Name __________________________                      Date ____________________

 

 

  1. List 5 things a meteorologist will measure when trying to describe the weather.

 

 

  1. Name the science that studies the atmosphere.

 

 

  1. According to the Beaufort Scale how fast is the wind speed when there are high waves at sea with dense foam streaks in the water and the visibility is impeded by sea spray.

 

  1. According to the Beaufort Scale what is the wind velocity when it can move small branches, dust, and loose paper?

 

  1. According the Beaufort Scale what is the wind velocity when a light flag is fully extended and leaves and small twigs are constantly moving?

 

  1. What is the wind chill factor when the temperature is 20° F and the wind speed is 25 mph?

 

  1. What is the wind chill factor when the temperature is 30° and the wind velocity is 25 mph?

 

  1. What will cause a greater danger that exposed skin will freeze?

20° F and 30 mph

30° F and 15 mph

20° F and 15 mph

 

  1. What two elemental gasses make up 99% of the atmosphere?

 

  1. What gas makes up only .03% of the atmosphere?

 

  1. Why is ozone important?

 

 

  1. Describe the ozone hole.

 

 

  1. What are the components of atmospheric dust?

 

 

 

 

  1. What is the most variable component of the atmosphere?

 

 

  1. These are formed though a combination of dust and water vapor.

 

 

 

  1. Name two layers of the atmosphere where the temp falls with altitude.

 

 

 

  1. Name two layers of the atmosphere where the temp rises as you go higher.

 

 

 

  1. In what layer of the atmosphere does weather occur?

 

 

 

  1. What causes auroras?

 

 

 

Name ______________________________                          Date ___________________

 

Synonyms are words that have the same meaning.   How many sets of synonyms can you find in this list of words?

 

composition

compose

moisture

atmosphere

meteorology

predict

estimate

foretell

formation

origin

altitude

vertically

velocity

variable

crest

impede

dense

convert

adjust

humidity

approximate

vacuum

vapor

component

solar

orbit

satellite

fertile

 

Synonyms

  1. ____________________________ and  ____________________________
  2. ____________________________ and  ____________________________
  3. ____________________________ and  ____________________________
  4. ____________________________ and  ____________________________
  5. ____________________________ and  ____________________________

 

 

 

Weather

meteorology

Beaufort Scale

CFCs

troposphere

stratosphere

mesosphere

thermosphere

ionosphere

 

Biosphere

Lithosphere

 

Weather is the state of the atmosphere at any given time or place.  A complete description of the weather includes the amount and type of clouds.  Other important components of weather are snow, rain, thunderstorms and dust storms.  A full description of the weather includes measurements of temperature, air pressure, wind velocity, wind direction, and the amount of moisture in the atmosphere.

 

Scientists who study weather are called meteorologists.  The study of the entire atmosphere (including weather) is called meteorology.  Meteorologists strive to understand and to predict weather.  But they also study the composition of the atmosphere, regional climates, the global climate and past climates on earth.  Right now  a lot of meteorologists are studying the causes of climate change as it occurred in the past and as it is occurring now.

 

Meteorologists use many different kinds of instruments to study the state of the atmosphere. Sometimes they do experiments in the laboratory.  More and more frequently they use computerized mathematical models to understand and make predictions about the atmosphere and the climate.

 

There are many ways to analyze the structure of the earth’s atmosphere.  We can look at the different types of gasses.  Even though 99% of the earth’s atmosphere is composed of nitrogen and oxygen, some of the trace gasses can have a major impact on climate and the ability of the earth to support life.  For instance carbon dioxide makes up only .03% of the earth’s atmosphere.  This percentage has changed over the eons of earth’s evolution, but without trace amounts of CO2, the earth would be too cold to support life.

 

Ninety-nice percent of the weight of all the components of the atmosphere are found within 32 km of the earth’s surface. The nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere that we earthlings call “home” only extends up to an altitude of about 80 km, but almost all of that is too thin for us to breathe.  Above 80 km a human being would feel like she was in the vacuum of space. She would not find any breathable air. From 80km to 1000km above the earth’s surface the atmosphere (such as it is) consists mostly of widely scattered oxygen molecules.  From 1000 km to 2400 km the atmosphere is mostly helium.  Above that an even lighter layer of hydrogen thins out into the true vacuum of space.

 

The most variable component of the atmosphere is water vapor.  Moisture enters the atmosphere when it is evaporated from oceans, lakes, and rivers.  Plants also release water vapor into the atmosphere.   The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere is measured as humidity.  This varies with each location on earth with some areas like rainforests being very wet while deserts and mountaintops can be very dry.  Humidity can also vary depending on the season or the amount of sunlight.

 

Ozone is a special kind of oxygen molecule.  Ordinary oxygen molecules consist of two oxygen atoms.  Ozone molecules consist of three atoms of oxygen.  In the lower atmosphere ozone is created when sunlight interacts with certain forms of industrial pollution. Ozone in the lower atmosphere is dangerous to living things.

 

Ozone is created in the upper atmosphere when oxygen atoms in the stratosphere react with ultraviolet rays from the sun.  These reactions are important because otherwise the ultraviolet rays would reach the earth’s surface where they would cause severe damage to living tissues in plants and animals.   Life, as we know it, depends upon the ozone layer in the stratosphere.

 

Manmade chemicals called CFCs can interfere with the chemical reactions that create ozone in the stratosphere.  Cold conditions in the arctic and Antarctic circles can make this problem extremely noticeable as “ozone holes”.  CFCs (or chlorofluorocarbons) were developed for many industrial uses, but they were especially important as coolants in refrigeration and air conditioning devices