Download “I Can” Statement Template

Oceans, Weather and Climate Study Guide
“I Can” statement
Student Responses
1. What is a low
pressure system?
Air circulates up counterclockwise
2. What weather is
generally associated
with low pressure?
Precipitation
3. What is a high
pressure system?
Air circulates down clockwise
4. What type of
weather is generally
associated with high
pressure?
Fair weather
5. What is a cold
front and what type
of weather does it
produce?
Cold air mass moving into warm air mass, produces precipitation
6. What is a warm
front and what type
of weather does it
produce?
Warm air mass moving into cold air mass, produces precipitation
7. What season is
responsible for the
most severe weather
in the US and why?
Spring-cold air from the north meets warm moist air from the south
8. What conditions
are necessary for a
hurricane to form?
1. Warm ocean water
2. Coriolis Effect
9. What seasons do
hurricanes form and
why?
Late summer early fall, that’s when ocean water is warmest
3. Low wind shear
1
10. What time of
day would a tornado
most likely occur?
Why?
Afternoon, when the atmosphere heats up most
11. What conditions
are needed for a
storm to produce hail?
Strong updrafts in a cumulonimbus cloud
12. List 3 actions
that could be made in
order to prevent
damage to a house
from a flood.
1) sandbags
13. What should you
not do if you are
outside in a lightning
storm?
Go underneath anything tall
14. In the event of a
tornado, what should
you do?
Go inside into the basement or an inner room with no windows
2) build house higher up
3) keep things off the floor
It lifts, cools, condenses and precipitates
15. What happens to
an air mass when it
hits a mountain range?
16. How do clouds
form?
Air rises and cools, condenses on condensation nuclei
17. Describe the
process of convection
in the atmosphere.
Warm air rises, cool air sinks
18. What is adiabatic
cooling?
As air rises it cools, because of less air pressure
19. What does
adiabatic cooling have
to do with the
creation of clouds?
It creates the cooling needed for condensation
2
20. What causes
surface currents to
move in the ocean?
1) wind
21. What causes deep
ocean currents to
move in the ocean?
Changes in density like salinity and temperature
22. What is the
global conveyor belt?
How surface currents and deep currents are connected in a path that travels throughout
the world’s oceans
23. What is the
coriolis effect and
what does it have to
do with ocean
currents?
Coriolis effect determines the directions the major gyres move. CW in the northern
and CCW in the southern.
24. What can change
the density of ocean
water?
Temperature and salinity
25. What is
upwelling?
When cold water moves to the surface of the ocean
2) coriolis effect
3) continents
26. What is the
thermocline?
27. What is El Nino?
When upwelling is reversed off the coast of Peru, with world wide consequences
28. How does living
near a large body of
water affect the
climate?
Small range of temperature, more precipitation
29. What is the
greenhouse effect?
When greenhouse gases like CO2 cause heat to get trapped in the earth’s atmosphere
30. Describe
radiation from the sun
and how it causes the
greenhouse effect.
50% of the sun’s radiation is absorbed by the earth, the heat is then re-radiated to the
atmosphere
3
31. What type of
radiation is
transmitted through
the atmosphere?
visible
32. What type of
radiation is reflected
back into space?
UV
33. What type of
radiation is mostly
absorbed and
scattered in the
atmosphere?
visible
34. What major
components of the
atmosphere absorb
and scatter radiation?
CO2
Oxygen and Ozone
Methane
Nitrous Oxide
35. What are
examples of
greenhouse gases?
CO2, methane, water vapor
36. What are possible
causes of climate
change?
Humans activity, plate tectonics, orbital changes, volcanic activity
4
37. What are possible
effects of climate
change?
Higher temps, wilder weather, more droughts, changing precip, less snowpack, melting
glaciers, shrinking sea ice, thawing permafrost, increased ocean acidity, warmer
oceans, rising sea level
38. What are 3
examples of climate
change indicators?
Higher temps, wilder weather, more droughts, etc.
39. Identify 3 things
that may decrease
temperatures by
reflecting sunlight
back into space.
Snow, ice, glaciers
40. What is the
connection between
climate change and
carbon dioxide
emission?
As more CO2 is released into the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution, the
average global temp has increased 1 degree, causing worldwide climate changes
41. What are 3 ways
you can reduce carbon
dioxide emissions?
Walk or ride a bike instead of using a car, turn off electronics when not using them,
recycle.
5