Download Study Guide for Unit 5: Weather and Climate

Study Guide for Chapters 15, 16 & 17
Section 15-1: The Air Around You (page 512)
Name ____________________________ Period ____
1. The condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place is called _______________________.
2. An atmosphere is the envelope of _______________________ that surround a planet.
3. Earth's atmosphere contains _______% Nitrogen, _________% Oxygen and _______% Trace Gases. It also contains
particles of ______________________ and __________________________.
4. The oxygen we breathe has 2 atoms, but ________________________ has 3 Oxygen atoms.
5. ____________________ __________________ is water in the form of an invisible gas. We cannot see most of the
water vapor in the air.
6. Without Earth’s atmosphere, life as we know it would not exist. The atmosphere contains oxygen and carbon
dioxide, which animals and plants require. It also allows the movement of water throughout Earth’s system, called the
_____________ cycle. The atmosphere traps heat _________________ from the sun and holds enough heat to allow
H20 to exist in the form of a ____________________. Harmful _______________________ is also absorbed by the
atmosphere to protect living things. Thankfully, due to friction and gravity, most __________________________ from
outer space burn completely or shrink in size before hitting the earth.
Section 15-2: Air Pressure (pages 516)
7. Air has mass because it is composed of ____________________ and ________________________. Because air has
mass, it also has physical properties including _______________________ and _____________________. The more
molecules there are in a given volume of air, the greater its _____________________.
8. As the weight of a column of air pushes downward, the result is ________ __________________.
9. An instrument used to measure the changes in air pressure is called a ______________________________.
10. Mercury barometers are unsafe because they contain a potentially deadly heavy metal. However, _______________
barometers are more commonly used to measure air pressure since they are much safer than mercury barometers.
____________________ barometers are practical because they are small in size and do not contain liquid mercury.
11. As _____________________ (or elevation) increases, air pressure and density _______________________.
Section 15-3: Layers of the Atmosphere (pages 522)
12. Scientists divide the atmosphere into ____ (#) layers based on differences in ______________________.
Match each description with the correct layer (or mini-layer) of the atmosphere.
13. _____ troposphere
A. lower layer of thermosphere, where aurora borealis/Northern Lights occurs
14. _____ stratosphere
B. outermost main layer, very thin and hot, first layer that sun’s rays hit
15. _____ mesosphere
C. outermost layer of the thermosphere, extends thousands of kilometers
16. _____ thermosphere
D. 2nd layer above the earth’s surface, contains ozone layer
17. _____ ionosphere
E. lowest layer, where weather occurs, is touching your skin right now!
18. _____ exosphere
F. 3rd layer above the earth’s surface, protects us from meteoroids
Section 15-4: Air Quality (528)
19. Any harmful substance in the air, water or soil is called a ________________________________.
20. Forest fires, soil erosion, dust storms, smoke, molds, pollen and volcanic ash are ___________________ pollutants.
21. Burning fossil fuels releases a tremendous amount of pollution because they contain ________________________,
which don’t burn completely and escape into the air.
22. “Photo” means ________________, so ____________________________ smog is formed from the reaction of
the sunlight on the pollutants in the air. The color of the haze is __________________. Acid rain forms when nitrogen
oxides and sulfur oxides combine with water in the air to form _________________ acid and ________________ acid.
Section 16-1: Energy in the Earth’s Atmosphere (pages 542)
23. Energy from the sun travels to Earth as ___________________________________________ waves.
24. The direct transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves is called ______________________________.
25. Energy from the sun can either be ________________________ or ________________________ by the
atmosphere. The rest passes through the atmosphere to the surface.
26. The process by which atmospheric gases hold in heat in the air is called the __________________________ effect.
Section 16-2: Heat Transfer (pages 548)
27. The average amount of motion of each particle of a substance is called _____________________. The total energy
of particles in motion within a substance is called _______________________energy.
28. The 3 types of heat transfer are __________________, _________________ and ________________ (know each).
Section 16-3: Winds (pages 552)
29. The horizontal movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of lower pressure is ____________. In
other words, warmer air rises, then cooler air moves in to replace it.
30. The instrument that measures wind speed is the ______________________________.
31. Local winds blow over short distances and are caused by unequal heating of Earth’s surface within a small area.
During the day, warmer air over the land rises and causes cooler wind from over the ocean to replace it, which is called
a ______________ breeze. At night, the water is warmer and the warm air over it rises, causing the cooler air from the
land to replace it, which is called a ___________________ breeze.
32. Winds that blow in basically the same direction over very long distances are called ________________ winds.
33. The diagram on pg. 557 shows that the trade winds blow toward the __________________. Prevailing westerlies
blow from the ___________ to the ___________. Polar easterlies blow from the _____________ to the ____________.
34. Bands of high-speed winds that generally blow from west to east at hundreds of km/hour are _________________.
Section 16-4: Water in the Atmosphere (pages 560)
35. The measure of the amount of water vapor in the air is __________________. The percentage of water vapor that in
the air compared to the maximum amount of water it can hold at a particular temperature is called
_______________________ ____________________ (a __________________________ is used to measure this).
36. Clouds are formed when water vapor ______________________ in a particle in the air such as smoke, pollen, dust,
etc. In order for this process to occur, the temperature must reach the _________ _____________.
37. Clouds are classified first by their __________________________, then further by their ____________________.
Section 16-5: Precipitation (pages 567)
38. The 5 most common types of precipitation are: ______________________________________________________
39. In the attempt to relieve areas of droughts, scientists sprinkle crystals of silver iodide and dry ice from airplanes in
hopes of dropping the temperature enough for condensation to occur is called _____________________________.
Section 17-1: Air Masses and Fronts (pages 578)
40. A huge body of air that has similar temperature, humidity and air pressure at any given height is called a(n)
_____________ ____________. Depending on where they form, they either carry warm OR cold air that is either
dry OR humid. Warm air masses are called _______________________, cold ones are _____________________.
Humid air masses are called _______________________ and dry ones are _____________________.
41. The boundary where air masses meet is called a ___________________. A _______________ front is occurs when
a cold air mass overtakes a warm air mass. A warm front takes place when a warm air mass overtakes a….(OVER)
______________ air mass. When cold and warm air masses meet and neither one can move, its called a
__________________________ front. If a warm air mass is caught between two cold air masses and push the
warm air mass up away from the earth’s surface, it’s called a(n) ________________________________ front.
42. When you watch the weather forecast on television, you will see areas of high and low pressure marked by an “H”
or “L” respectively. Cyclones in the Northern Hemisphere spin [clockwise/counterclockwise] and
[inward/outward] and represent an area of [high/low] pressure resulting in [cloudy and rainy/sunny and dry]
weather. Anticyclones in the Northern Hemisphere are areas of [high/low] pressure that spin
[clockwise/counterclockwise] and [inward/outward], which bring [cloudy and rainy/sunny and dry] weather.
Section 17-2: Storms (pages 586)
43. Sudden changes in air pressure cause rapid air movement which can result in _________________. Some storms
produce _____________________, which is a sudden electrical discharge between clouds or to the ground.
44. A rapidly whirling, circular cloud that reaches out of the sky with speed up to 500 km/hour is called a
_______________________. They usually occur when a warm, humid air mass moves north from the __________
___ _______________ into the lower Great Plains and meets a cold, dry air mass coming from __________.
45. In order for a ____________________ to form, the water must be warm and it must be a low-pressure center. Its
wind spirals inward at speeds of up to 320 km/hour. These storms produce a dome/mound of water called a
_________________ ________________ which causes major flooding, property damage and coastline erosion.
46. All year round, most precipitation begins as _______________when it begins up in the clouds, but often melts
before it reaches the surface.
Section 17-3: Predicting the Weather (pages 598)
47. Scientists who study weather and TRY to predict it are called __________________________________. They use
______________, charts and ___________________________ to analyze weather data. TIROS-1 is a weather
____________________________ use for collecting weather data.
48. “Iso” means __________________. Isobars are lines on a weather map joining areas of similar air
_________________________. Isotherms join areas with similar ________________________.
*Become familiar with the following symbols found on a weather map. You will learn more about these during class.