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New YorkEarth and Environmental Science

The Hydrosphere and Meteorology

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What makes the climate of one place different from another?

Explain the factors that control climate (latitude, elevation, proximity to water, ocean currents, mountain barriers and prevailing winds) and distinguish climate from weather.
A Regents answer on climate controls: the difference between weather and climate, how latitude, elevation, proximity to large bodies of water, ocean currents, mountain barriers (orographic effect and rain shadows) and prevailing winds set a region's temperature and precipitation, and why coastal and inland climates differ, with worked exam questions.
12 min answer →

How much water vapor is in the air, and when does it condense into clouds?

Explain humidity, dewpoint and relative humidity, use the Reference Tables dewpoint and relative humidity charts from dry-bulb and wet-bulb readings, and relate cooling to condensation, cloud and precipitation formation.
A Regents answer on atmospheric moisture: the difference between dewpoint and relative humidity, how to read the Reference Tables dewpoint and relative humidity charts from the dry-bulb temperature and the wet-bulb depression, why air cooled to its dewpoint condenses, how clouds and precipitation form on condensation nuclei, and the saturation idea, with worked exam questions.
12 min answer →

What is the atmosphere made of, and how does energy move through it?

Describe the layered structure and composition of the atmosphere and explain how energy is transferred by radiation, conduction and convection, including how surfaces absorb and reflect insolation.
A Regents answer on the atmosphere and energy transfer: the layered structure (troposphere to thermosphere) and temperature profile on the Reference Tables, the composition (nitrogen, oxygen, trace gases), the three modes of heat transfer (radiation, conduction, convection), and how surface color and texture affect the absorption and reflection of insolation, with worked exam questions.
12 min answer →

Why does the ocean circulate, and how do currents move heat around the planet?

Explain how ocean surface currents form (winds, the Coriolis effect) and how they redistribute heat, moderate coastal climates and connect to density-driven deep circulation.
A Regents answer on the oceans: how prevailing winds and the Coriolis effect drive surface currents into gyres, how warm and cold currents redistribute heat and moderate coastal climates (for example the Gulf Stream), the difference between surface and density-driven deep circulation, and the link to the water specific heat on the Reference Tables, with worked exam questions.
12 min answer →

How does water move through Earth's systems, and what controls how much soaks into the ground?

Describe the water cycle and its processes, and explain the factors that control infiltration, runoff and groundwater storage (porosity, permeability, slope, saturation and the water table).
A Regents answer on the water cycle and groundwater: evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation and runoff, the factors that control infiltration versus runoff (porosity, permeability, particle size, slope, saturation, vegetation), the water table and zones of saturation and aeration, and the energy that drives the cycle, with worked exam questions.
12 min answer →

What are air masses and fronts, and how do we read a weather station model?

Classify air masses, describe the weather at warm and cold fronts and around high- and low-pressure systems, and interpret weather maps and the Reference Tables station model.
A Regents answer on weather systems: how air masses are classified (maritime/continental, tropical/polar), the weather at cold and warm fronts, high-pressure (clear, sinking, diverging) versus low-pressure (cloudy, rising, converging) systems, the typical west-to-east movement across New York, and how to decode the Reference Tables weather station model, with worked exam questions.
13 min answer →