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Name: ______Answers_______
Period: ______
Date: ________
Unit 3: Earth’s Weather Review Packet
Energy and Energy Transfer/Transformation
1. The ____SUN____ is the main source of energy on earth.
2. About 30% of the Sun’s energy is scattered and reflected back into space. What
causes this loss of energy
The sunlight reflecting off snow and ice.
Layers of the Atmosphere
1. List the layers in order from closest to the ground to farthest from the ground.
Outer Space
Layers
Unique Features
Exosphere
Outermost Layer
Thermosphere
Hottest Temperatures, Meteors, Auroras
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
Ozone Layer
Troposphere
Weather
Earth’s Surface
2. List the layers in which the temperature increases as elevation increases.
Stratosphere & Thermosphere
3. List the layers in which the temperature decreases as elevation increases.
Troposphere & Mesosphere
4. We live in this layer of the atmosphere.
Troposphere
5. Weather is formed in this layer.
Troposphere
6. Shooting stars are seen and burn up in this layer.
Thermosphere
7. This layer is the largest layer.
Thermosphere
8. This layer is where the space shuttle orbits.
Thermosphere
9. Where is there the greatest amount of atmospheric pressure? Why?
Troposphere, it has the most mass (weight) pressing down.
10. Air pressure ____decreases___ as elevation increases.
11. The layers of the atmosphere are classified by changes in ____temperature____
12. Which two atmospheric layers have temperature profiles that promote
convection?
Troposphere & Mesosphere
Atmospheric Pressure and Temperature
1. What is the definition for Air Pressure?
The weight of air pressing down on the Earth’s surface.
2. What type of weather is associated with High Pressure?
Good weather (sunny)
3. When the pressure falls (Low), the weather generally gets
Bad weather (cloudy)
4. Warm air is  ___less ()___ dense and tends to  ____rise ()___ in the
atmosphere.
5. Cold air is  ____ more ()____ dense and tends to  ____ sink ()____ in
the atmosphere.
6. Why does the line zig zag? ()
The line represents the
change in temperature of
the atmosphere with the
increase in altitude.
7. What is the relationship between
altitude & pressure (mb).
As altitude increases, the
air pressure decreases.
8. Are heat and temperature the same? Explain why or why not.
They are not. Heat is a form of energy while temperature is how we
measure heat.
9. When hot and cold air meet, the hot air rises to the top. Which process causes
the hot air to rise?
Convection currents
Wind
1. What causes wind in the atmosphere and how does wind move? Be sure to
include the terms high pressure and low pressure in your description.
Wind is caused by the uneven heating of Earth’s surfaces. This
uneven heating causes the air to move. It moves from areas of
lower temperatures to higher temperatures because the cooler
more dense air fills in the space left as the warmer less dense air
begins to rise. Wind also tends to follow a pattern of moving from
areas of high pressure to areas of lower pressure.
2. Is the air above the poles rising or sinking? Why?
The air would sink. It is cold near the poles, and cold air sinks.
3. Why do local winds blow from the ocean onto the land during the day?
The land heats up warmer than the ocean during the day. This
causes the cold air over the water to flow inland where it will heat
up. This warm air rises where it begins to cool. This cool air flows
sinks back to the surface over the water.
4. Why do local winds blow from the land onto the ocean at night?
The water retains the heat much better than the land during the
night. This causes the cold air over the land to flow out to the ocean
where it will heat up. This warm air rises where it begins to cool.
This cool air flows sinks back to the surface over the land.
Cloud Formation
1. What is the source of clouds and rain?
Various bodies of water (oceans, lakes, rivers)
2. What are the causes of severe weather (hurricanes and tornadoes)?
Warm and cold air colliding.
3. How is the capacity of air to hold water vapor affected by temperature?
A cloud can hold more moisture when warm. As it cools, it can no
longer hold as much moisture.
4. Give an example of a liquid form of precipitation. Give an example of a solid form
of precipitation.
Liquid  rain
Solid  hail/snow
Water Cycle
1. The ____Water_____ _____Cycle____ is a continuous process that recycles the
earth’s fresh water from bodies of water, land and living things to the atmosphere, then
back to the earth.
2. The three main processes that occur during the water cycle are
_______Evaporation________, ________Condensation______ and
_______Precipitation_______. Transpiration is a process not mentioned in your book,
but it occurs when water is drawn up through plants’ root systems and evaporates.
These processes are driven by ______the Sun and Gravity______.
3. True or False? Hydrology is the study of water.
Corrected Statement: n/a
4. True or False? Snow, liquid water, and fog represent water in each state of matter.
Corrected Statement:
Snow, liquid water (rain) and water vapor represent water in each
state of matter.
5. True or False? The addition of heat energy causes water vapor to condense.
Corrected Statement:
The loss of heat energy causes water vapor to condense.
6. True or False? Warm air holds more water than cold air.
Corrected Statement:
7. True or False? It rains more inland of a mountain range compared to a coastal
region.
Corrected Statement:
It rains more on the coastal side of a mountain range than
compared to an inland region.
8. Fill in the table below:
Characteristic
Ocean Water
Percentage of water on Earth 97%
High or low salt level?
Where is it found?
Fresh Water
3%
High
Low
Pacific, Atlantic, Indian,
Arctic
Glaciers, Groundwater,
Rivers, Lakes, and
Atmosphere
9. List 3 ways that humans affect the water cycle.
Currents
1. The amount of salt dissolved in the ocean water is called ______Salinity_____. Areas
with a lot of salt have a _____high____ salinity, and areas with a low amount of salt
have a ___low___ salinity.
2. The poles have ( high / low ) salinity because much of the water from the ocean either
is frozen or cant hold as much salt. There is a large amount of ( freshwater / salt )
entering the ocean here. Since salt can’t evaporate, it is left behind near the ( poles /
equator) . This causes the area to have ( high / low ) salinity. In areas where rivers are
dumping into the ocean cause the salinity to (decrease/increase).
3. A _____Current_____ is kind of like a river flowing through the ocean.
_____Surface____ currents are driven mostly by winds.
4. Differences in ______Density_____ between warm water and cold water cause many
deep-currents in the ocean. They carry cold water from the poles to the equator and
warm water from the equator to the poles. It may take 1000 years to make a complete
cycle so they’re not moving very fast!
5. True or False? Ocean currents affect the weather by carrying cold or warm water
far from its source.
Corrected Statement:
6. True or False? Cold water currents along a coast can dry the air so much that a
desert forms.
Corrected Statement:
Cold water currents along a coast can dry the air to a point, but
there will always be moisture in the air.
7. True or False? Wind has the largest effect on subsurface ocean currents.
Corrected Statement:
The wind has the largest effect on surface currents.