Science Study Guide
Unit 4
1. A map of Mariposa County, California is shown below. The weather in the
town of Coulterville is drizzly and warm. In the town of Fish Camp, it is dry
and cool.
What will the weather be like in Fish Camp tomorrow?
a. Drizzly
2. Which type of weather often arrives with rising air pressure?
a. Fair and sunny
3. If Santa Barbara is sunny and 80 degrees. What kind of weather does Santa
Barbara most likely have?
a. Clear skies
4. Which of the following describes what weather forecasters do before
making a forecast?
a. Examine different weather patterns.
5. What does the symbol of a circle with an H in it mean on a weather map?
a. High pressure
6. The only storm not related to low pressure is:
a. Thunderstorms
7. In what way is a hurricane like a tornado?
a. A hurricane has a low-pressure center
8. What causes lightning?
a. Discharged electricity that is built up in a thunderhead cloud
9. What explains why tornadoes are hard to predict?
a. Tornado funnels form suddenly, drop quickly, and move fast
10.In thunderstorms over warm land, hot air can be forced quickly upward,
creating a center of low pressure. What is formed by this action?
a. A Tornado
11.What best describes how being near the ocean usually affects a region’s
climate?
a. The climate is cooler in summer and warmer in winter
12.What describes the characteristics of an air mass formed over a tropical
ocean?
a. Hot and humid
13.What transfers heat from one place to another and affects weather and
climate?
a. Temperature currents
14.El Niño is an abnormal condition off the coast of South America that causes
the water to become. . .
a. Cooler and less dense
15.What high altitude winds caused by temperature differences between air
masses?
a. Trade winds
16.Where does sunlight directly strike the Earth?
a. Equator
17.What explains how air moves in a convection current?
a. Warm air rises, cold air sinks
18.What always affects the strength and direction of winds?
a. Temperature and pressure differences
19.What altitude would have the lowest air pressure if the pressure was
between 50 and 500?
a. 500
20.A change in atmospheric pressure can mean a change in . . .
a. Weather
21.If the weather in all locations in California is reported as calm, warm, and
dry, in which location would the greatest barometric pressure exist?
a. Death Valley, lowest place in California
22.Air pressure at sea level is 14.7 pounds per square inch. What would
explain why an empty plastic juice container is not crushed by this
pressure?
a. Air pressure is equal in all directions
23.A student measures the air pressure at the base of a mountain and again at
the summit. Where will the student get the highest reading?
a. The reading will be highest at the base