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2.5 Atmosphere Test Review
1. How much does O2 (Oxygen) make up of our atmosphere? 21%
How much does Nitrogen? 78%
2. What are the layers of the atmosphere starting from Earth’s surface and moving upward? Troposphere,
Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere
3. What is the difference between weather and climate? Weather is the condition of the atmosphere at a
particular place and time while climate is the average condition of the atmosphere of a specific place over a long
period of time.
4. In which part of the atmosphere does weather occur? Troposphere
5. Define dew point, Doppler Effect, Coriolis Effect, air mass, wind chill factor.
a. Dew Point- Temperature to which air is cooled at a constant pressure to reach saturation, at which point
condensation can occur.
b. Doppler Effect- Change in the wave frequency that occurs in energy when that energy moves toward or
away from an observer.
c. Coriolis Effect- Causes moving air and water to turn left in the southern hemisphere and turn right in the
northern hemisphere due to the Earth’s rotation.
d. Air Mass- A large body of air that has similar temperature and moisture (humidity) throughout.
e. Wind Chill Factor- Phenomenon measured by an index which estimates the heat loss from human skin
caused by a combination of wind and cold air.
6. Low pressure systems are associated with what type of weather? How about high pressure systems?
Low pressure- cloudy and rainy, high pressure- clear skies, sunshine
7. When cold dry air moves out of an area and runs into warm, moist air in another area, what is the line that
divides the two air masses called? A front (cold)
8. What information do isobars provide? Locates areas with the same air pressure.
What information do isotherms provide? Locates areas with the same temperature.
Know how to draw both.
9. In which direction does high pressure move in the northern atmosphere? Clockwise
What about low pressure? Counterclockwise
10. What happens when air is compressed? Heats up
11. What is the primary cause of wind? Solar Radiation- Unequal heating of earth’s atmosphere.
12. What are the different types of fronts? What symbols are the indicated by and what type of weather do they
bring? Warm Front- Red line with semicircles facing cold air. Cold Front- Blue line with triangles facing warm
air. Stationary Front- Red and Blue line with semicircles on one side and triangles on the other. OccludedPurple line of interchanging semicircles and triangles facing one direction.
13. How does the Coriolis Effect affect our weather? The Coriolis Effect can be seen in action in the general
circulation of the atmosphere. The winds at all latitudes to the north of 0° deflect to the right of their intended
path in the Northern Hemisphere. The Coriolis Effect does not impact the wind speed, only the wind direction.
14. Where do water droplets that make up clouds in the atmosphere come from? Condensation
15. As wind velocity decreases, the distance between isobars on a weather map will do what? Be farther apart.
Higher velocity- isobars will be closer together.
16. Low pressure produces rising air with cloud formation and precipitation.
17. Which is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere? Nitrogen
18. How do clouds affect incoming solar radiation?
Cloud reflection 30%-60%, Absorption in clouds 5%-20%, Reaches ground 20%-65%.
19. What does a barometer measure? Weather instrument used to measure air pressure.
20. Which layer in the atmosphere is the hottest? Thermosphere
21. What is the atmospheric pressure in the stratosphere? 0-200 mb
22. If warm moist air rises in the atmosphere, what will it be forced to do?
Cool and then condense into a cloud.
23. Looking at air temperature and dewpoint during a 24 hour time period, at which point would relative humidity
be the lowest? When the air temperature and dewpoint temperatures are furthest away numerically. For
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example it would be lowest with a temperature of 20 and a dewpoint temperature of 10, versus being higher
with a temperature of 20 and a dewpoint of 18.
______ are often associated with very severe thunderstorms called supercells. Tornadoes
Two weather stations are located near each other. The air pressure at each station is changing so that the
difference between the pressure is increasing. What will probably happen to the wind speed between these
two locations? Wind speed will increase.
What happens during orographic lifting? Occurs at an area where mountains are located. The mountains act as
a barrier to the flow of air, forcing the air to ascend over the mountain tops. The front side of the mountains
where the air is flowing toward will have a decent amount of precipitation, whereas the backside of the
mountains will lack rainfall.
Which human activity out of the following, does not impact air quality… burning, industrial byproducts, over
farming, and damming. Explain why you chose your answer. Damming… Controls the amount of water that can
be released from a lake to prevent flooding, doesn’t have anything to do with the atmosphere.
What are CFC’s (chlorofluorocarbons)? Why were they banned? Synthetic chemicals that destroy ozone. Used
in aerosols, refrigerants, air conditioners, and foam packaging. Banned due to the destruction of the ozone
layer.
As an air mass becomes increasingly humid, what will the air mass do? The air mass will become more likely to
rise.
Where do hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean normally form and move to? In the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean
Sea, moving north with a slight west approach.
Looking at two air masses, which air mass is closest to being saturated? A because the temperature and
dewpoint are closer in numbers.
a. Air Mass #1: Temperature- 85, Dewpoint 83
b. Air Mass#2: Temperature- 89, Dewpoint- 80
In which direction do air masses usually move over the continental US? West to East
Looking at pressures on a map, where would wind speed be the highest?
Closest to the center of the pressure system.
What is a storm surge? How would you protect your home from storm surges if you lived on the outerbanks of
NC?
A rising of the sea as a result of atmospheric pressure changes and wind associated with a storm. Protect home
by building the house elevated off the ground.
What could you do to reduce human impact on the atmosphere? Using scrubbers on power plants, banning
aerosol chemicals, carpooling.
Why do hot air balloons float?
Warm air is less dense and therefore rises and the air inside the balloon is warmer than the surrounding air.
Acid rain is caused by a combination of water, nitrogen oxide, and Sulfur Dioxide.
Where does the primary source of sulfur that causes acid rain come from? Burning fossil fuels.
When friction between updrafts and downdrafts within a cumulonimbus cloud creates regions of air with
opposite charges, lightning forms.
Explain how to find the relative humidity of air using a wet and dry bulb. Read the dry bulb temperature and the
wet bulb temperature, take the difference of the two. Find the dry bulb temperature and the difference
between the dry and wet bulb temperatures on the chart, follow to where they cross and show the relative
humidity is given.
What changes occur in warm air as it rises to form a cloud? Warm air rises, the air expands due to lower
pressure, the air cools until it reaches dewpoint, condensation occurs and a cloud forms.
Pollutants are removed from the air through... Precipiation.