Unit 7

What happens in the exosphere?

The International Space Station orbits and is very hot.

What is the ionosphere?

A layer of charged particles that helps carry radio waves.

What happens to temperature when altitude increases in the stratosphere and thermosphere?

Temperature increases.

What is the hottest layer of the atmosphere?

Thermosphere.

What is the thickest layer of the atmosphere?

Thermosphere.

What happens to temperature when altitude increases in the troposphere and mesosphere?

Temperature decreases.

What happens in the mesosphere?

Shooting stars.

What does the term 'meso' mean?

Middle.

Where are the majority of holes in the ozone layer?

Antarctica and the North Pole.

What breaks down the ozone layer, leaving holes?

CFCs - refrigerators, air conditioners, aerosols, and foam packaging.

What does ozone do?

It absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

What is the distance of the ozone layer from the Earth?

19-48 km.

Why is the stratosphere hot?

Because it has ozone, which absorbs UV radiation.

Which layer contains the most ozone?

Stratosphere.

What is a jet stream?

A narrow belt of strong wind at the top of the troposphere that develops storms and moves them.

Which layer contains the jet stream?

Troposphere.

What does the troposphere mostly contain?

Water vapor and gases.

How far above the Earth is the exosphere?

Above 500 km.

What is the distance of the thermosphere from the Earth?

85-500 km.

What is the distance of the mesosphere from the Earth?

50-85 km.

What is the distance of the stratosphere from the Earth?

10-50 km.

What is the distance of the troposphere from the Earth?

10 km above land and sea.

What are the five layers of the atmosphere?

Tropo, strato, meso, thermo, exo.

What are the layers of the atmosphere based on?

Temperature difference.

How many layers are in the atmosphere?

5.

What is convection?

Energy that is transferred by gases and liquids.

What is conduction?

Energy is transferred by touch when the Earth's surface touches air, and air to air.

What is radiation?

Energy is transferred by waves.

What heats Earth's surface?

The energy that is absorbed.

What absorbs the sun’s energy on the Earth’s surface?

Oceans, lands, and atmosphere.

How much of the sun's energy is absorbed?

70 percent.

How much of the sun's energy is reflected?

30 percent.

What happens to sunlight on Earth?

It is either reflected or absorbed.

Where does most energy come from?

The sun.

What is heat?

Energy.

Why is the Earth's atmosphere unique?

Because it holds the right amount of the sun's energy to support life.

What do CFCs create?

A destroyed ozone layer.

What do burning fossil fuels create?

Carbon dioxide.

What does car exhaust create?

Smog.

What are three ways humans are changing the composition of the atmosphere?

Car exhaust, burning fossil fuels, CFCs.

What gases are in the atmosphere and their percentages?

Nitrogen(78), oxygen(21), argon(0.93), carbon dioxide(0.033), and other small gases.

Examples of liquids in the atmosphere?

Water droplets.

Examples of solids in the atmosphere?

Dust, salt, and pollen.

What is the atmosphere made up of?

Solids, liquids, and gases.

What converted carbon dioxide into oxygen?

Photosynthetic life/cyanobacteria.

What did volcanoes add to the atmosphere?

Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and water vapor.

What did the early atmosphere contain?

Mostly hydrogen and helium, very little oxygen.

What is the atmosphere?

A thin layer of gases that protects Earth's surface from UV rays.

What is a land breeze?

At night, the land cools off, and the air above the land sinks, allowing warm air from the sea to come in.

What is a sea breeze?

During the day, the land heats up, and the air above the land rises, allowing cool air from the sea to come in.

Characteristics of polar easterlies?

Cold, dense air from the poles sinks and moves away from the poles.

Characteristics of prevailing westerlies?

Air movement is west to east, responsible for USA weather.

Characteristics of trade winds?

Air near the equator warms, rises, and moves to the poles.

Characteristics of the doldrums?

Near the equator, hot with little wind.

What affects the world's weather?

Global wind patterns and the Coriolis effect.

What causes cold and warm air to move from the equator to the poles?

Coriolis effect.

What does cold air do at the poles?

It sinks and moves toward the equator.

What does warm air do at the equator?

It rises and moves toward the poles.

What is the uneven heat of the Earth caused by?

Global wind patterns.

What causes the uneven heating of the Earth?

Different areas receive different amounts of sunlight.

How does air move?

From high to low pressure.

What causes wind?

Pressure differences.

What does air temperature determine in precipitation?

What type will it be.

What is precipitation?

When water droplets combine and get enough, they will fall.

Characteristics of stratus clouds?

Low clouds.

Characteristics of alto clouds?

Middle elevation clouds.

Characteristics of cirrus clouds?

High clouds.

Characteristics of Nimbus clouds?

Tall, dark, full of water; sunlight cannot pass through.

Characteristics of cumulus clouds?

Puffy, white, often with flat bottoms.

How do clouds form?

When water vapor condenses into tiny droplets; air must be at dew point.

What is the dew point?

The temperature at which the air is saturated, and leftover water condenses.

What is humidity measured by?

A psychrometer or hygrometer.

What is relative humidity measured in?

Percentages.

What is relative humidity?

The amount of water vapor in the air compared to how much it can hold.

What holds more water vapor?

Warmer air.

What is humidity?

The amount of water vapor in the air.

What is temperature measured with?

Thermometer.

What causes air molecules to move?

The sun's heat.

What is wind speed measured with?

Anemometer.

What is wind direction measured with?

Wind vane.

What is air moving in a specific direction?

Wind.

Characteristics of cold air?

More dense and sinks, creating high pressure.

Characteristics of hot air?

Expands, becomes less dense, and rises, creating low pressure.

How is pressure measured?

Barometer.

What is atmospheric pressure?

When molecules closer to the surface are more densely packed.

What is the weather?

The state of the atmosphere at any given time.

What is an occluded front?

When cold air moves toward a cool air mass, forcing warm air upward.

What is a stationary front?

When the boundary between two air masses stops moving.

What is a warm front?

When warm air advances over colder air, leading to steady rain.

What is a cold front?

When warm air advances over colder air, also leading to steady rain.

Where does a warm, dry air mass come from?

Equator and over land.

Where does a warm, wet air mass come from?

The equator and water.

Where does a cold, dry air mass come from?

Poles over land.

Where does a cold, wet air mass come from?

Poles above water.

What is a front?

The boundary between two air masses.

What is an air mass?

A large body of air with temperature and moisture where it formed.

Name each type of front and how they are seen on a map.

Cold-triangles, blue; warm-half circles, red; stationary-both colors; occluded-purple.

What are isobars?

Lines connecting points of equal pressure.

What are isotherms?

Lines connecting points of equal temperature.

What does predicting the weather involve?

Gathering data and using computers for predictions.