meteor. test

• List three of the four most abundant gases in today’s atmosphere.

• Nitrogen, Oxygen, Water Vapor, Argon

• Of the four most abundant gases in our atmosphere, which one shows the greatest variation at the earth’s surface?

• Water vapor

• What atmospheric layer contains all of our weather? 

• Troposphere

• Define meteorology and discuss the origin of this word.

• Meteorology is the study of the atmosphere and its phenomena. The term itself goes back to Aristotle who, wrote a book entitled Meteorologica. In those days, all substances that fell from the sky, and anything seen in the air, were called meteors, hence the term meteorology, which actually comes from the Greek word meteoros, meaning “high in the air.”

• Describe how the air temperature changes from the earth’s surface to the lower thermosphere.

four changes, decrease, increase, decrease, increase

• How does the Kelvin temperature scale differ from the Celsius scale?

• K=^oC+273

• Based on your experience, would a temperature of 250 K be considered warm or cold? Explain.

• Um…really really cold (-23^oC)

• How is heat transferred away from the surface of the moon? (Hint: The moon has basically no atmosphere.)

• Radiation

• Which photon carries the most energy — infrared, visible, or ultraviolet?

• Ultraviolet

• Compare Earth’s surface to the atmosphere in terms of absorption and emission

• The earth’s surface behaves as a blackbody, making it a much better absorber and emitter of radiation than the atmosphere.

• Basically, how do the three states of water differ?

• Intermolecular attractions

• Explain why it takes longer to cook vegetables in the mountains than at sea level.

• Lower pressure, boiling point of water is lower.

• What common instrument is used to measure humidity?

psychrometer

• Why do hot and humid summer days usually feel hotter than hot and dry summer days?

• when both the air temperature and relative humidity are high and the air is nearly saturated with water vapor, body moisture does not readily evaporate; instead, it collects on the skin as beads of perspiration.

• Name 2 cloud types

cirrcus, nimbus

• Name 3 different examples of condensation nuclei.

• Dust, volcanoes, factory smoke, forest fires, salt from ocean spray, and sulfate particles emitted by plankton at sea are all examples of condensation nuclei

• What does nimbus mean?

• Nimbus – ‘violent rain’ – rain cloud

• What is the technical term for jet plane exhaust clouds?

• Contrails 

• Explain dew point. 

• the atmospheric temperature (varying according to pressure and humidity) below which water droplets begin to condense and dew can form.

• Why must a match be added to the bottle to create the cloud?

• Condensation nuclei

• What natural events contribute to an increase in carbon dioxide levels?

• Volcanic eruptions, cow farts, etc.

• Referring the Earth’s Heat Equator, why does the heat equator for January bend further into the Southern Hemisphere over the continents of South America and Africa than it bends over the ocean areas?

• Winter in the northern hemisphere because of the sun’s rays not directly inline.

• Approximately how many meteorologist are in the US?

• 9000