Term
| At the equator, the rotation of the Earth is |
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Definition
| left to right, or eastward |
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Term
| The arc of a meridian between the equator and a given point on the globe is |
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Definition
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Term
| When the subsolar point is at 23.5 degrees S, the Earth experiences |
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Definition
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Term
| If you take a plane flight from San Francisco, CA to Seoul, South Korea, as you cross the international dateline the time will |
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Definition
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Term
| The Earth's axis of rotation is tilted from the plane of the ecliptic by about |
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Definition
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Term
| A map projection that can portray the entire surface of the Earth without any distortion is the |
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Definition
| there are no map projections that can portray the entire surface of the Earth without any distortion |
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Term
| Parallels run ____ around the globe and ____ the poles |
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Definition
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Term
| Meridians run ____ around the globe and ___ at the poles |
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Definition
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Term
| The arc of a parallel between the prime meridian and a given point on the globe is |
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Definition
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Term
| The geoid, a reference surface that closely approximates the shape of the Earth, is based on |
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Definition
| the pull of gravity around the globe |
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Term
| Which color of visible light has the shortest wavelength? |
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Definition
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Term
| On the equator, the sun will reach its highest position in the sky on the |
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Definition
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Term
| Air temperatures above low-albedo surfaces tend to be _____ than those over high-albedo surfaced |
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Definition
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Term
| Air temperatures above high-albedo surfaces tend to be ____ than those over low-albedo surfaces |
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Definition
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Term
| Estimates of the Earth's average albedo range between |
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Definition
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Term
| Hot objects emit _____ energy than cold objects, and it is of _____ wavelengths |
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Definition
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Term
| Cold objects emit ____ energy than hot objects, and it is of _____ wavelengths |
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Definition
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Term
| The process in which electromagnetic energy is transferred into heat energy when radiation strikes some form of matter is called |
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Definition
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Term
| The amount of insolation received at a location tends to be highest at |
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Definition
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Term
| In the northern hemisphere mid-latitudes, the sun will reach its highest position in the sky on the |
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Definition
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Term
| In the southern hemisphere mid-latitudes, the sun will reach its highest position in the sky on the |
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Definition
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Term
| At the arctic circle, the sun will reach its highest position in the sky on the |
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Definition
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Term
| ______ is a common gas in the atmosphere that does not easily react with other substances |
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Definition
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Term
| ______ is a common gas in the atmosphere that is highly chemically active and combines readily with other elements |
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Definition
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Term
| The ozone layer in the upper atmosphere is essential for life on the planet because the full intensity of the sun's ultraviolet rays would |
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Definition
| damage skin, crops, and aquatic life |
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Term
| _____ flows from the ocean to the atmosphere when water evaporates |
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Definition
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Term
| ______ is a very important mechanism for transporting large amounts of energy from one region of the Earth to another |
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Definition
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Term
| Fields, forest, and bare ground tend to have albedos that are _____ |
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Definition
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Term
| Black pavement surfaces tend to have albedos that are _____ |
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Definition
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Term
| Snow and ice tend to have albedos that are _____ |
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Definition
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Term
| Clouds can absorb as much as _____ of incoming solar radiation |
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Definition
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Term
| The greenhouse effect results from the absorption of ______ in the atmosphere |
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Definition
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Term
| If the amount of insolation absorbed by the Earth was consistently larger than the amount of longwave energy emitted by the Earth, we would expect |
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Definition
| the Earth's temperature to rise rapidly |
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Term
| On average, the Earth reflects about ______ of the solar radiation it receives back to space |
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Definition
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Term
| On a warm summer day, latent heat transfers will tend to |
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Definition
| absorb and store heat in a substance as it changes state |
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Term
| If the Earth's axis was perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic, insolation would be |
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Definition
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Term
| Temperature decrease with elevation because |
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Definition
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Term
| The average environmental lapse rate in the troposphere is about |
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Definition
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Term
| On the Tropic of Capricorn, the sun will reach its highest position in the sky on the |
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Definition
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Term
| During the day, air near the ground surface is primarily warmed by |
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Definition
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Term
| During the daytime, air temperature tends to _____ closer to the ground, and during the night it tends to ______ closer to the ground |
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Definition
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Term
| On high mountains, insolation levels will be _____ the adjacent lowlands |
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Definition
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Term
| Water heats and cools more slowly than land surfaces due to |
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Definition
| the much greater depth that the heat must be distributed in water and hte mixing that occurs |
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Term
| Adjacent water and land locations have quite different temperature ranges due to differences in |
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Definition
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Term
| The surface layer of a beach would heat up _____ that the adjacent water surface during the day, and cool down ____ during the night, during a summer day-night cycle |
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Definition
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Term
| Lines that connect points of equal temperature on a map are called |
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Definition
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Term
| Temperature tends to _____ with elevation in the mesosphere, and _____ with elevation in thermosphere |
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Definition
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Term
| The layer of the atmosphere in which gases are sorted into layers by weight is the |
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Definition
| heterosphere, specifically hte thermosphere |
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Term
| Temperature decreases with elevation in the troposphere because of |
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Definition
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Term
| The tiny particles that float in the atmosphere, held aloft by slight air movements are called |
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Definition
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Term
| Historical records indicate that global temperatures have been increasing for about the last |
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Definition
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Term
| Oceans, lakes, and rivers return water to the atmosphere through |
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Definition
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Term
| The absorption of heat and the release of water vapor into the atmosphere occurs in the hydrologic cycle through |
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Definition
| evaporation and transpiration |
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Term
| After precipitation falls to the land surface, surface water can flow off the land, concentrating in streams and rivers. This flow is known as |
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Definition
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Term
| Precipitation that flows on the land into streams and rivers and then eventually to the lakes and oceans is known as |
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Definition
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Term
| What is specific humidity? |
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Definition
| the actual quantity of water held in the atmosphere |
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Term
| Blanket-like, layered clouds that cover large areas are called |
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Definition
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Term
| The two basic classes of cloud families are |
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Definition
| stratiform and cumuloform |
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Term
| The dry adiabatic rate is |
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Definition
| 10 degrees per 1000 meters |
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Term
| Dew-point is the temperature at which |
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Definition
| the air is completely saturated and can hold no more moisture |
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Term
| Subsurface water found under the surface in soil and rock is known as |
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Definition
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Term
| The largest portion of fresh water today is located in |
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Definition
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Term
| Thin, high wispy clouds composed almost entirely of ice crystals are called |
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Definition
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Term
| Clouds are grouped on the basis of two criteria: |
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Definition
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Term
| Normally, a parcel of air will ____ if it is warmer than the surrounding air, conversely, the air parcel will _____ if it is cooler than the surrounding air |
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Definition
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Term
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Definition
| on the dry side of the mountain, the side opposite which the cloud has formed over a large body of water |
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Term
| The most violent of all storms are associated with ________ clouds |
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Definition
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Term
| Evaporation involves the ______ of latent heat and a change in state from the ______ phase to the gaseous phase |
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Definition
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Term
| Condensation involves the ______ of latent heat and a change in state from the ______ phase to the liquid phase |
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Definition
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Term
| _________ is when ice changes directly from the solid phase to the gaseous phase without a transitional liquid phase |
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Definition
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Term
| Water vapor changing directly to the liquid phase is knows as _______ |
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Definition
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Term
| Which cloud sometimes produces thunder and lightening? |
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Definition
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Term
| Water changing to the gaseous phase is known as |
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Definition
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Term
| In a thunderstorm, the release of latent heat ______ the temperature of a parcel of air and causes the parcel of air to _____ if it is warmer than the surrounding air |
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Definition
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Term
| If the environmental lapse rate is significantly less than the dry adiabatic rate, a parcel of air will be |
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Definition
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Term
| Microscopic particles, such as dust particles and sea salt crystals, are known as ______ and serve as "landing pads" on which water vapor can condense |
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Definition
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Term
| When a through flowing current of moist air is forced to move upward over a mountain barrier, the process is referred to as _______ |
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Definition
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Term
| The California Current is a cold current off the west coast of California. If a cool, moist air mass passed over this colder current, what would probably result? |
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Definition
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Term
| Particles, such as tiny salt crystals or dust particles, that absorb water are called |
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Definition
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Term
| The transfer of water from land and ocean to the atmosphere and back again to land and oceans in a never ending cycle is |
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Definition
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Term
| The wet adiabatic rate for a rising parcel of air is less than the dry rate because |
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Definition
| latent heat is released when condensation occurs |
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Term
| The temperature of a rising parcel of air ______ as it ascends |
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Definition
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Term
| The Lifting Condensation Level is the altitude at which |
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Definition
| condensation begins in the atmosphere |
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Term
| The amount of moisture in the atmosphere is called |
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Definition
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Term
| The return of precipitation to the atmosphere as water vapor occurs through |
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Definition
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Term
| Water vapor that changes state to form a cloud is an example of |
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Definition
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Term
| The weight force exerted by a column of air on a surface is called |
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Definition
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Term
| Air pressure is caused by |
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Definition
| the force of gravity acting upon the overlying column of air |
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Term
| Atmospheric pressure at sea level is about |
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Definition
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Term
| The changing weather conditions of monsoon circulation are associated with shifts in the position of the |
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Definition
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Term
| A dry, hot local wind system that contributes to wildfire problems in southern California is the |
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Definition
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Term
| The magnitude of the Coriolis force is largest at the |
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Definition
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Term
| Surface ocean currents in the northern hemisphere tend to flow |
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Definition
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Term
| In the southern hemisphere, the Coriolis effect causes winds and currents to veer to the |
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Definition
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Term
| In an anticyclone located in the northern hemisphere winds spiral |
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Definition
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Term
| In an anticyclone located in the southern hemisphere winds spiral |
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Definition
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Term
| The zone where the northeast and southeast trade winds converge is the |
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Definition
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Term
| The gulf stream carries _____ water to the _______ |
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Definition
| warm; Northern Atlantic Ocean |
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Term
| The polar jet stream tends to reach its furthest south position during the ______ months |
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Definition
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Term
| The band of rapidly flowing air found aloft above the polar front is a |
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Definition
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Term
| Rossby waves form along the |
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Definition
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Term
| In a cyclone located in the southern hemisphere winds spiral |
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Definition
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Term
| In a cyclone located in the northern hemisphere winds spiral |
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Definition
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Term
| In the northern hemisphere, the Coriolis effect causes winds to veer |
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Definition
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Term
| The differences between northern and southern hemisphere circulation patterns is strongly influenced by differences in |
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Definition
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Term
| The low-latitude atmospheric circulation cell with rising air over the equatorial trough and sinking air over the subtropical high pressure belts is the |
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Definition
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Term
| The intertropical convergence zone migrates approximately between the |
|
Definition
| 40 degrees north and south latitudes |
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Term
| Mountain sickness or altitude sickness, which can occur at elevations above 3000m, is caused by |
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Definition
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Term
| Rossby waves are undulations in the flow path of the |
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Definition
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Term
| A device used to measure air pressure is the |
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Definition
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Term
| _______ is when water vapor changes directly from the gaseous phase to the solid phase without a transitional liquid phase |
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Definition
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Term
| An extensive body of air in which temperature and moisture characteristics are fairly uniform is an |
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Definition
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Term
| Which type of front tends to cause the most rapid lifting? |
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Definition
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Term
| The city of New Orleans was badly damaged as a result of hurricane |
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Definition
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Term
| As a result of global warming, global cloud cover is expected to |
|
Definition
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Term
| The energy that powers a tropical cyclone comes from |
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Definition
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Term
| The center of a tropical cyclone is known as the |
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Definition
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Term
| The most powerful and destructive type of cyclonic storm is the |
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Definition
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Term
| Key factors that determine the characteristics of an air mass are the _____ and _____ of the formation area |
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Definition
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Term
| The major criteria used to identify air masses are |
|
Definition
| surface temperature and surface-specific humidity |
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Term
| Weather conditions associated with an anticyclone include |
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Definition
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Term
| We are currently experiencing _____ of hurricane activity |
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Definition
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Term
| In the north Atlantic, the peak of hurricane season occurs during |
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Definition
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Term
| In the United States, tornadoes occur most frequently in the _____ states |
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Definition
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Term
| The lowest central pressures are found in a |
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Definition
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Term
| Air masses move in response to |
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Definition
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Term
| The coastal-continental location of a place has a strong influence on |
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Definition
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Term
| The annual cycle of prevailing weather conditions at a given place based on long-term conditions is known as |
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Definition
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Term
| A continental tropical air mass would tend to bring ______ conditions when it arrived in an area |
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Definition
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Term
| A maritime tropical air mass would tend to bring ________ conditions when it arrived in an area |
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Definition
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Term
| A maritime equatorial air mass would tend to bring ______ conditions when it arrived in an area |
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Definition
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Term
| A continental polar air mass would tend to bring ______ conditions when it arrived in an area |
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Definition
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Term
| A continental arctic air mass would tend to bring _______ conditions when it arrived in an area |
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Definition
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Term
| A major feature of weather in the mid-latitude climates is |
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Definition
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Term
| The temperature regime that experiences the smallest amount of seasonality is the |
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Definition
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Term
| In the United States, the moist continental climate covers most of the |
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Definition
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Term
| A maritime polar air mass would tend to bring _______ conditions when it arrived in an area |
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Definition
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Term
| The _______ and ______ characteristics of an air mass tend to reflect the characteristics of its source region |
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Definition
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Term
| The temperature regime that experiences the coldest annual temperature is the |
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Definition
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