an mT air mass comes in contact with a cooler dryer air mass?

At warm fronts, how does less dense air condense?

What type of front causes long but mild periods of rain?

What causes cloud development?

As a warm front gets closer, what will it produce?

Why do warm fronts have flatter slopes than cold fronts?

What do cirrus clouds indicate?

What is one of the very first indications of an incoming warm front?

For what reason do warm fronts cause mild rain but for long periods of time?

As the slope of a front increases, the width of the clouds it produces ________es.

What is the relationship between the slope of a front and the vertical size of the clouds it creates?

What type of front causes severe and intense thunderstorms that last for short periods of time.

What type of cloud causes moderate precipitation at warm fronts?

What happens when cold air advances into warm air?

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?

A) cP is from northern Canada and mT is from the deserts of the southwestern United States
B) cP is from northern Canada and mT is from the Gulf of Mexico
C) cP is from the North Atlantic Ocean and mT is from the deserts of the southwestern United States
D) cP is from the North Atlantic Ocean and mT is from the Gulf of Mexico.

In general, the probability of flooding decreases when there is an increase in the amount of

A) runoff
B) infiltration
C) precipitation
D) snow melt

Which surface ocean current transports warm water to higher latitudes?

A) West Wind Drift
B) Falidand Current
C) Labrador Current
D) Gulf Stream

Why are thunderstorms intense but short?

When cP air meets mT air, what does it create?

What two types of air masses must collide in order to create a COLD FRONT?

What type of cloud is created by cold fronts?

In the Northern Hemisphere, what is the direction in which high pressure systems move?

_______ pressure is cooler and dryer than _______ pressure

What is formed when an advancing cold front begins to overtake a warm front?

What type of cloud is formed by OCCLUDED FRONTS?

What type of front often causes longer and more intense rain than expected?

What type of front separates cold polar easterlies from warm westerlies?

When warm air and cold air form a frontal boundry that is initially stationary, what is it called?

The apparent deflection of moving objects when they are viewed from a rotating reference frame is called _________________________

In the northern hemisphere, which direction do objects deflect to?

What does a NORTHERN HEMISPHERE HIGH indicate?

_______ pressure systems generally cause worse weather.

While clouds in the ___________ make it colder, clouds in the ___________ trap in the heat from the ground

In which direction does the air in LOW PRESSURE SYSTEMS move?

_______ winds come from the northeast

In order for a NOREASTER to hit New York, where must its position be in relation to the city?

______ pressure systems cause NOREASTERS.

What determines the shape of the bottom of a cloud?

In a classic supercell thunderstorm, what does the top of the anvil indicate?

What are winds in the stratosphere called?

What is it called when updraft is so strong that it bursts into the stratosphere?

When air rises on its own because of its heat, what is it called?

What does INSTABILITY create?

The _______er the air rises, the more massive the clouds.

What type of tornado has the widest damage path?

Where do the hurricanes come from that effect New York State?

What is the term for hurricanes that form in the Pacific?

Hurricanes that form in the INDIAN ocean are called ____________.

When colliding winds of equal density move in an upward direction, it is called ______________.

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?

What is the next thing that a tropical disturbance is called when it becomes strong enough to be effected by Coriolis?

What is a storm called when it is in the stage just before it turns into a hurricane?

What does a hurricane need to form?

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?

_______ pressure deflects hurricanes.

Many belts of thunderstorms revolving around a common center are called _________________.

The more distinct the eyewall, the _______er the storm.

In the eye of a hurricane, there is ______ pressure.

As the difference between the readings of a dry bulb thermometer and a wet bulb thermometer decreases, relative humidity ____creases.

The closer the readings of a wet and dry bulb thermometer are to each other, the ______er the relative humidity.

What is the name for the scale on which tornados are measured?