Air Masses

​Air Masses

Air Masses:

• What is an air mass?

  • Large bodies of air with similar temperature and moisture characteristics

• How do we classify them?

  • Based on source region and temperature

• What effect do they have?

  • Influence weather patterns and bring changes in temperature, humidity, and precipitation

4 letters you need to know

​If it's wet:
maritime (m)

​If it's dry:
continental (c)

​If it's from the poles:
Polar (P)

​If it's towards the poles:
Tropical (T)

​Classified by temperature and moisture.

​You have to ask:

How much moisture?

Is it hot or cold?

Multiple Choice

Which type of air mass is warm and humid, originating from the tropics?

• mT

• mP

• cP

• cT

Multiple Select

Which type of air mass forms over the ocean?

• Maritime tropical (mT)

• Maritime polar (mP)

• Continental tropical (cT)

• Continental polar (cP)

Multiple Choice

What type of air mass is cT?

• continental tropical
• polar maritime
• tropical maritime
• continental polar

Multiple Choice

What type of air mass is mP?

• Maritime Polar
• Continental Polar
• Maritime Tropical
• Marine Polar

​California gets their cold weather from air masses coming from Siberia.

​Meanwhile, North Carolina gets its air from the Gulf of Mexico.

Multiple Choice

What is air pressure?

• The force exerted by the weight of earth's atmosphere on a surface.
• The force exerted by the weight of air molecules on a person's body.
• The force exerted by the weight of air molecules on a surface.
• The force exerted by the weight of water molecules on a surface.

Multiple Choice

What layer of the atmosphere do we see meteors?

• Stratosphere
• Mesosphere
• Troposphere
• Exosphere

Multiple Choice

Where does the air the affects North Carolina's weather come from?

• Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, and continental United States
• Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, and Europe
• Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Mexico
• Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Canada

Labeling

Label the layers of the atmosphere correctly.

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

exosphere

stratosphere

troposphere

thermosphere

mesosphere

Labeling

Label the air masses appropriately.

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

mP

cT

mT

cP

mP

mT

mT

cP

Multiple Choice

Where does weather occur in the atmosphere?

• Exosphere
• Mesosphere

• Troposphere
• Stratosphere