Science 421
Weather
Outline Questions - Answers
Section 13.1
(Questions #1-3, page 503)
1.
What are the main components that influence weather?
Atmosphere, land forms, and water.
2.
How much of the earth’s surface is covered by water?
70%
3.
Define weather and climate. Give examples of each to help you explain the terms.
Weather is the set of environmental conditions encountered day to day. Climate is the set of
environmental conditions averaged over many years.
Questions #1-3, page 503
#1
Weather - Sunny, cloudy, windy, temperature of 9EC, etc.
#2
Climate - Snowy, Temperature between -20EC and -5EC, wind chill, etc.
#3
A. Climate is very cold with long hours of darkness daily
B. The climate is moderately cold, sometimes with snow and wind.
C. Winter - cold, snowy, windy, ~ 150 cm of snow, ~ -10EC
Spring - late and cool,
Summer - moderate, sunny, ~ 20EC
Fall - moderate, breezy, ~ 5E
Section 13.2
(Questions #1-2, 4-6 page 507)
1.
Describe each of the 4 methods by which energy can be transferred from one place to
another.
Radiation - transfer of energy by waves.
Convection - vertical transfer of energy through a fluid.
Advection - horizontal transfer of energy through a fluid.
Conduction - transfer of energy through the collision of particles in a solid.
2.
Define albedo
A measure of the reflectivity of an object.
High albedo = anything white
Low albedo = anything dark in colour.
3.
What is a heat sink? Give an example of a good heat sink and an example of a poor
heat sink.
It is a material that absorbs energy and holds it as heat. Good = water, Bad = rocks
4.
What is heat capacity? Give an example of a material with high heat capacity and one
with low heat capacity.
It is a measure of how much heat a substance needs to increase it’s temperature. High =
water, Low = rocks
Questions #1-2, 4-6 page 507
#1
Conduction, convection and advection all need particles so they cannot travel through
space where there are no particles.
#2
A. The visible spectrum allows us to see.
B. Infrared radiation is used in ovens.
C. X-rays are used to take images of our teeth.
#4
A solid cannot flow the way a fluid can, so a solid cannot set up a convection current.
#5
Rocks and soils are poor heat sinks because they don’t hold a lot of heat. They can
only hold head a few meters into their surface.
#6
Clean snow, dirty snow, ocean water, evergreen forest.
Section 13.8
1.
What is the hydrosphere?
They hydrosphere is all of Earth’s fresh and salt water.
2.
Draw the water cycle.
3.
Describe the water cycle using the appropriate terms
Explain the water cycle without drawing it, but using the following terms:
evaporation - changing from liquid to gas.
sublimation - changing directly from solid to a gas.
condensation - changing from gas to liquid.
transpiration - movement of water from plants and bodies to the air.
precipitation - water that falls to the ground (rain, snow, hail, dew, freezing rain, etc.)
Section 13.11
(Questions #1, 3, 4 page 534)
1.
Why is it important to learn the characteristics of the various types of clouds?
They are easy indicators of weather and weather systems.
2.
Why doesn’t’ rain or snow fall from all clouds?
A cloud must build up enough moisture for precipitation to occur. Most clouds don’t hold
enough moisture (in drops that are big enough) for rain to fall.
3.
What is fog?
A cloud formed on/near the ground.
4.
A.
Name and describe the 2 general cloud types. Please include what type of
weather each indicates.
Stratus - flattened, layered shape. Indicate stable weather.
Cumulus - billowing, rounded shape. Indicate unstable weather.
B.
Provide the terms we use to further classify clouds and explain what each type
means.
Nimbus - rain cloud
Cirrus - high-level cloud
Alto - mid-level cloud
Questions #1, 3, 4 page 534
#1
Water is absorbed and becomes vapour in the air. As this air rises it begins to cool
and expand due to lower amounts pressure. The absorbed heat energy is released by
water vapour that is cooling and condensing into a cloud.
#3
A.
B.
C.
D.
3000 m
6000 m
Below 2000 m
From low to 7000 m
#4
altocumulus clouds are puffy grey or white clouds, found near 3000 m. They are
interspersed with patches of clear sky.
Section 13.4
1.
Define atmosphere
The blanket of air and moisture that surrounds Earth.
2.
What is the atmosphere composed of?
Nitrogen (78%), Oxygen (21%), and small amounts of other gases.
3.
List and describe the 5 layers of the atmosphere.
Troposphere - starts at the Earth’s surface, contains the weather, the “lower atmosphere”
Stratosphere - contains the ozone
Mesosphere - the “middle atmosphere”
Thermosphere - the “upper atmosphere”, highest energy electromagnetic waves from the
Sun are absorbed.
Exosphere - outer most layer
Section 14.2
(Questions #1-4, page 549)
1.
What is a weather mass?
A set of temperature, wind, pressure, and moisture conditions for a certain area that moves
as a unit for a few days.
2.
What is an air mass?
A large body of air with uniform temperature and moisture level.
3.
Name the North American air masses and indicate the type of weather each brings.
Maritime Polar - wet, cool air
Maritime Tropical - wet, warm air
Continental Polar - dry, cool air
Continental Tropical - dry, warm air.
4.
What is a front?
The boundary between two air masses.
Questions #1-4, page 549
#1
Weather in the mid-latitude regions changes frequently making it hard to forecast.
#2
A.
B.
C.
D.
Continental polar
Maritime polar
Maritime tropical
Maritime polar
#3
Warm air masses move from warm regions to cold regions, taking warm energy with
them. Cold air masses move from cold regions to warm regions and to get warm
energy.
#4
Occluded front - both warm and cold front symbols on the same side of the frontal
line.
Stationary front - has the symbols on the opposite sides of the line.