Science Test 8 Study Guide The students need to know these facts: The basic cause of all weather

weather is the sun. Scientists who study the weather are called meteorologists. The imaginary line running through the earth from North Pole to South Pole is the axis. The air that we live in receives most of its warmth from the ground. Different seasons are caused by the tilt of the earths axis. Winds are produced by temperature differences on the earth. Warm air is lighter than cool air. The earths surface spins at over 1,000 miles per hour.

The students need to know how to label the winds on the diagram found on page 209-the polar easterlies, trade winds, and prevailing westerlies. The students need to know these facts: The amount of water vapor that the air can hold at a given temperature is the relative humidity of the air. The lowest possible temperature at which air is able to hold all of its water vapor is its dew point. The process in which water vapor leaves the air and changes into liquid water is called condensation. Air is saturated when the humidity of the air is 100 percent. Water vapor that condenses to form liquid water on the ground is called dew. Water vapor that condenses and forms frozen water on the ground is called frost. The students need to be able to properly match the definitions to the terms: sleet wet snow dry snow hail rain freezing rain

The students need to know these facts: Puffy, bulgy clouds belong to the cumulus family. Layer of flat clouds belong to the stratus family. Wispy, curly clouds very high in the atmosphere belong to the cirrus family. Sheets of clouds that often produce rain are stratus clouds. Clouds made of very small ice crystals are cirrus clouds. Thunderhead is another name for a cumulonimbus cloud. A term used to describe a cloud from which rain is falling is nimbus.

The broad, flat top of a cumulonimbus cloud is called an anvil top. When opposite electrical charges build up in very tall clouds, lightning is produced. The rapid expansion of superheated air causes shock waves that we hear as thunder. The type of storm that packs the most destructive power into the smallest space is the tornado. The calm region of very low air pressure in the center of a tornado I called the eye. If a tornado has been spotted, meteorologists issue a tornado warning. The thin channel of charged air through which a lightning bolt can travel is the step leader. Lightning bolts that do not come in contact with the ground but remain within the cloud are known as sheet lightning. The row of thunderheads that builds up in the front of advancing cold air is called a squall line. The boundary line between two air masses is called a front.

The students must be able to tell me 5 out of the 7 precautions that you should take during a thunderstorm: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. The safest place is indoors. The car is a very safe place. If you are outside, avoid being the tallest object. Stay away from high ground or open, flat areas Stay away from tall objects such as trees Avoid being in or near water. Do not use the telephone or electrical equipment.