METEOROLOGY: CHAPTER 2Vocabulary and assessment questions: “WEATHER FACTORS”

Section2.1: Energy in Earth’s Atmosphere

  1. Vocabulary: Define the following terms from Section 2.1.
  1. Electromagnetic waves- a form of energy that can move through a vacuum in space.
  1. Radiation- the direct transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves.
  1. Infrared radiation-a form of electromagnetic radiation that has wavelengths longer than red light.
  1. Ultraviolet radiation-an invisible form of energy with wavelengths that are shorter than violet light.
  1. Scattering-dust particles and gases in the atmosphere reflect light in all directions.
  1. Greenhouse effect-the process by which gases hold heat.

Section2.1: Energy in the Earth’s Atmosphere

  1. Assessment Questions
  1. List three forms of radiation from the Sun.

Ultraviolet, infrared, and visible light

  1. Which form of radiation from the Sun has the longest wavelength? The shortest wavelength?

Infrared has the longest and ultraviolet the shortest.

  1. What happens to most of the sunlight that reaches Earth?

It is absorbed by the atmosphere or earth’s surface.

  1. What percentage of incoming sunlight is reflected by clouds, dust, and gases in the atmosphere?

25%

  1. Why are sunsets red?

At sunrise and sunset, sunlight travels through a greater thickness of the atmosphere. The atmosphere scatters more light from the blue end of the spectrum. The remaining light is mostly red and orange.

  1. What happens to the energy from the sun that is absorbed by Earth’s surface?

It heats the land and the water. Most is then radiated back into the atmosphere as infrared radiation.

  1. How might conditions on Earth be different without the greenhouse effect?

Earth would be much colder.

Section 2.2: Heat Transfer

  1. Vocabulary: Define the following terms from Section 2.2.
  1. Temperature-The average amount of energy of motion of each particle of a substance.
  1. Thermal Energy-The total energy of motion in the particles of a substance.
  1. Thermometer-A thin glass tube with a bulb at one end that contains a liquid, usually mercury or colored alcohol.
  1. Heat- The transfer of thermal energy from a hotter object to a cooler one.
  1. Conduction-The direct transfer of heat from one substance to another substance that it is touching.
  1. Convection-The transfer of heat by the movement of a fluid.
  1. Convection Currents-The upward movement of warm air and the downward movement of cool air.

Section2.2: Heat Transfer

  1. Assessment Questions
  1. A pail of water is the same temperature as a lake. Compare the amount of thermal energy of the water in the lake and the water in the pail.

The water in the lake has much more thermal energy because it has many more particles than the water in the pail.

  1. Name three ways that heat can be transferred.

By radiation, conduction, and convection

  1. How do the three types of heat transfer work together to heat the troposphere?

The sun transfers heat to earth by radiation. As earth warms, it re-radiates heat to the atmosphere

and conducts heat to gas molecules near the surface. This heat is transferred throughout the troposphere by convection.

  1. What is the major way that heat is transferred in the troposphere?

Convection

  1. Explain how a hawk or eagle can sometimes soar upward without flapping its wings.

The bird circles on convection currents of rising warm air.

Section 2.3: Winds

  1. Vocabulary: Define the following terms from Section 2.3.
  1. Wind-The horizontal movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of lower pressure.
  1. Anemometer-an instrument thatmeasures wind speed.
  1. Wind-chill factor-A measure of cooling combining temperature and wind speed.
  1. Local winds-winds that blow over short distances.
  1. Sea breeze-A local breeze that comes off either an ocean or a lake.
  1. Land breeze-The flow of air from land to a body of water.
  1. Global winds-Winds that blow steadily from a specific directions over long distances.
  1. Coriolis effect-The way Earth’s rotation makes winds curve.
  1. Latitude-The distance from the equator measured in degrees.
  1. Jet streams-Bands of high speed winds 10 km above earth’s surface.

Section 2.3: Winds

  1. Assessment Questions
  2. What are the similarities between global winds and local winds?

They are similar because they are created by unequal heating of Earth’s surface.

  1. What are global convection currents produced by?

Temperatuwwre differences between the equator and the poles produce global convection currents.

  1. List three major global wind belts.

Trade winds, prevailing westerlies, and polar easterlies

  1. What turns trade winds toward the west and prevailing westerlies toward the east?

The Coriolis effect turns winds.

Section 2.4: Water in the Atmosphere

  1. Vocabulary: Define the following terms from Section 2.4.
  1. Water cycle-the movement of water between the atmosphere and earth’s surface.
  1. Evaporation-is the process by which water molecules in liquid water escape into the air as water vapor.
  1. Humidity-A measure of the amount of water vapor in the air.
  2. Relative humidity-the percentage of water vapor that is actually in the air compared to the maximum amount of water vapor the air can hold at a particular temperature.
  1. Psychrometer-An instrument used to measure relative humidity
  1. Condensation-molecules of water vapor in the air become liquid water.
  1. Dew point-the temperature at which condensation begins.
  1. Cirrus-Wispy, feathery clouds
  1. Cumulus-clouds that look like fluffy rounded piles of cotton.
  1. Stratus-Clouds that form in flat layers.

Section 2.4: Water in the Atmosphere

  1. Assessment Questions
  1. What does air’s ability to hold water vapor depend on?

Air’s ability to hold water vapor depends on temperature.

  1. Which part of the psychrometer tells you about the relative humidity?

The wet bulb part of the psychrometer.

  1. How do clouds form?

Clouds form when water vapor in the air condenses to form liquid water or ice crystals.

  1. What are the 3 main shapes that scientists classify clouds into?

Cirrus, cumulus and stratus

  1. Which type of cloud only forms at high levels in the sky?

Cirrus

  1. What do stratus clouds look like?

Flat clouds

  1. What gets rid of fog in the morning?

The heat of the next morning causes the water droplets to evaporate.

Section 2.5 Precipitation

  1. Vocabulary: Define the following terms from Section 2.5.

a. precipitation-Any form of water that falls from clouds and reaches Earth’s surface.

b. raingauge-An open-ended can or tube that collects rainfall.

  1. Droughts-Long periods of unusually low precipitation.
  1. Assessment Questions
  2. Name the five common types of precipitation.

Rain, sleet, freezing rain, hail, and snow

  1. Compare and contrast freezing rain and sleet.

Both form when rain falls through a layer of cold air near the surface. Sleet occurs when the rain freezes in this cold layer of air. Freezing rain occurs when the rain freezes on cold surfaces.

  1. A thunderstorm produces precipitation in the form of ice particles that are about 6 millimeters in diameter. What type of precipitation would this be?

Hail

  1. How do hailstones become so large in cumulonimbus clouds?

The stones are tossed up and down in the clouds. As the stones move through the cold regions of the clouds, additional ice layers are added.

  1. How can a rain gauge be used to measure precipitation?

Rain falls into the gauge and the amount gathered can be read from a scale. Actual rainfall must be calculated based on the ration of the area of the top of the funnel to the area of the bottom of the jar.

  1. How does the funnel in a rain gauge increase the accuracy of the measurement?

The funnel allows the rain gauge to collect a greater depth of water, so the rainfall can be measured more accurately.

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