1. _________________________________ is constantly changing, sometimes from hour to hour
and other times, day to day. It is the term that refers to the state of the atmosphere at a
given time and place.
2. Earth is sometimes called the ___________________ Planet because the majority of the
Earth’s surface is covered by ____________________ . 3. The greatest factor underlying water’s importance is its ability to exist in ______ physical
states within the temperatures ranges encountered near the Earth’s surface.
4. In the space below, draw and label the different processes that are part of the water cycle: 5. When precipitation falls on the land, it either soaks into the ground, a process called
_____________________, flows over the surface as ___________________________, or is
immediately evaporated.
6. __________________________________ is the process by which water changes from a liquid
to vapor, whereas _________________________ is the process by which water vapor
changes into liquid.7. When warm, moist air rises, it _____________________ as atmospheric pressure decreases
at higher altitudes. Air’s ability to hold water vapor is decreased as pressure is reduced and
cools adiabatically and eventually reaching its __________________________. As a result,
rising air becomes unable to hold water vapors (air is saturated), leading to condensation
and then followed by ________________________. 8. ___________________________ – the effect created when moisture bearing winds rise
against a mountain range. The air expands at altitude and ___________________________ to
form clouds and precipitation.
9. Draw and label Orographic Lifting. Include: Ocean, storm/rain, coastal mountains, Sierra
Nevada, windward, leeward, wet valley, dry valley, rain shadow, precipitation and arrows
showing storm and uplift. 10. ________________________ is the pressure exerted by the weight of the air above. Average
air pressure at sea level is approximately ___________________ millibars (mb). 11. Generally air tends to resist vertical movement; air near the surface, stays at the surface, air
aloft, stays aloft. One way to move air vertically is convective lifting, warm is ____________
dense and _______________ buoyant and therefore rises.
12. When an air mass near the ground is heated, the air molecules vibrates faster and increase
collision among the molecules, this causes air to _____________________, decreasing its
density. The lower density air rises creating a _______________________ system. 13. A ____________________________ system forms as cool air in the upper atmosphere, which
is more dense than the surrounding warmer air, sinks towards the ground14. Wind is the result of horizontal differences in atmospheric pressure. Air flows outward from
areas of ____________ pressure and into areas of ___________ pressure. 15. The amount of pressure change occurring over a given distance is called pressure gradient
force. The relationship between wind speed and pressure gradient is: the
_________________(greater/lesser) the pressure gradient, the ____________________
(stronger/weaker) the wind. 16. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Coriolis Effect curves objects to the ____________________
of their straight-line paths. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Coriolis Effect curves objects
to the ________________________. 17. The Coriolis Effect is at a _________________ at the poles and at a ___________________ at
the equator. 18. More solar energy is absorbed in the tropics than at the poles. As a result, the Earth’s
surface is __________________ (cooler/warmer) near the poles and _________________
(cooler/warmer) at the equator. 19. The hot conditions at the equator warm air and cause it to _________________. The warm
air travels north at high altitude where the air cools and ____________________ near
30°latitude. This creates a circulation pattern where surface air flows ________________
from 30°to the equator. 20. The region of sinking dry air which encircles the globe near 30°latitude, north and south, is
known as the ____________________________ – pressure zone. 21. The combination of the Coriolis Effect, which influences the wind’s ____________________
and the pressure gradient, which produces wind ____________________ generate Global Air
Circulation. 23. Severe weather is often associated with ________________ fronts, the boundaries between
____________ and warm air masses. Fronts accompany moist, unstable air ______________
up into the atmosphere where the air cools, condenses and eventually forms
__________________.
24. Most severe cold fronts that can produce thunderstorms in the U.S. are the result of a
______________ air mass originating from the northern plains states colliding with a
____________________ air mass moving northward from out of the Gulf of Mexico. 25. In a __________________ Front, a cold air s move more rapidly than an adjacent
________________ air mass, causing rapid lifting and displacement of the warm air. 26. In a _________________ Front, a warm air mass moves more rapidly than the adjacent
_______________ air mass, and thus rises over the cold air mass.
27. Advancing cold fronts rapidly lift ______________, moist air to high altitudes, causing
instability, condensation, precipitation and ______________________. 28. Draw and label both warm and cold fronts. Include air mass (cold and warm), direction of
front, air movement, updraft, area of precipitation, thunderstorm or medium precipitation
and cloud coverage.
