Download Science Study Guide Chapter 10

Study Guide Chapter 10: Lesson 3, 4 and 5.
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The areas around the equator are the hottest on earth because the sun’s rays hit earth directly and
strongly. The areas around the poles are the coldest because the sun’s rays hit Earth at a low angle.
Insolation= Incoming Solar radiation.
The amount of the sun’s energy that reaches Earth at a given place and time.
The atmosphere: The air that surrounds Earth.
The troposphere: The layer closest to earth’s surface in which all life exists and all weather
conditions occur.
The more you go up in altitude the more the temperatures decrease.
Air pressure: The force put on a given area by the weight of the air above it.
The more you go up in altitude, the more the air pressure decreases.
Weather: Conditions of the air in the troposphere.
Relative humidity: The comparison between how much humidity there is in in the air and how much
the air can hold.
Clouds
Clouds’ Names
STRATUS
Shape
Blanket like
CUMULUS
Puffy
Cauliflower like
Flat bottom
Wispy
featherlike
Tower like
Gray
CIRRUS
CUMULONIMBUS
Type of weather
Bring rain or
snow
Nice/fair weather
Altitude
Low
Nice/fair weather
High
Thunderstorm
Develop
vertically
ATTENTION: NIMBUS/NIMBO means rain or snow!
Cloud cover:
Low
Composition
Dust + water
droplets
Dust + water
droplets
Dust + ice
crystals
Dust + water
droplets
Precipitation: Any form of particles that falls from the atmosphere and reaches the
ground.
Precipitation occurs when water droplets or ice crystals join together
Become heavy enough to fall.
Type of precipitations: Rain, snow, sleet, hail (temperature on the
ground is warm).
Sea breeze:
Example of a convection cell: Unequal heating and cooling of the atmosphere that
creates a cycle of high and low pressure.
Wind that blows from the sea toward the land.
Why ? Because land warms faster than the water. On sunny days, the warm air over the
land rises. Cooler air over the ocean replaces the rising warm air. A wind from the sea
blows into the land, it is a sea breeze.
Land breeze:
Example of a convection cell: Unequal heating and cooling of the atmosphere that
creates a pattern of high and low pressure.
Wind that blows from the land toward the water.
Why? At night, the air over the land cools more rapidly than the air over the water.
Cooler air from the land replaces the rising warm air over the sea. A wind blows from the
land to the sea, it is a land breeze.
Types of weather instruments:
1. Thermometer: instrument that measures temperatures in Celsius or Fahrenheit.
2. Barometer: Instrument that measures the air pressure in the atmosphere in millibars.
High pressure (H), means nice/fair weather.
Low pressure (L) means bad weather.
3. Rain gauge: Instrument that measures how much precipitation has fallen in inches or
cm.
4. Wind vane: Instrument that indicates the direction where the wind is coming from.
5. Anemometer: Instrument that indicates the speed of the wind.
6. Hygrometer: Instrument that measures the level of humidity in the air using
horse/human hair.
7. Helium balloon: Instrument that is sent high in the atmosphere with all kind of
weather instruments that bring back weather data.
8. Satellites: Instruments sent in space that gather pictures of the Earth and weather
phenomenon.
9. Doppler Radar: The word radar stands for Radio Detecting Ranging. The radar works
by sending out radio waves and recording their echo. It is a good tool to track storm.