18.1-18.3 Earth Space Science Quiz

What is the most important gas in the atmosphere? Why?

water vapor it’s the source of all condensation and precipitation

What is precipitation?

any form of water that falls from a cloud (ex. snow, rain, hail, sleet…)

What is latent heat?

the energy absorbed or released during a change in state

What is melting?

the process of changing from solid to liquid

What is freezing?

the process of changing from a liquid to solid

What is evaporation?

the process of changing a liquid to a gas

What is condensationg?

the process where a gas, like water vapor, changes to a liquid, like water

What is sublimation?

the conversion of a solid directly to a gas without passing through the liquid state

What is deposition?

the conversion of a vapor directly to a solid

What is humidity?

a general term for the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere

When is air saturated?

when it contains the maximum quantity of water vapor that it can hold at any given temperature and pressure

What does the amount of water needed for saturation depend on?

the temperature of the air (warm air holds more water vapor than cold air; humidity)

What is relative humidity?

a ratio of the air’s actual water-vapor content compared with the amount of water vapor air can hold at that temperature and pressure

What is a dew point?

the temperature to which a parcel of air would need to be cooled to reach saturation

What is a hygrometer?

an instrument to measure relative humidity

What is a psychometer?

a hygrometer with a dry- and wet-bulb thermometers. The two temps are compared to determine relative humidity

What must happen for water to condense in the atmosphere

the air must become saturated, either water vapor must be added or the air temp must drop

What is air compression and expansion?

when air is allowed to expand, it cools, and when it is compressed, it warms

What is the lapse rate?

the rate than an air mass cools with altitude (depends on how much water vapor is in the air)

What is dry adiabatic rate?

the rate of cooling or heating that applies only to unsaturated air

What is wet adiabatic rate?

the rate of adiabatic temperature change in saturated air

What four mechanisms can force air to rise?

orographic lifting, frontal wedging, convergence, localized convective lifting

What is orographic lifting?

occurs when mountains act as barriers to the flow of air, forcing the air to ascend

What happens when the air from orographic liftng cools adiabatically?

clouds and precipitation may result, rain generally falls in windward side of mountains, leeward side tends to be dry

What happens during frontal wedging?

the front forces warm up over to cooler air, warm air cools and condensation occurs

What is a front? (frontal wedging)

the boundary between two adjoining air masses having contrasting characteristics

What is convergence?

when air flows together and rises

What is localized convective lifting?

occurs where unequal surface heating causes pockets of air to rise becuase of their buoyancy

What are the characteristics of stable air? (CHANGE QUESTION)

when air is forced upwards then sinks back down on it’s own, stable air remains in its original position, unstable air rises

How do you tell if air is stable?

by measuring the temperature of the atmosphere at various heights

What is the rate of change in air temperature with height called?

the environmental lapse rate

What is a radiosonde?

device used to measure temperature, humidity, pressure, and other characteristics at various heights

What is a temperature inversion?

it occurs in a layer of limited depth in the atmosphere where the temperature increases rather than decreases with height, it’s the most stable condition of the atmosphere

What are condensation nuclei?

tiny bits of particulate matter that serve as surfaces on which water vapor condenses when condensation occurs in the air

What are clouds?

visible mixture of water droplets and ice crystals in the atmosphere

How are clouds classified?

the basis of their form (shape) and height

What are the three basic cloud shapes?

cirrus (high, white and thin)

cumulus (clouds that consist of rounded individual cloud masses)

stratus (clouds best described as sheets or layers that cover much or all o the sky, no distinct cloud units)

What is fog?

a cloud iwht its base at or very near the ground

What is the Bergeron process?

a theory that relates the formation of precipitation to supercooled clouds, freezing nuclei, and the different saturation levels of ice and liquid water