2nd Quarter Final Exam
Study Guide
Final Exam
Wednesday, Dec 18
Thursday, Dec 19
7:40 –
8:35
Period 1
Advisory
55 min
7:40 –
7:57
Period 1
Advisory
17 min
8:39 –
9:59
Period 7
Final
80 min
8:01 –
9:21
Period 4
Final
80 min
10:03 –
11:23
Period 2
Final
80 min
9:25 –
10:45
Period 5
Final
80 min
11:27 –
12:47
Period 3
Final
80 min
10:49 –
12:09
Period 6
Final
80 min
12:47 –
1:17
Lunch
30 min
12:09 –
12:39
Lunch
30 min
1:23 –
1:39
Period 8
Advisory
16 min
Final Exam
• Exam will be in four parts, 20 questions each (80
total, all multiple choice)
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Part 1: The Atmosphere
Part 2: Weather Factors
Part 3: Weather Patterns
Part 4: Stars & Galaxies
• Questions will be similar to, but not the same, as
your quizzes
• Each part counts as a quiz retake, but will not
lower your grade
The Atmosphere
• Study all assignments & notes
• Composition of the atmosphere
– What is the most abundant gas in out atmosphere? What is the
2nd most abundant gas?
– Know other important trace gases in our atmosphere (CO2, O3,
H2O)
– Know about particles in atmosphere, why are they important (2
main reasons)
• How does the atmosphere allow for life on planet Earth?
The Atmosphere
• Know the three major properties of air
– Mass, density, pressure
• What is air pressure?
– How is air pressure measured in weather reports? (inches of
mercury, in Hg)
– How is air pressure measured on weather maps? (millibars,
1000 bars, mb)
• What type of instrument measures air pressure?
• What does altitude mean?
– What happens to air density with increased altitude?
– What happens to air pressure with increased altitude?
The Atmosphere
• Know the four major layers of the atmosphere, and what
order they are in
– What makes each layer different (temperature, density, pressure)
• Troposphere (where we live)
– Turbulent, chaotic, always changing layer. Where does most
weather occur?
– Which layer is lowest in altitude? Which layer has the highest air
density and air pressure?
• Stratosphere
– Calm layer with little weather
– Do we travel in the stratosphere? (jet planes, weather balloons)
– Ozone Layer absorbs ultraviolet radiation (UV)
The Atmosphere
• Mesosphere
– Most meteors and falling satellites burn up in this
layer from heat caused by air friction
• Thermosphere
– Layer with highest altitude
– Ionosphere: lower part, charged gas particles interact
with charged solar particles to form auroras
– Exosphere: higher part, blends into space gradually,
no clearly defined boundary
The Atmosphere
• What are pollutants? (harmful gases or particles
in the air, water, or soil)
• What are two major sources of pollution? (nature
and human activities)
• What is smog?
• What is acid rain?
Weather Factors
• Know the three type of heat (energy) transfer
• Where does our atmosphere get its energy from to drive
the weather?
• What type of heat transfer gets energy from the Sun to
Earth’s atmosphere?
– How does it travel through space?
• Know about electromagnetic waves and the
electromagnetic spectrum
– What types of energy are part of the EM spectrum?
– What is visible radiation?
– What two types of non-visible radiation affect us every day?
Weather Factors
• What happens to the Sun’s energy as it
enters Earth’s atmosphere?
– Some is reflected back into space
– Some is absorbed by the atmosphere
– Some is absorbed by Earth’s surface, and
then radiated back into atmosphere at night
• What is the greenhouse effect?
Weather Factors
• What is wind? How does differences in air
pressure affect the wind?
• What instrument do we use to measure the
wind?
• What is the wind chill factor?
• Explain local winds using the examples of land
breezes and sea/lake breezes
Weather Factors
• Understand the global convection currents
that affect global winds
– Calm areas: doldrums, horse latitudes
– Wind belts: trades, westerlies, easterlies
• Understand the Coriolis Effect
• What is the jet stream?
Weather Factors
• Understand the water cycle. How does water
move between the atmosphere and Earth’s
surface?
• What is evaporation? What is condensation?
• What is humidity? What is relative humidity?
– What instrument do we use to measure humidity?
• How do clouds form? (involves cooling and
particles)
– What is the dew point?
Weather Factors
• How do we classify clouds?
– Shape: cirrus, cumulus, stratus
– Altitude: low, middle, high
– Fog
• What is precipitation? Name major types
of precipitation.
Weather Patterns
• Know the five major types of air masses
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Maritime tropical
Maritime polar
Continental tropical
Continental polar
Continental arctic
• Why do most air masses in the US move to the
East, but hurricanes move to the West?
Weather Patterns
• Know what a front is, and the four major types
– Cold front, warm front, stationary front, occluded front
– What type of weather do cold fronts often bring?
• What are highs (H) and lows (L) on weather
maps? How do highs and lows relate to
cyclones?
• What is the difference between a cyclone and a
cyclonic storm?
Weather Patterns
• What is a thunderstorm? How is it different from
other rain cloud systems?
• What is a tornado? Where do tornados form?
Understand tornado safety
• Why do so many tornados form in Tornado
Alley? (has to do with moving air masses)
• What is a hurricane? Where do hurricanes form,
and where do they move?