Weather Unit Test

What are the layers of the atmosphere?

Troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere
Exosphere

Where does most weather occur?

Troposphere

What is the difference between a meteorologist and a forecaster?

Meteorologist - weather scientist
forecaster - just reports weather

What are 3 units of measuring temperatures?

Celsius
Fahrenheit
Kelvin

What is absolute zero?

Coldest possible temperature possible
It is -273 C or 0 K

What is the name of the tool that measures atmospheric pressure?

Barometer

absolute humidity

actual amount of water vapor in the air

relative humidity

Percentage of how much water vapor is in the air compared to the maximum amount of air can hold at a specific temperature

How is humidity measured?

Hygrometer
Sling psychometer

What is the Humidex?

Describes the “feel like” temperature

What is the difference between a weather ballon and a weather satellite?

Weather balloon - Local data
Weather satellite - large scale data

How is lightning made and released?

build up of static electricity in clouds, then discharged from atmosphere to earth

What is thunder?

the sound of lightning rapidly heating up

What causes hail?

When updrafts of wind carry raindrops up into the colder atmosphere.

The raindrops freeze and fall as hail.

How do tornados form?

Rotating updrafts of warm air meet cold air, creating a vortex of spinning air.

Compare and contrast tornadoes with hurricanes. 

Both result from colliding air masses of hot and cold air. 

Hurricanes develop over the ocean and are much larger than tornadoes. 

What is the difference between weather and climate?

“Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get”

What are examples of climate zones?

Tropical, arctic, temperate, tundra, arid

How is an eco zone different to a climate zone?

An eco zone combines climate zone with other ecological factors. (like soil, land, animals, and plants)

How does latitude effect climate?

1. The suns rays hit earth at a slant further from the equator, spreading heat over larger area making it cold.

2. Because of earths orbit, regions near the equator spend more time facing the sun over the course of the year.

hydrosphere

all water on planet: lakes ,rivers, oceans, and clouds.

How does the hydrosphere affect the climate?

• Large bodies of water absorb a lot of heat because of a high specific heat capacity. this causes weather around them to be cooler in the summer.

• Areas downwind of a lake will have more precipitation cause air picks up moisture. Meanwhile the formation of clouds release heat, making the area warm.

What is the rain shadow effect?

clouds lose there moisture as they rise up the windward (rain side) side of mountain, making the leeward (not wet) side dry. one side of mountain is wet and cold and the other side is dry and warm.

How do living organisms affect the environment?

Animals breathe out greenhouse gasses like CO₂, and some release CH₄ , which adds to the warming effect. Meanwhile plants absorb greenhouse gasses.

Convection current

Air warms up and rises near the equator, then spreads out, cools, and sinks back to the ground and flows back towards the equator. 

Thermohaline circulation

Circulation of sea water across the oceans due to temperature and salinity. Warm water rises and spreads out towards the poles, cools down, sinks back towards the seabed, and continues to circulate back to warmer regions. Meanwhile, as water goes to the poles and freezes, the salt concentration near the poles gets higher.

What makes europe’s climate mild even though it is north?

The “Gulf Stream” brings the warm water up from the Caribbean coast to europe making it warmer there.

What is “El Niño”?

When wind patterns in the Pacific shift, causing warm water to flow towards North America (instead of towards Australia). This makes winters in North America warmer, and brings more precipitation to South America. 

Positive feedback and examples

A cycle in which the end result of a process stimulates more of the same process to happen.
Example: as it gets warmer, more ice caps and glaciers melt, less ice to reflect the sun’s heat back to space, gets even warmer, and repeats (albedo effect)

Negative feedback and example

a cycle where more of a process shuts down the process
Example: at high altitudes, warm temperatures cause more water to evaporate to form clouds. The clouds then block out the sunlight, making it cooler and dissipating the clouds. 

Why is melting of glaciers a problem?

• less glaciers mean less sunlight reflected back into space, this makes it even more warm and so on (albedo effect)
• most of earths freshwater comes from glaciers

What are the 2 main reasons for the rise in sea level?

1. greenhouse gasses melt glaciers, raising sea level

2. thermal expansion: water rises when heated

How does the green house effect work?

Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere. These gases have a greenhouse effect in which they absorb heat and warm up the air. Over long periods of time, this results in rising global temperatures. 

What is the main source of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions? Give three examples of this source.

The main source of man-made CO₂ emissions is the burning of fossil fuels

Example: burning oil, gas, and coal in power plants, factories, automobiles

Why does deforestation have a double negative impact on climate change?

Trees naturally breathe in CO₂, helping to reduce CO₂ levels in the atmosphere. When they are cut down, there are less trees to absorb CO₂, plus as the trees are used, burned, or decompose, they release even more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. 

What are the three main sources of methane? 

Cattle ranches, rice farms, and landfills. 

What is the purpose of the ozone layer? Which chemicals destroy it?

blocks dangerous UV rays from space coming into earths atmosphere
Chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

What are five negative side-effects of climate change? 

Drought, extreme weather, loss of biodiversity, more illnesses, destruction of ecosystems

What are 5 ways to reverse climate change and clean environment?

1. renewable energy

2. Reduce, reuse, recycle

3. Promote public transit, walking, cycling 

4. Invest in efficient agricultural techniques, including indoor farming and vertical farming 

5. Legislate tougher regulations and fines for industrial dumping and pollution

What is stewardship?

Stewardship means taking care of something one does not own. The idea is that we are all collectively responsible for the health of the environment.