| A | B |
|---|
| Weather | Weather is the condition of the bottom layer of the earth's atmosphere in one place over a short period of time. |
| Greenhouse Effect | When a small amount of solar radiation reaches the earth's atmosphere, warming the earth. (This represents a house with a glass roof...) |
| Revolution | A revolution is a complete orbit around the sun... this contributes with our seasons. |
| Tropic of Cancer | One of the places where the sunlight is direct... it is 23.5 degrees north of the Equator. |
| Spring / Fall Equinoxes | March 21 and September 23... On these days, the sun, at noon, appears directly overhead at the Equator. Day and night are equal in length. |
| Precipitation | All forms of water that fall from the atomosphere onto the earth's surface. |
| Orographical Precipitation | When warm, moist air is forced upward when passing over high landforms and cause precipitation. (On the Leeward Side, deserts are formed.) |
| Evaporation | When water is turned into vapor and travels into the atmosphere. |
| Atmosphere | The multilayered band of gases, water vapor, and dust above the earth. |
| Rotation | The spinning of the Earth on its axis... gives us days and nights. |
| Length of a Year is... | 365.25 Days |
| Tropic of Capricorn | One of the places where the sunlight is direct... it is 23.5 degrees south of the Equator. |
| Climate Zones | Tropical Zones are Hot- 23.5 degrees north and south of equator; Temperate Zone- Hot and Cold- 23.5 N to 66.5 N; Polar Zone- Cold- 66.5 N and 66.5 S. |
| Water Cycle | When water on the surface is evaporated, formed in the cloud, and falls back to earth... From oceans, land, back to oceans. |
| Frontal Precipitation | The most common kind of precipitation when two fronts (air masses) of different temps. meet. |
| The Three Influences on Climate Are... | Nearby Bodies of Water / Elevation / Nearby Landforms |
| Climate | The term for the weather patterns that an area typically experiences over a long period of time. |
| Axis | The tilt that the earth rotates on- 23.5 degrees. |
| Leap Year | This accounts for the 0.25 days for every year... so ever four years contains an extra day. |
| Summer / Winter Solstice | June 21 and December 21- these mark when the tilt changes from Northern Hemisphere- Winter and Southern Hemisphere to the reversed situations. |
| Convectional Precipitation | Occurs when hot, humid air rises from the earth's surface and cool, thereby losing its ability to hold much water. |
| Fronts | Air Masses |
