physical geography 3 exam
Chapter 5
How air flows (high to low pressure): Air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, creating wind.
Wind (how they are named): Winds are named for the direction they originate from. For example, a "north wind" blows from the north.
Wind vane: An instrument that shows wind direction by pointing in the direction the wind is coming from.
Barometer: A device used to measure air pressure. Changes in air pressure can indicate weather changes.
Pressure gradient force: The force that causes air to move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, driving wind.
Coriolis force: A force caused by Earth’s rotation that deflects moving air (and water) to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.
Anticyclone (High pressure): A high-pressure system where air circulates clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere), usually associated with clear, calm weather.
Cyclone (Low pressure): A low-pressure system where air circulates counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere), often bringing clouds and precipitation.
ITCZ (Intertropical Convergence Zone): A belt near the equator where trade winds from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres meet, often causing thunderstorms and heavy rainfall.
Convergence: The horizontal inflow of air into a particular region, leading to rising air and often cloud formation.
Divergence: The horizontal outflow of air from a particular region, often associated with sinking air and clear weather.
Close isobars vs. farther away isobars: Close isobars on a weather map indicate strong winds, while farther apart isobars indicate weaker winds.
Monsoon climate: A climate characterized by a distinct wet season and dry season due to seasonal changes in wind direction.
Monsoon winds: Winds that shift direction with the seasons, bringing heavy rains during the wet season and dry weather during the dry season.
Geostrophic winds: Winds that blow parallel to isobars due to the balance between the pressure gradient force and the Coriolis effect, typically occurring at higher altitudes.
Ocean currents (Northern Hemisphere vs. Southern Hemisphere): In the Northern Hemisphere, ocean currents generally flow clockwise; in the Southern Hemisphere, they flow counterclockwise.
Gyre: A large system of circular ocean currents formed by global wind patterns and the Earth's rotation.
Chapter 6
Water (three stages): Water exists in three states—solid (ice), liquid, and gas (vapor).
How water changes from each stage: Water changes between states through processes such as melting, freezing, evaporation, condensation, sublimation (solid to gas), and deposition (gas to solid).
Fresh water (where it is located): Fresh water is found in glaciers and ice caps, groundwater, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Only about 3% of Earth's water is fresh water.
Oceans: Oceans cover about 71% of Earth’s surface and hold about 97% of the planet’s water. They play a key role in climate and weather patterns.
Hydrogen bonding: A type of weak bond that forms between water molecules due to their polar nature, which gives water its unique properties like high surface tension.
Relative Humidity: The percentage of water vapor in the air compared to the maximum amount the air can hold at a given temperature.
Hair hygrometer: A device that uses hair’s tendency to expand and contract with humidity changes to measure the humidity of the air.
Sling psychrometer: An instrument with two thermometers (wet-bulb and dry-bulb) used to measure relative humidity based on the temperature difference between the two.
Evaporation (latent heat): The process where liquid water turns into vapor, absorbing latent heat and cooling the surrounding area.
Deposition (latent heat): The process where water vapor turns directly into ice, releasing latent heat in the process.
Humidity: The amount of water vapor present in the air.
Specific Humidity: The mass of water vapor per unit mass of air, often expressed in grams of vapor per kilogram of air.
Cloud types: Various types of clouds are classified by their appearance and altitude, including cumulus (puffy), stratus (layered), and cirrus (wispy, high altitude).
Cumulonimbus: A towering cloud associated with thunderstorms, often producing heavy rain, lightning, and sometimes tornadoes.
Cirrus: High-altitude, wispy clouds made mostly of ice crystals; they often indicate fair weather but can signal a change in the weather.
Globular clouds (cumuliform): Clouds that have a rounded or puffy appearance, such as cumulus clouds.
Coalescence/Bergeron process: The coalescence process explains how raindrops form in warm clouds, while the Bergeron process describes precipitation in cold clouds where ice crystals grow at the expense of supercooled water droplets.
Dry Adiabatic Rate (DAR): The rate at which unsaturated air cools (or warms) as it rises (or descends), approximately 10°C per 1000 meters.
Moist Adiabatic Rate (MAR): The rate at which saturated air cools as it rises, usually slower than the DAR (about 5–9°C per 1000 meters) due to the release of latent heat.
Environmental Lapse Rate: The rate of temperature decrease with altitude in the surrounding atmosphere, not related to rising or descending air parcels.
Radiation fog: A type of fog that forms when the ground cools overnight, cooling the air directly above it to the dew point.
What happens to water volume when it freezes: Water expands and becomes less dense when it freezes, which is why ice floats on water.
Nimbo- / -nimbus: A prefix or suffix indicating a cloud is producing precipitation, as in nimbostratus or cumulonimbus.
Dew-point temperature: The temperature at which air becomes saturated with moisture and water vapor begins to condense.
Saturation: The point at which the air contains the maximum amount of water vapor it can hold at a given temperature.
Altostratus: A mid-level, gray or bluish cloud layer that often covers the sky and can bring light precipitation.
Stability: A property of the atmosphere that resists vertical motion, meaning stable air does not easily rise, which limits cloud formation and precipitation.
Western side of subtropical high pressure: Often characterized by warm, dry air descending from the high-pressure zone, leading to arid conditions in nearby regions.