5.6: Review and Additional Resources

Review

Assess your learning. Start with the "Important Terms and Concepts" to ensure you know the terminology related to the topic of the chapter and concepts discussed. Then, test your overall understanding by taking the "Self-assessment quiz".

Important Terms and Concepts \(\PageIndex{1}\)

• Temperature

  a measure of the heat content of a body

• Fahrenheit scale

  scale used for measuring temperature; mainly in the US; based on body temperature

• Celsius scale

  an accepted international system of measurement because it is based on a decimal scale having 100 units between the freezing and boiling points of water.

• Kelvin scale

  It is an absolute scale given that at absolute zero all molecular movement ceases.

• Daily temperature range

  the difference between the highest and lowest temperatures over a 24 hour period

• Average daily temperature

  the sum of highest and lowest temperature of the day divided 2

• Average monthly temperature

  the sum of the average daily temperature divided by the number of days in the month

• Annual temperature range

  the difference between the highest and lowest monthly temperature for a place

• Average annual temperature

  the sum of the mean monthly temperature divide by 12.

• Daily temperature lag

  The amount of time between maximum incoming energy and maximum temperature over the day

• Annual or Seasonal temperature lag

  the amount of time between the highest incoming insolation and highest temperature on an annual basis

• Land/Sea contrasts

  Water is a transparent medium and land is opaque. Water allows light to penetrate to depth, leaving the surface layers cooler than they would be if the surface was opaque. A cooler water surface results in cooler air temperatures above.

• Continentality

  The impact of continental location on weather and climate characteristics of a place

• Specific heat

  the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one unit of mass of a substance by one degree celsius

• Air mass

  vast pool of air, covering thousands of square kilometers, having about the same humidity and temperature characteristics over its horizontal extent

• mT air mass

  Maritime Tropical - originates over the tropical oceans; warm and moist

• cP air mass

  Continental Polar - originates over high latitude continents; cold and dry

• mP air mass

  Maritime Polar - originates over mid to high latitude oceans; cool and moist

• Air mass trajectory and temperature

  The influence that air masses have on the temperature of a place depends the location with respect to the source of the air mass and the trajectory of the air mass as it moves from its source region.

• Radiation inversion

  commonly occurs when the evening air is still and there are no clouds to trap heat.

• Sea breeze inversion

  occur along windward coasts bordered by cold ocean currents

• Subsidence inversion

  form when subsiding air undergoes adiabatic heating aloft, while air in contact with the surface remains cooler.

• Isotherm

  lines connecting points of equal air temperature are used to map the geographic pattern of temperature across the earth's surface.

• Global warming

  Increasing levels of greenhouse gases results in rising global air temperatures

Self-assessment Quiz \(\PageIndex{1}\)

1. The annual temperature range is greatest
   1. in the east coast of the United States (Washington D.C. for example)
   2. in the interior of the continent (Kansas City, KS, for example)
   3. the west coast of the United States (Los Angeles, CA, for example)
   4. near the equator.
2. The air temperature of a large body of water does not change as much as nearby land because
   1. most of the net radiation is used for latent heat transfer rather than sensible heat.
   2. mixing of the water occurs
   3. the specific heat of land is lower than that of water
   4. all the above are true
3. The coldest temperature over the course of the day normally occurs
   1. at midnight
   2. at sunset
   3. just after sunrise
   4. at 8:00 pm
4. The daily range of temperature is greatest
   1. when skies remain cloudless during the day and night
   2. when the sky remains cloudy all day and night
   3. when the sky is cloudy during the day but cloudless at night
   4. when the sky is cloudless during the day but cloudy at night.
5. The seasonal lag of temperature
   1. is greater for places located on the coast
   2. is greater for places located in the interior of a continent
   3. is not any different if you are located on a coast or in the interior of the continent
   4. is nonexistent along a coast
6. Which of the following air masses is the coldest during the winter?
   1. mP
   2. cP
   3. mT
   4. they are all equally cold during the winter but not during the summer
7. Isotherms
   1. in the Northern Hemisphere bend towards the north when passing over passing over the Gulf Stream current during the winter.
   2. tend to be linear in form in the Southern Hemisphere.
   3. are more closely spaced over the North American continent in winter than summer.
   4. exhibit all the above.
8. Which of the following statements is false?
   1. Maximum outgoing radiation and maximum incoming solar radiation generally occur at the same time.
   2. Maximum outgoing radiation generally occurs at the same time as maximum daily temperature.
   3. Maximum daily temperature lags behind maximum daily incoming solar radiation.
   4. Maximum outgoing radiation generally lags behind maximum incoming solar radiation.
9. Which of the following energy balance components has the most significant impact on the temperature of the air above the surface?
   1. sensible heat transfer
   2. latent heat transfer
   3. ground heat transfer
   4. none of the above affect the temperature of the air.
10. Heat transfer into the air is most efficient
    1. when there is turbulent mixing\
    2. when the air is still
    3. when there is no difference in the temperature between the air and the surface
    4. none of the above

Answer

1. B
2. D
3. C
4. A
5. A
6. B
7. D
8. A
9. A
10. A

Additional Resources

Connections: "Warming Oceans". (NPR) All Things Considered