Midterm Study Guide: Haines, Manzanares & Soto 1. High level pushes air masses to new regions. (Wind) Easy 2. How is the atmosphere like a greenhouse? ( Greenhouse gasses trap heat like the walls of a greenhouse.) Easy 3. Which of the following air fronts do not move? (stationary.) medium 4. Tropical and equatorial are hot as they develop over lower latitudes. (True) easy 5. An air mass that whose temperature is colder than the underlying surface is called a : cold air mass (Medium) 6. Within an air mass these characteristics are nearly the same. (temperature and humidity.) 7. A warm front has mild weather because there is mixing between the different air masses. (false) hard 8. Thunderstorms are caused by colder masses moving through over warmer grounds. (True) easy 9. Warm air masses tend to flow only towards the north pole. (False) medium 10. An occluded front usually forms around a, (Low pressure system.) hard 11. A warm front forms when a cold air mass slides over a warm air mass. (False). Easy 12. Warmer air masses are more likely to come from regions. (Tropical) 13. Temperatures zones are ordinarily to for air masses to form. (unstable) hard 14. One characteristic that all types of fronts share is that they. ( create precipitation) Med 15. High level push air masses to new regions. ( wind) 16. If the air mass that arrive third is colder that either of the first two air masses that air mass flips beneath them both. This is called a. ( cold occlusion) hard
17. There are four types of fronts. ( 3 moving and one stationary) 18. A front is ( the leading edge of an air mass) Med 19. Air mases form over large areas. ( True) 20. A front is where two air masses (meet.) 21. How does air movement keep earth temperatures balanced? (A cold air masses moves toward warm air masses) 22. What is weather? ( the state of the atmosphere at any particular time. ) 23. What is Climate? 24. Why is the temperature lower (colder) at night than during the day? ( The temperature depends on the heat of the sun.) 25. If it s a hot day outside what can you conclude? (The air will be able to hold a lot of moisture.) 26. Why can t you see water vapor in the air? ( It exists as a clear colorless gas.) 27. What is the difference between absolute humidity and relative humidity? (Absolute humidity is how much water air can hold ; relative humidity represents how much water the air actually holds.) 28. Why does it tend to be cool at the Earth s poles? (Sunlight strikes them at extreme angles.) 29. What are the characteristics of a high-temperature system? (Clear skies and sun.) 30. What will happen if the relative humidity is 100 percent, and the temperature begins to fall? (It will start to rain.) 31. What causes storm clouds to develop? ( Humid air rising and cooling.) 32. How is sheet lighting different from lighting strikes? ( Sheet lighting occurs entirely within the clouds; lighting strikes travel between clouds and the ground.) 33. Which of the following states is not located in Tornado alley? (Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas, Iowa.) 34. Which hurricane caused a record high storm surge along the U.S. coast? (Katrina, Sandy, Luis, Dennis.)
35. Which state of matter is the most common state of matter visible in the universe? a. Solid b. Liquid c. Gas d. plasma 36. Molecules flow freely and take the shape of their container in which state of matter? a. Solid b. Liquid c. gas d. plasma 37. What two things are needed to transform a solid to a liquid? a. heat b. energy c. the sun d. an open flame 38. What do air, trees and liquids have in common? a. they are all matter b. they are all solids c. they are all liquids d. they have nothing in common 39. You can t see this state of matter, but you are in contact with it every day. a. solid, b. liquid c. gas d. plasma 40. Name two liquids, two solids and two gases: open ended In what way are liquids different from solids? a. Liquid molecules are lighter than solid molecules b. Liquids are made of atoms; solids are made of molecules
c. Liquids don't have a fixed shape; solids do d. Liquids are always denser than solids 47. What will happen if you keep increasing the temperature of a liquid? a. It will boil b. It will transpire c. It will melt d. It will solidify 48. How can you remove energy from matter? a. By increasing its volume b. By lowering its temperature c. By increasing its pressure d. By boiling it 49. Gases have a tendency to expand. What's the best synonym for "expand?" a. Collide b. Spread out c. Shrink d. Boil True or False Higher temperatures mean faster moving molecules 50. The transfer of heat between two objects that are touching is called a. radiation b. conduction c. convection 51. Rising warm air current is an example of a. radiation b. conduction c. convection
41. The sum total of all water on Earth and in its atmosphere is called the: a. Biosphere b. Terrasphere c. Hydrosphere d. Liquisphere 42. Oceans, the atmosphere, and groundwater are all in the water cycle. a. Nodes b. Sinks c. Reservoirs d. Stations 43. Water perpetually cycles from the Earth to the atmosphere and back. In the previous sentence, what does "perpetually" mean? a. Constantly b. Frequently c. Occasionally d. Rarely 44. What effect does the sun have on surface water? a. It causes it to boil b. It causes it to rain c. It causes it to sink d. It causes it to evaporate 45. What is it called when rainwater contributes to the flow of rivers and streams? a. Transformation b. Runoff c. Irrigation d. Desertification 46. Which of the following options depicts precipitation? a. b. c. d. (show a picture of each) Which of the following describes condensation? a. Ice becoming water when placed into a warm liquid b. Water becoming ice in a freezer c. Liquid water being heated until it turns into steam
d. Steam from a teapot turning into liquid water 52. What can you infer from the fact that there is the same amount of water on the planet now as there was one billion years ago? a. The total amount of water on earth changes gradually over time b. There will probably be the same amount of water on the planet a billion years from now c. There have been many fluctuations in the water cycle over the last billion years d. There will be much less water on earth one billion years from now 53. Which reservoir in the water cycle contains the most water? a. The ice caps b. The oceans c. Groundwater d. Surface water 54. How long do molecules of groundwater stay in the ground? a. Days b. Weeks c. Months d. Anywhere from days to thousands of years