| Term | Definition |
|---|
| air pressure | the amount of pressure exerted by weight of air |
| sea level air pressure | 14.7 lbs./sq. in |
| what direction does air blow? | air blows from high to low pressure |
| what is the result of a change in air pressure? | greater wind speed |
| what happens in a low pressure zone? | air rises in a low pressure zone and condenses to form clouds, the temperature cools |
| what happens in a high pressure zone? | air falls in a high pressure zone, causing sunny weather |
| how is air pressure shown on maps? | iso bars |
| what are differences in air pressure called? | pressure gradients |
| how is air pressure affected? | uneven heating from the sun |
| what is winds source of energy? | the sun |
| coriolis effect | wind deflects to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere |
| cyclone | a low pressure zone where wind blows inward and counter clockwise |
| anti-cyclone | a high pressure zone where wind blows outward and clockwise |
| jet stream | upper atmosphere wind that separates cold air masses from warm air masses |
| cold front | a cold polar air mass advances onto a warm air mass, cold dry stable air replaces warm, moist unstable maritime air, there is often precipitation behind the front |
| warm front | warm moist tropical air replaces cold dry polar air, precipitation comes ahead of the front |
| humidity | the amount of water vapor in the air |
| relative humidity | the actual amount of water vapor in the air compared to the possible amount of water vapor in the air |
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