Chapter 8
5th Grade Science
Weather Patterns
Layers of Air
• ______
- made up of 8/10 nitrogen and 2/10
Air
oxygen, small parts of carbon dioxide, water
vapor and other gases
• _______
of Earth’s atmosphere
5 layers
• Most weather conditions occur in the
________
layer – troposphere
bottom
temperature
• ___________
and ___________
change
Air pressure
through the layers
5 Layers
• Air pressure __________
as you go ___upthrough
decreases
the atmosphere
– Gas particles get _______
_____ air
farther apart and there is less
above
5 Layers:
1. ___________
- Highest layer
Exosphere
2. Thermosphere
___________ Mesosphere
3. ____________
4. _____________
Stratosphere
5. ______________
- bottom layer
Troposphere
Heating and Cooling Earth
• Land heats up _____
faster than water in the sun
• Land cools _____
faster than water
• Air above land and water have different
temperatures
____________.
• Differences in temperatures cause:
winds
– _________
storms
– _________
Other sorts of weather
– ___________________
Convection Current
• ______________
- caused by different
Convection current
temperatures – gases and liquids rise and sink
in a circular pattern.
• ______
Cool air - gas particles are closer together than
in warm air
heavier
– Cooler air is _________
than warm air
– Cool air _______
and lets the warm air ______
sinks
rise
above it
6 Convection Currents
• __________________
6 huge convection currents form above the Earth
• Warm air from the _______
rises and then
Tropics
cools as it moves north and south
• ______________________
- the combination
Regional surface wind patterns
of movement of huge convection currents and
the spinning of the Earth on its axis
• Winds blow from _______
to _______
West
East
Jet Streams
• _________
Jet Streams - found high above the ground
between the 6 huge convection currents
winds
– Band of very fast ________
formed by different
temperatures between convection currents
– Causes changes in ______,
___________,
wind
temperature and
precipitation
____________
by affecting the movement of air
Study Diagram on Page 232-233
Air Masses
• __________
- large body of air with similar
Air Masses
properties (_________
temperature and ______________)
Amount of Water vapor
all through it
• Air masses move because of ______
winds
Jet Streams
• Some air masses are guided by the _________
storms
• At the edge of an air mass, _______
may occur
• There are __
4 kinds of air masses – the kind of
weather depends on the air mass in that area.
4 Air Masses
• ________________
- air mass from this area is
Continental Polar Air
cold and fairly dry because the land near the
poles is not very moist
• ________________
Maritime Tropical Air - humid air with lots of
moisture because of evaporation over tropical
oceans and rainforests
• _________________
- air is cold and moist
Maritime Polar air
because cold ocean water near the poles
evaporates
• _________________
Continental Tropical Air - warm and fairly dry from
hot desert air
Fronts
• ________
- a boundary between two air
Front
masses
• Air masses and fronts move from _____
west to
____
east across the United States
front
• A ______
gets its name from the kind of air
that moves into the area.
• Example: cold front = ______,
Cold air warm front
=_________
Warm air
Fronts Continued
• _____________
- a front that does not move
Stationary front
very much or it moves back and forth over the
same area.
• Areas of rising air near fronts have
Lower air pressure
______________
than areas in the middle of
air masses
• Rising air masses at fronts often cause
____________
Rain or snow
Cold Front / Warm Front
Cold Front
• __________
- cooler air moves into an area and
forces warmer air to move upwards quickly
• The rising air forms ___________
Cumulus clouds along the steep
boundary
Cold Front
• Heavy precipitation often falls near a _______
• ________
Warm Front - warmer air moves against cooler air.
Warmer air rises above the cooler air
• Clouds of a warm front often move ______
slowly and
precipitation
cause longer periods of __________
Severe Weather
• ___________
Severe weather includes thunderstorms,
tornadoes, and hurricanes
Thunderstorms - caused by strong, quickly rising
• __________
currents in moist air: Three stages
– 1st Stage: Clouds grow as moisture _________
condenses in
the rising air. The clouds have both __________
Ice crystals
and ____________
Water droplets
– 2nd Stage – precipitation begins to fall – storm has
Moving currents
both upward and downward _____________
Watch / Warnings
• 3rd stage – all of the _________
are moving
currents
downward , the clouds get ________
as
smaller
precipitation falls.
Severe Storm Watch - means that severe
• ______________
thunderstorms with high winds and hail might
form
• ________________
- means that severe
Severe Storm Warning
thunderstorms have formed and people
should prepare for them appropriately
Tornadoes
winds in a storm blow at different
• Layers of _____
_________
or in different ________
speeds
directions
column of air starts
• Between the layers, a ______
spinning.
• The spinning column of air is called a
___________
Funnel cloud
• When the funnel cloud touches the ground it
is called a _______.
tornado
Tornado Warning
kilometers
• Tornados can move at hundreds of ________
per hour
cars
• The winds can be strong enough to move ____
and ________.
buildings
shelter in
• After a warning people should take ______
the lowest part of a building like a
__________
basement
• No ________
near the center
_____ of the building
windows
Hurricanes
• Hurricanes get energy from ______________.
Warm ocean waters
• Water vapor from the ocean condenses
________ and
energy
releases ______.
energy
• Under the right condition, the ________
builds and drives the _____
winds of a hurricane to
land.
• Once the hurricane reaches land, the ______
energy
is reduced.
Hurricane Warning
Not as fast
• Winds of a hurricane are __________
as a
tornado, but they can be more ________.
destructive
• To prepare for a hurricane, people must
________________,
___________,
and
Board up windows
Store food
water
________
• Flashlights and battery powered radios
• Most important – STAY INSIDE or leave if the
authorities call for an evacuation
Weather Instruments
barometer - shows air pressure
• ________
• ___________
- measures wind speed – wind
anemometer
makes the cups of the instrument spin around
hygrometer - measures moisture in the air
• ________
• ___________
- measures how much rain has
Rain gauge
fallen
• _______
- measures the winds and
radar
precipitation during a storm
Weather Predictions
Weather forecasters - observe patterns of
• ______________
weather change and make _________
inferences
inferences
• _________
- conclusions of how air, land, and
the steps of the water cycle affect each other
systems
to make Weather
___________.
• Forecasters make ________
predictions about the
weather in the future based on their
________
inferences
Forecasts
• Forecasters make predictions by assuming
that _______
weather conditions will behave
current
past
like similar weather in the _____
Weather maps to display the
• Forecasters use __________
data
• Triangles and circles point in the direction that
the _____
front is moving
• Fronts are always in places of __________
Low pressure
• ___________
High pressure = clear skies
Climate
• _______
- the average of weather conditions
Climate
over a period of time
• Climate includes the average amount of
precipitation
temperature and
___________,
the average ________,
how much ___________
changes over a
temperature
period of time.
• __________
and _________
are not the same
Climate
weather
thing – climates do not change, weather
changes.
Landforms affect Climate
• Higher land is ________
because
cooler
decrease
temperatures ________
with height in the
troposphere.
Climates
• _________
on opposite sides of a mountain
vary.
• The ______
side of the mountain gets more
west
precipitation than the ____
East
• ________
can affect a climate by slowing the
Oceans
rise and fall of the air temperature
Oceans and Climate
• The temperature of air on land warms and
cools faster than the temperature of the air
over an ocean.
Ocean currents
• _____________
can make climate warmer or
cooler
• ________________________
Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift are large
currents that carry warm water northward
• The water warms the _____
winds above it
• __________
Cold Currents - make the coastal climate cooler
Climate Change
Climates
• ________
have changed throughout history
• _______
help scientists make assumptions
fossils
about ancient climates
• Climates can change as the result of:
– ______________
Volcanic Eruptions
Asteriod or meteorite impacts
– _______________________
Burning coal and gasoline
– _____________________