Weather and Climate

Unit Review Sheet

Facts and Definitions

Lesson 1: Weather and Climate

• See the "Weather Words" booklet for definitions of the following words: weather, climate, weather pattern, meteorologist, air mass, air pressure, predict, forecast, humidity, barometer, anemometer.

Lesson 2: Temperature and Seasons

• The Sun has a major influence on the weather.
• The wind influences the temperature in the environment.
• See the "Weather Words" booklet for definitions of the following words: temperature, thermometer, evaporate, heat index, wind chill, water vapor.

Lesson 3: Wind and Air Pressure

• Wind is caused by the way the Earth is unevenly heated by the Sun. Wind occurs when there is a difference in air temperatures.
• Uneven heating creates six large air masses, or cells, of different temperatures across the globe. Between each of these air masses is a powerful river of wind called a jet stream.
• Know the symbols for cold, warm, stationary, and occluded fronts.
• See the "Weather Words" booklet for definitions of the following words: high pressure, low pressure, wind, precipitation, front, occluded.

Lesson 4: Humidity

• Relative humidity describes how much water vapor is currently in the air, compared to the maximum amount of water that could be in the air at that temperature. It is expressed as a percentage.
• A hygrometer is a tool that measures the amount of water vapor in the air, usually using a material that behaves differently in wet weather and dry weather.

Lesson 5: Precipitation

• Dew is water vapor that has condensed on grass and plants.
• Fog is water vapor that has condensed in the air. It is a cloud that has formed at the Earth's surface rather than higher up in the atmosphere.
• A rain gauge is a tool that shows how much rain has fallen during a storm or during a specific day.
• Water storage refers to water stored both in the atmosphere (as water vapor) and on land (in oceans, lakes, groundwater, ice, etc.)
• Evaporation occurs when water turns into water vapor (a gas). Water evaporates from large bodies of water, moist soil, or even from ice and snow.
• Transpiration is a type of evaporation where water vapor is released from plants' leaves.
• Runoff is water (such as snow melt and rain) running off land and returning to water storage.
• Infiltration is a form of runoff; it is the process of precipitation being absorbed into the ground as groundwater and for use by plants.
• See the "Weather Words" booklet for definitions of the following words: condense, sleet, hail, drought, water cycle.

Lesson 6: Clouds

• Warm air can hold more water vapor than cooler air can. As air warmed by the Earth rises in a low-pressure area, it cools and cannot hold as much water. This "extra" water condenses to form clouds.
• The ten main cloud types are cirrus, cirrostratus, cirrocumulus, cumulus, altocumulus, stratocumulus, cumulonimbus, stratus, altostratus, and nimbostratus.
• See the "Weather Words" booklet for definitions of the following words: cirrus, stratus, cumulus, nimbus

Lesson 7: Wild Weather

• See the "Weather Words" booklet for definitions of the following words: thunderstorm, blizzard, tornado, hurricane.

Lesson 8: Geography and Climate Change

• Jet streams are fast-flowing air currents encircling the globe far above the Earth.
• Ocean currents are streams of moving water in seas and oceans.
• Ocean currents and jet streams impact the world's climate.

Lesson 9: Climate Change

• See the "Weather Words" booklet for definitions of the following words: global warming, fossil fuels, and greenhouse gas
• Volcanoes and human activities can cause climate change on Earth.
• We know that climate change is happening based on images of the Earth's surface from the past compared to today.

Final Project: Presenting My Weather and Climate

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