Name______Date______Period______

Weather and Climate Study Guide 

  1. Which direction does pressure move?
  2. Which direction does wind blow?
  3. Describe the following cloud names:

Cumulus –

Stratus–

Cirrus –

Alto –

Cirro –

Nimbo/nimbus –

Fog –

  1. What happens to air temperature and pressure as you go higher in elevation?
  2. How are the layers of the atmosphere classified?
  1. Describe how the weather would be different at 25° Celsius and 25° Fahrenheit.
  1. What is specific heat?
  2. How does the specific heat of water and sand compare? How does it impact the way the two materials heat and cool?
  1. Compare the densities of warm and cool air. How does that impact the way they move in the atmosphere?
  1. Why is it difficult to breath at the top of Mount Everest?
  1. Why does the weather in Georgia usually come from the west?
  1. What causes weather?
  2. What causes weather?
  1. If a west wind is blowing at you, which direction is it heading?
  1. What kind of pressure is formed by warm rising air at the equator?
  1. What kind of pressure is formed by cold sinking air at the poles?
  1. Describe what can be measured with the following weather instruments:
  2. Anemometer –
  3. Weather vane or wind sock –
  4. Barometer –
  5. Thermometer –
  6. Psychrometer –
  7. Know the differences between the following types of severe weather:
  8. Thunderstorms -
  1. Tornadoes-
  1. Hurricanes –
  1. Why does the earth receive more solar energy at low latitudes at the equator than at high latitudes at the poles leading to rain in the summer and snow in the winter?
  1. In which 2 ways is wind classified?
  2. What forms when water vapor condenses around dust particles in the atmosphere?
  1. At which temperature does condensation occur?
  1. How are tornadoes and hurricanes classified?

Tornadoes –

Hurricanes –

  1. Describe the following fronts:

Warm –

Cold –

Occluded –

Stationary –

  1. Describe the following air masses:
  2. Maritime polar – mP –
  3. Maritime tropical – mT –
  4. Continental polar – cP –
  5. Continental tropical – cT –
  6. What is a front?
  1. When a meteorologist says, “There is a 50% chance of rain tomorrow,” what does she mean?
  1. Study your global winds diagram. Where does air rise and sink and how does that relate to air pressure?
  1. Describe how forests, oceans, grassy fields, and roads all transfer solar radiation back into the atmosphere differently? Which one would get the hottest?
  1. What type of energy transfer causes water vapor to move in the atmosphere?
  1. Where does most water vapor in the atmosphere come from?

On the images above, label warm rising air, cool sinking air, high pressure area, and low pressure area.