Weather Review

1. What conversions allow solar energy reaching the Earth to contribute to weather?

2. Write a definition for weather in your own words.

3. Write a definition for climate.

4. Why is the Earth heated unevenly?

5. Where is most heat received by Earth?

6. Why is summer clothing usually light colored?

7. Would a home with a dark roof be suitable for a tropical climate? Explain.

8. What would Earth be like if heat were not distributed around the planet?

9. How does the surface of the Earth affect the amount of solar energy absorbed?

10. The day has been warm and most surfaces are hot. The sun goes down in a cloudless sky. Will it be warm or cold by dawn? Explain.

11. How is heat distributed?

12. How are the oceans able to move so much heat around the planet?

13. Look at Figure 3.7. Why are onshore winds so cool in eastern Canada?

14. Define the words "solstice" and "equinox".

15. Write definitions for convection and for conduction; state one way in which each is useful in your own life.

16. How do convection currents form?

17. How do clouds form?

18. How is the atmosphere able to move so much heat around the planet?

19. Distinguish between land breeze and sea breeze.

20. How does each form?

21. How is heat distributed over the Earth in a similar fashion?

22. Who discovered that the Earth's rotation has an affect on winds blowing across its surface?

23. Name the three major wind currents on the Earth's surface.

24. What do we call the two areas where there is very little wind?

25. Where are these areas located?

26. Why is there little wind at these areas?

27. For most of the year, Canada's weather comes mainly with which wind?

28. What does the name of a wind, e.g., the westerlies, tell us?

29. Which of the following does NOT contribute to the chinook winds?
a) dry air warms faster than moist air    (b) air dries as it crosses the mountains    (c) air warms as it descends from the mountains    (d) thermal inversions

30. What causes the fog that is so common to coastal areas of Atlantic Canada?

31. What is an air mass?

32. What kinds of air masses are there?

33. What do we call the boundary between two air masses?

34. What types of these boundaries are there?

35. In terms of density, direction of movement of the air, and precipitation, describe what happens as a cold air mass meets a warm air mass. Now describe what happens as a warm air mass meets a cold air mass.

36. What is air pressure? Explain why air pressure changes with altitude above sea level.

37. Why doesn't air temperature increase with increasing altitude above sea level?

38. Why does warm air rise?

39. What are the units for measuring pressure?

40. Why do your ears sometimes "pop" when in an airplane or driving in a mountainous area?

41. Why might there be a fog zone at the higher elevations of a mountain?

42. How is a high pressure system formed?  What weather usually accompanies it?

43. What is a thermal inversion?

44. Describe how a thunderstorm is formed.

45. What precipitation often accompanies rain from large thunderclouds?

46. How is hail formed?

47. What do we call the center of a hurricane?

48. What windspeed is necessary for a storm to be classified as a tornado?

49. Figure 3.13 is a cross section of what weather phenomenon?