Quiz 7 Study Guide

Version 3

Topics covered: tornadoes, hurricanes, climate and climate change

Make sure you have done the assigned reading: Ch. 10, 11, 13 and 14 and looked at the review questions

Make sure you know the definition of relative humidity

TORNADOES & HURRICANES

Make sure you have seen Bruce Sisk’s powerpoint presentation on the Spencer Tornado (see class home page if you missed his presentation in class)

Similarities and differences between tornadoes and hurricanes

Conditions conducive to tornado formation

Conditions for Hurricane formation

Intensity scales for tornadoes and hurricanes

Similarities and differences between extra-tropical cyclones and tropical cyclones

Where hurricanes form

What kinds of damage hurricanes do

CLIMATE

Be familiar with the Koppen climate classification scheme

CLIMATE CHANGE

Make sure you understand why increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations cause the Earth to warm.

Know the primary GHGs and which ones are affected by humans

How aerosols affect Earth’s climate

Be familiar with

The global energy flow Figure 2.14 (2.16)

How the terms in that figure change when GHG concentrations change

Plots of temperatures and CO₂ amounts during past ice ages

Plots showing more recent climate changes (temperature, water vapor, sea level…)

Understand what positive and negative feedbacks are, why they are important and examples of each