| A | B |
|---|
| weather | the condition of the bottom layer of the earth's atmosphere in one place over a short time |
| atmosphere | multilayered band of gases, water vapor, and dust above the earth |
| climate | the weather patterns that an area typically experiences over a long period of time |
| Greenhouse effect | the absorbtion of a small amount of solar radiation into the earth after the rest has been dispersed |
| rotation | the earth's spin on it's axis |
| axis | the invisible line through the center of the earth from pole to pole |
| revolution | one complete orbit around the sun |
| length of a year | 365.25 days |
| leap year--date | the year to account for the extra fourth of the time taken to revolve around the sun. Occurs every four years as the 366 day |
| Tropic of Cancer | imaginary line at 23.5 degrees north |
| Tropic of Capricorn | imaginary line at 23.5 degrees south |
| summer/winter solstice | the halfway revolutions of the earth's path, when the sun's rays appear directly over the tropic of Cancer/Capricorn |
| spring/fall equinoxes | the halfway marks between the solstices where the sun's rays are directly over the equator. Lengths of day and night are equal |
| Climate zones: tropical, temperate, and polar | tropical: between 23.5 N & S: hot year round; temperate: between 23.5 and 66.5 N & S: wide range; polar: above/below 66.5 degrees: cold |
| precipitation | all forms of water that fall from the atmosphere to the earth's surface |
| water cycle | cycle of naturally recycling water through evaporation, condensation, and precipitation |
| convectional precipitation | hot air rises from the earth's surface, cools, loses ability to hold water, precipitation forms. Common near equator and tropics |
| orographical precipitation | warm air passes over landforms, cools at top, precipitation forms. Common on coast |
| frontal precipitation | two fronts of different temperatures meet, warmer rises and loses ability |
| fronts | air masses |
| evaporation | water is heated enough to turn into gas |
| 3 influences on climate | large bodies of water, elevation, nearby landforms |
