Review #2 - Geog 1001 – Fall 2005 

Terms and Concepts: Know and understand the following.

Bring: Photo ID, a calculator, a #2 pencil, and an eraser.

·        Be able to define: temperature; thermal or internal energy; heat; specific heat; heat capacity

·        Know the units of all of the above

·        Be able to convert between specific heat and heat capacity

·        Know the relative values of the density, specific heat, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity for dry sandy soil, still water, and still air

·        Wind: Define, state causes, how it is characterized and measured

·        Air Pressure: Definition and units, measurement, history

·        Driving forces for winds: Explain all four: Gravitational; Pressure Gradient; Coriolis; Friction. Explain how these forces act to steer winds in relation to isobars (e.g. geostrophic flow).

·        Relationship between surface heating, pressure, and wind

·        What causes differences in surface heating? How can wind flow vertically “against” a vertical pressure gradient? Review the hydrostatic equation.

·        Local (small scale) examples of atmospheric motion: land and sea breezes, onshore and offshore flows, mtn. and valley breezes, katabatic flows

·        Global (large scale) examples of atmospheric motion: Hadley cells, 3-cell model, ITCZ, Subtropical Highs, trade winds, westerlies, polar easterlies, polar front, jet streams (polar and subtropical). Can you redraw the 3-cell model? Can you label a drawing of the 3-cell model including areas of high and low pressure, wind direction, the names of the features?

·        Define humidity, and explain four ways to express it (with units): relative humidity, vapor pressure, dew point temperature, specific humidity

·        Explain/define what equilibrium (saturation) vapor pressure is, and what controls it.

·        The phase diagram for water: Mention some unique features of water in each phase. Can you draw and label the diagram? Know the names of changes, if latent heat is released or required, and know the relative amounts.

·        Atmospheric Stability: adiabatic temperature changes, ideal gas law, DAR, MAR, ELR, when do you use DAR and MAR? What are the rates?

·        Lifting Mechanisms: Convergent, Convectional, Orographic, Frontal (warm, cold, stationary, occulded). Know these, where/when they generally occur, and temperature/precipitation characteristics associated with the passage of fronts.

·        Fronts: warm – slow, gentle uplifting, long and gentle precipitation, temp. inversion; cold – fast, violent uplifting, short and intense precipitation.

·        Water Cycle Model-Magnitudes and balances; know the relative values over land vs. ocean. What does a water balance depend on?