Life science 5.4.8.E.

1
5.4.8.F.1
5.4.8.F.2 & F.3

Earth
Science
Atmosphere

The Air Around You

Earth's atmosphere is the envelope of gases that surrounds

the planet.
made up of mostly of nitrogen, oxygen, with a
small amount of carbon dioxide, water vapor, and
many other gases, as well as particles of liquids
and solids
Weather is the condition of Earth's atmosphere

Air Pressure

Air pressure is the result of

the weight of a column of air
pushing down on an area. Air
pressure is measured in Mb or
millibars

1013.25 millibars

1 in x 1 in
square
column of
air weighs
14.7 lbs at
sea level

Measuring Air Pressure

barometer is an instrument that is used to

measure air pressure.
mercury barometer consists of a glass tube
open at the bottom end and partially filled
with mercury
aneroid barometer has an airtight metal
chamber

Air Pressure & Altitude

Elevation the distance above sea level.

As altitude increases Air pressure decreases
As air pressure decreases, so does density.

Layers of the
Atmosphere
Scientists divide Earth's

atmosphere into four main

layers classified according to
changes in temperature.
Troposphere sea level to 12
km

Stratosphere from 12 to 50
km

Ozone layer, protects from UV,

sets fly here

Mesosphere from 50 to 80
km

All weather occurs here

Dense enough to burn meteoroids

Thermosphere above 80 km,

made up of 2 layers

Ionosphere 80 km to 400 km

Gas particles electrically charged

Radio waves reflect back to Earth from

Layers of the
Atmosphere
The term
pause
refers to
between
layers.

Do Now: Name the 4 layers of the

atmosphere and tell me which one is
so dense that it can burn up
meteoroids , thus saving us from
certain death (well maybe not)

SWBAT- Explain how energy from

the sun affects our atmosphere

Energy in Earth's
Atmosphere
Energy travels to Earth as electromagnetic radiation from

the Sun
EMR travels through the atmosphere & heats the surface
of the Earth
When Earth's surface is heated, it radiates most of the
energy back into the atmosphere as infrared radiation.

Heat Transfer in the

Atmosphere

Thermal energy - total energy of motion in the particles of

a substance
Temperature the average thermal energy of the
substance particles
Heat - transfer of thermal energy from a hotter object to a
cooler one
Transferred in 1 of 3 ways:
Radiation
Conduction
Convection

Winds

Wind is the movement of air from

an area of high pressure to an
area of lower pressure.
Winds are caused by
differences in air pressure
caused by unequal heating of the
atmosphere

Wind Direction / Wind

Speed
Wind speed is measured with an anemometer.

The name of a wind tells

you the direction the
wind is coming from.

Do Now: If you were down at the

New Jersey shore for the week and
observed the change in
temperatures during the day and at
night ;when in the 24 hours of a day
would the air over the Ocean be
warmer then the land? And why?
SWBAT- State how scientist describe
and explain winds . And will be able
to Identify where the major global

Sea breezes & Land breezes are Local Winds

caused by the unequal heating of Earth's surface
within a small area

Coriolis Effect

Because Earth is rotating, global winds do not follow a straight path.

The way Earth's rotation makes winds curve is called the Coriolis
effect. In the Northern Hemisphere, global winds curve to the right.
In the Southern Hemisphere, global winds curve to the left.

Global Winds occur over a large area &

are affected by the Coriolis Effect
(caused by the rotation of the Earth)

The Winds
Trade winds blow
from the NE
between Equator &
30N
Prevailing
Westerlies blow
from the SW
between 30N & 60
N
Polar Easterlies 60
N to 90
Calm areas:
Doldrums along the
equator
The Horse
Latitudes around

Jet Stream

High speed wind

currents about
150 mph that are
10-15 km above
the surface

The Water Cycle

Evaporation Condensation Precipitation Runoff

Humidity vs. Relative

Humidity

Humidity is the amount of water

vapor in the air.
Relative Humidity- The amount
of water vapor the air can hold at
a certain temperature
Saturation The maximum
water vapor air can hold at a
certain temperature. Warm
air holds more water than
cold air, beyond this point it
rains!
Psychrometer: device w/
two thermometers, one w/ a
wet bulb the other w/ a dry
bulb.

Warm air
holds more
water vapor
than cold
air!

Do Now: If you lived in the North

Pole what type of winds would be
occurring in the oceans that
surround you?

Polar Easterlies 60 N to 90

SWBAT: Describe humidity and how

it is measured. Explain how clouds
form and name the three types.

Relative Humidity

Dry Bulb Temperature

The dry bulb temperature is the air temperature

measured using a standard thermometer. It is the
temperature reported in daily weather forecasts and
is sometimes referred to as the ambient air
temperature.

Wet Bulb Temperature

The wet bulb temperature also uses a standard thermometer;

however, a wet piece of cloth covers the bulb of the thermometer.
As air passes over the wet cloth, the water in the cloth
evaporates, drawing heat out of the thermometer. (cools it)

Relative Humidity

Use the table to the right to determine the relative humidity:

92%

64%
22 21 = 1
17 13 = 4

How Clouds Form

Dew Point The dew point temperature is the

temperature at which the air can no longer hold all of
its water vapor, and some of the water vapor must
condense into liquid water.

Cloud Types

Three main types of clouds classified by SHAPE

Cirrus high wispy, feathery Cumulus Fluffy, cotton balls
Stratus long flat layers

Clouds are named using

combinations of these cloud
shapes & terms:
Descriptive Terms:
Nimbus rain & snow
producing
Alto mid level clouds
Clouds are classified into a
system describing height of
cloud base and shape of
cloud

3 Main Cloud Types

Cirrus

Cumulus

Stratus

Cloud Types - Photos

altocumulus

cumulus

stratocumulus

stratus

cumulonimbus

stratonimbus

nimbostratus

cirrus

cirrocumulu
s

Do Now: If you saw a cloud going

straight up (vertical) that looks like
anvil in the sky, what type of
weather would you except to see
soon?
A Thunderstorm
SWBAT- Identify the common types
of precipitation and describe how
they are measured

Precipitation

Rain most common type of precipitation, smaller droplets are drizzle or

mist.
Hail forms only in cumulonimbus clouds during thunderstorms.

Precipitation

Snow water vapor converted directly into ice crystals, all are six sided and unique in shape.
Sleet - as rain falls to the ground it sometimes hits layers of cold air below freezing.
Freezing rain rain (water) that hits very cold ground structures on the surface freezes.

slee
t

Freezing
Rain

4 Main Air Masses

A huge body of air that has similar temperature, humidity and air
pressure

Tropical warm air masses & lower pressure

Polar cold air masses & higher pressure

Continental form over land therefore are low

in humidity, dry air

Maritime forms over the water therefore is high
in humidity

North American Air Masses

How Air Masses Move

Prevailing Westerlies and the Trade winds

Jet Stream high speed winds blowing from West to the East about 10 km high

Do Now - How do air masses of

different densities behave? Take a
look at this opening
demonstration.Based on what you
watch- write a hypothesis stating
what would happen if a mass of cold
air ran into a mass of warm air

SWBAT- Develop a hypothesis on

what occurs when a cold front and

Front

- the boundary where two air masses meet.

They do not mix easily.

Less dense air masses push over top of heavier more dense fronts.
Storms and weather changes occur at fronts
Warm Front

Types of Fronts
Cold Front,
Warm Front
Stationary Front

Occluded Fronts

Cold Front

Occluded Front

Warm Fronts
a.

Warm Front warm front moving faster than a cold front, over takes it
and pushes up over the cold front. (Warm air less dense than cold air and
floats on the cold air mass).

Cold Fronts

Cold Front When Rapidly moving Cold Mass collides

w/ slow moving warm air mass, the more dense cold air
slides under the warmer air mass.
As warm air is pushed up higher, the air begins to
cool & holds less water vapor precipitation occurs.

Cold
Front

Stationary & Occluded Fronts

a.

Stationary Front when warm & cold air masses meet and
neither is moving fast enough to over power the other.

b.

Occluded Front occlude means to be cutoff from. These

fronts occur when a warm air mass is caught between to cold air
masses.

Stationary
Front

Occluded Front

Cyclones

Cyclone associated w/ Low pressure systems. Warm winds at the center rise &
spin upward in a counterclockwise direction (if you were looking from above)
associated w/ decreasing air pressure, clouds, wind & precipitation

Anticyclones

Anticyclone the opposite of cyclones. High

pressure systems that spiral down ward and
contain dry air. They rotate in a clockwise
direction (when looking from above). Associated
w/ clear dry sometimes windy weather

Types of Fronts
Front
Cold Front
Warm Front
Occluded Front
Stationary Front

How Forms

Type of Weather

Storm a violent disturbance in the

atmosphere
A.

Thunderstorm a small storm w/ heavy precipitation & Thunder and lightning.

a. Form in Cumulonimbus clouds called thunderheads.
b. Lightning Static electricity build up w/ electrical discharge jumping between
clouds or the clouds & the ground.
c. Thunder caused from the rapid expansion of air after lightning bolt ( 30,000
degrees C) cuts thru the atmosphere rapidly heating the air

Thunderstorm Formations

Tornadoes

Tornadoes rapidly swirling funnel shaped cloud reaching

down from a cumulonimbus cloud to the ground. Usually
occur in the Great Plains Tornado Alley. Occur as a result of
Cold dry Polar Continental Air Mass collides w/ Warm &
Humid Tropical Maritime air mass off the Caribbean.

Hurricanes
Hurricanes a huge tropical cyclone that has winds
in excess of 75 mph or higher.
They are found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian
Oceans. (in the western Pacific they are called
typhoons)
They begin over warm water areas as a low pressure
system or depression.

Hurricanes

Predicting the Weather

Meteorologist a scientist who studies the causes of weather.

Weather Maps show: fronts, type of precipitation, hi & low pressure areas, wind
speed and direction, cloud cover and temperature.
Isobars They are lines joining places on maps that have the same air pressure.
Barometric pressure is measured in inches of Mercury or millibars.
Remember:
1 of Mercury = 33.87 millibars
Isotherms lines joining w/ the same temperature

Isobars

Isotherms

What type of precipitation will most likely follow if a humid

warm front over takes a cold front? So what type of weather
will ensue a humid warm front?

If warm air is humid, light rain or snow fall.

SWBAT- Investigate and learning

how to read weather maps

Weather Maps

Weather Map Symbols show types of precipitation, Wind speed,

wind direction, air pressure, fronts etc.
The white part of the
circle indicates what
fraction of the sky is
cloudy. Ie 75%

Wind Speed are given in Nautical

Miles per hour Knots

Pennants are 50 knots.

Therefore, the last wind example
in the chart below has a wind
speed of 65 knots. (50 knots +
10 knots + 5 knots).
Remember: Winds are
named by stating the
direction from which the
wind is coming. This
diagram indicates a 15
knot Northeastern wind

Final assessment for weather and the atmosphere

Project- Students will investigate their local weather for a
week. They will record the high/low temperature, the
precipitation, the weather for the day, what the air pressure
was (high or low1013 mb is average anything above is
high pressure and anything below is low pressure) .The
students will also record the humidity and conclude if high
or low humidity affect the precipitation for the day. Lastly on
the final day they will make a hypothesis based on the past
weather what the next days weather will be like based on
(what the 8th or 6th depending if they do 5 or 7 days of
recording.