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Answer key
Chapter 2 section 3 and 4
Question | Answer |
---|---|
What causes wind? | The horizontal movement of air from an area of high pressure to an area of lower pressure. Differences in air pressure. |
If a wind vane measures wind direction, then what does an anemometer do? | Measures air speed |
What is the wind-chill factor? | The increased cooling that a wind can cause. The wind blowing over your skin removes body heat. |
What causes local winds? | Winds that blow over short distances. Caused by unequal heating of Earth’s surface within a small area. |
Explain the difference between a sea breeze and a land breeze. | Sea breeze is a wind that blows from the ocean onto land. Land breeze is the flow of air from land to a body of water. |
What do monsoons produce for farmers? | Lots of rain for the crops. |
How is a global wind different from a local wind? | Global wind are winds that blow steadily from specific directions over long distances. Local winds are only over short distances. |
Warm air rises at the equator, and cold air sinks at the poles. This creates what type of currents that make wind? | Creates giant convection currents |
What is the Coriolis effect? Who was it named after? | It is the way Earth’s rotation makes winds curve. French mathematician who studied and explained it in 1835. |
What are the major global wind belts? | Major global wind belts- the trade winds, the prevailing westerlies, and the polar easterlies. |
Define latitude. Where is wind the weakest? | Latitude- is the distance from the equator, measured in degrees. Weakest at about 30 degrees north and south latitudes, the air stops moving toward the poles and sinks. |
Where did “trade” winds get its name? | It is a steady easterly wind that helped carry cargoes from Europe to the West Indies and South America. |
What two winds play an important part in the weather in the U.S.? | Prevailing Westerlies Polar Easterlies |
What is the jet stream? | About 10 km above Earth’s surface are bands of high-speed winds. |
Define evaporation. | Process by which water molecules in liquid water escape into the air as water vapor. |
Using the water cycle diagram on p. 61, what happens in the cycle after evaporation occurs? | Water vapor in the atmosphere condenses to form clouds. Rain and other forms of precipitation fall from the clouds toward the surface. |
Precipitation that falls on mountains reaches the oceans, lakes, and streams. Please explain how this occurs. | Water runs off the surface, or moves through the ground, back to the oceans, lakes and streams. |
Define humidity. Define relative humidity. You feel less comfortable on a hot day that is humid opposed to being dry. | Measure of the amount of water vapor in the air. The percentage of water vapor in the air compared to the max. Amount the air could hold. Evaporation slows down causing a less cooling effect on your body. |
How are clouds formed? | Clouds form when water vapor in the air becomes liquid water or ice crystals. |
Define condensation Define dew point. | Condensation- process by which molecules of water vapor in the air become liquid water. Dew point- the temp. at which condensation begins |
What are the 3 main types of clouds that are associated with different types of weather? | Cumulus Stratus Cirrus |
Define cumulus. What type of weather is connected to this cloud? | Cumulus- fluffy, rounded piles of cotton. Give us fair weather. Towering cumulus with flat tops, called cumulonimbus clouds produce thunderstorms. |
Define stratus. What type of weather is connected to this cloud? | Stratus- flat layers As they thicken, may produce drizzle, rain, or snow. |
Define cirrus. What type of weather is connected to this cloud? | Cirrus- wispy, feathery clouds Storm is approaching |
What does the prefix alto- mean like in accumulators and altostratus? What is fog? | Alto means- “high” Fog are clouds that form at or near the ground. |