What is the distribution of Earth’s water

from greatest to least?

Salt water, then frozen ice, groundwater, surface water,

water vapor

Draw and label the Water Cycle.

Is Earth’s water steadily increasing,

decreasing, or staying in balance?

Why?

Earth’s water stays in balance: the rate

of evaporation is equal to rate of precipitation.

What process takes place when liquid

water absorbs enough energy to change into

water vapor?

Evaporation

What process happens when

water vapor cools and changes to liquid water?

Condensation

What is the process where four forms of water fall

from clouds to Earth’s surface?

Precipitation

Compare (what is the same) and contrast

(what is different)about evaporation and condensation.

Compare: both involve changes in state

Contrast: evaporation is liquid to gas; condensation is gas to liquid

Why does the ocean’s salinity stay about the

same?

Fresh water enters the ocean (ex. from rivers and rain); but water also evaporates from the ocean, leaving the

salt behind.

As you descend in the ocean, through the water column,

how do the conditions change? (include

temperature, light, pressure, and density)

Temperature and light decrease; pressure and

density increase

List the features of the ocean floor from shore to the

deep ocean.

First, continental shelf, continental

slope, abyssal plain (then possibly seamounts and

volcanic islands, midocean ridge,

trenches)

What causes waves?

Wind

What causes surface currents?

Wind

What causes deep ocean currents?

Deep ocean currents are caused

by differences in density and the Coriolis effect

How do surface currents (ex. Gulf Stream, California

Current) affect coastal climates?

Surface currents, in the ocean, warm or cool the air above

affecting temperatures and the climate of

nearby places.

What causes tides?

Tides are caused by the interaction

of the Earth, moon, and sun

(gravity).

What is high tide and low tide? About how often does each occur?

High tide is when water reaches its highest

point; low tide is when water reaches its lowest point. High tides occur about every 12 hours; low tides occur about

every 12 hours.

Draw a Spring Tide.

Spring tides: full moon and new moon

phases (all in a straight line); sun-

Earth-moon and sun-moon-Earth

Draw a Neap tide.

Neap tides: 1st quarter and 3rd quarter phases (lined up at 90 degree angles)

What are the gases and

percentages that make up air?

Nitrogen 78%, Oxygen 21%,

other 1%

As altitude increases, air

pressure ____________ and air density ____________.

Decreases, decreases

What causes local winds?

Local winds are caused by the

unequal heating of Earth’s surface,

within a small area.

Draw and label a sea breeze.

Sea breeze – daytime – air

moves from sea to land

What causes a land breeze?

Land breeze – at night – air moves from land to sea

What causes land and sea

breezes?

Caused by differences in

pressure, due to unequal heating of land vs. water

What causes global winds?

Global winds are caused by unequal heating

because of the angle of the sunlight hitting the

Earth (more direct at the equator, more spread out

at the poles)

Why do Global winds curve?

Curve due to the Coriolis effect

(Earth’s rotation)

What heats and cools faster (land

or water)?

Land

How do clouds form?

Warm moist air rises until it cools (reaches the dew

point) and condenses.

Explain the three major types

of clouds.

Cumulus: fluffy, puffyStratus: low, layered,

grayCirrus: feathery, wispy

What type of clouds produce thunderstorms?

Thunderstorms form from

cumulonimbus clouds.

What is humidity?

Humidity: a measure of how

much water vapor is in the air

What is relative humidity?

Relative humidity: the percent of water vapor in the air compared to the

maximum amount the air can hold. Ex. air with

100% relative humidity is completely saturated,

which will result in rain.

On a cold day, when you “see” your breath, which part of the water cycle

are you demonstrating?

Condensation (your own cloud

formation)

What are the four main types of air

masses that affect the United States?

Describe each.

Maritime polar: humid, cold

Maritime tropical: humid, warm

Continental polar: dry, cold

Continental tropical: dry, warm

Explain the differences in warm

air vs. cold air in terms of density,

pressure, and humidity.

Cold air is more dense, has higher pressure, and is

less humid (warm air can hold more

moisture).

When a rapidly moving cold air mass runs into a

slowly moving warm air mass, what type of front is formed?

Cold front

What type of weather is

associated with a cold front?

Cold front: cloudy skies, heavy rain or

snow, possible violent thunderstorms, abrupt weather

changes; clear and cooler after.

What type of front happens when a

moving warm air mass collides with a slowly moving cold air mass?

Warm front

What type of weather is

associated with a warm front?

Warm front: clouds and rain (snow in

winter), possibly for several day; humid and warmer after.

Sometimes cold and warm air masses meet,

but neither one has enough force to move the other. What type

of front is this?

Stationary front

What type of weather is

associated with a stationary front?

Stationary front: clouds, rain, snow,

or fog; can be stalled for many

days.

What type of front is created when a warm air mass is

caught between two cooler air masses?

Occluded front

What type of weather is

associated with an occluded front?

Occluded front: cloudy, possibly rainy or snowy;

cooler temperatures.

What does this symbol

represent?

Occluded front

What does this symbol

represent?

Cold front

What does this symbol

represent?

Stationary front

What does this symbol

represent?

Warm front

What is an isobar?

Isobars are lines joining places

with the same air pressure.

What are isotherms?

Isotherms are lines joining

places with the same

temperature.

What causes hurricanes?

Begins over water, as a low-pressure area; gains strength from the warm, moist air

evaporating from the ocean.

How do hurricanes

become weaker?

A hurricane weakens as it

moves across land or cold water.

In general, what direction does weather

move across the United States? How does this help with weather prediction?

Fronts tend to move from the west to the

east.We can predict what’s coming in a day or 2 by

looking to the west.

List the weather instruments used to

measure: temperature, air pressure, wind

direction, and wind speed.

Temperature: thermometerAir pressure: barometer

Wind direction: wind vane (also called weather vane)

Wind speed: anemometer

What are the two factors that

determine climate?

Temperature and precipitation

How do weather and climate

differ?

Climate is the conditions over a long period (year after year); weather is

the daily conditions at a particular time and place