| A | B |
|---|
| lowest level of the atmosphere where life exists | troposphere |
| most common gas in Earth's atmosphere | nitrogen |
| found in the stratosphere and protects the Earth by absorbing ultraviolet radiation | ozone |
| where energy comes from | sun |
| Earth's atmosphere is heated by this | Earth (trapping energy from the sun) |
| energy given off by the sun | infrared radiation, ultraviolet radiation, visible light |
| force that is the result of the weight of a column of air pushing down on an area | air pressure |
| direct transfer of heat from one substance to another that is touching it | conduction |
| instrument used to measure wind speed | anemometer |
| instrument used to measure air pressure | barometer |
| instrument used to measure wind direction | wind or weather vane |
| the direct transfer of electromagnetic waves | radiation |
| place where air pressure is greatest | sea level |
| process by which heat is trapped in the atmosphere by water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and other gases that form a blanket around Earth | greenhouse effect |
| cloud droplets that collide and combine | rain droplets |
| examples of condensation | dew, frost, fog |
| examples of precipitation | rain, snow, hail, sleet, drizzle |
| occurs when water ENTERS the atmosphere (water changes to water vapor) | evaporation |
| occurs when water LEAVES the atmosphere (water vapor changes to water) | condensation |
| examples of particles in the air | sand, dirt, pollen, pollutants |
| temperature at which condensation occurs | dew point |
| result if the dew point is reached ABOVE freezing | dew |
| result if the dew point is reached BELOW freezing | frost |
| the amount of water vapor in the air compared to the total amount of water vapor that could be in the air at a certain temperatue (varies from place to place) | relative humidity |
| states of water | solid, liguid, gas |
| term added to a basic cloud type that means the cloud is producing precipitation | nimbus |
| occurs when water falls from the atmosphere | precipitation |
| condition of air over an desert | dry and warm |
| condition of air over a rainforest | warm, moist, humid |
| scientists who study weather and the condition of the atmosphere | meteorologists |
| long periods of time without precipitation | droughts |
| the average, year-after-year conditions of temperature, precipitation, winds, and clouds in an area | climate |
| condition of the atmosphere at a particular place and time | weather |
| layer of the atmosphere that contains ozone | stratosphere |
| most air pollution is caused by this | burning fossil fuel (motor vehicles) |
| the reflection of light in all directions | scattering |
| made of tiny droplets of water | clouds |
| dew and frost form on these type of nights | "C" nights, calm, cool, clear |
| rain that contains more acid than normal | acid rain |
| low pressure usually indicates this type of weather | rain, drizzle |
| properties of air | mass, volume, density, pressure, temperature |
| clouds that form less than 2km above the ground and look like puffy, round piles of cotton | cumulus |
| wispy, thin clouds made mostly of ice crystals that form at high levels above 6 km | cirrus |
| clouds that form in flat layers and often bring drizzle | stratus |
| term added to a basic cloud type that means that the cloud is producing precipitation | nimbus |
| scientific name for a thunderhead or storm cloud | cumulonimbus |
| instrument used to measure relative humidity | hydrometer or psychrometer |
| used to measure temperature | thermometer |
| used to measure the highest and lowest temperature | maximum/minimum thermometer |
| smoke + fog | smog |
| water in the gas state | water vapor |
| layer of gases that surrounding Earth | atmosphere |
| mass divided by volume | density |
| harmful substances in air, water, or soil | pollutant |
| the force pushing on an area or surface | pressure |
| middle layer of Earth's atmosphere/meteoroids burn up in this layer | mesosphere |
| elevation or distance above sea level | altitude |
| outer most layer of the atmosphere that extents into space/ divided into the ionsphere and the exosphere | thermosphere |
| scientific name for the northern lights, a colorful display in the sky caused when particles form the sun strike oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the ionosphere | aurora borealis |
| horizontal movement of air | wind |
| winds that blow over short distances/sea breezes and land breezes are examples | local wind |
| the flow of wind from an ocean or lake to land | sea breeze |
| amount of water vapor in the air | humidity |
| the flow of air from land to a body of water | land breeze |
| sea and land breeezes over a large region that change direction with the seasons | monsoons |
| a rapidly whirling, funnel shaped cloud that reaches down from a storm cloud to touch Earth's surface, usually leaving a destructive path | tornado |
| a violent disturbance in the atmosphere | storm |
| study of the atmosphere, weather and climate | meteorology |
| the an area where air masses meet and do not move | front |
| a sudden, violent flood that occurs whin a few hours, or even minutes, of a heavy rainstorm | flash flood |
