TAMU- ATMO 201- Dr. Logan- EXAM 1

what is the primary source of energy for Earth's atmosphere?

the sun

list seven common weather elements

pressure

temperature

wind

moisture

clouds

precipitation

visibility

how does weather differ from climate?

weather is current, climate is long-term average

rank the following storms in size from largest to smallest:

hurricane, mid-latitude cyclone, tornado, thunderstorm

mid-latitude cyclone

hurricane

thunderstorm

tornado

when someone says that "the wind direction today is south," does this mean that the wind is blowing toward the south or from the south?

from the south

describe three ways weather and climate can influence people's lives.

comfort

health

decision making

how has earth's atmosphere changed overtime?

gas concentrations, temperature, pressure, moisture content, etc.

list the four most abundance gases in today's atmosphere:

nitrogen, oxygen, argon, water vapor

which gas shows the most variation?

water vapor

what are some of the most important roles that water plays in our atmosphere?

clouds, trap energy, release energy, moderate temperature

briefly explain the production and destruction of carbon dioxide near Earth's surface.

burning of fossil fuels, removal by plants and ocean organisms, etc.

what are some of the aerosols in the atmosphere?

mineral dust, pollution, wildfire smoke, sea salt, volcanic ash, etc.

what are the two most abundant greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere?

water vapor and carbon dioxide

explain the concept of air pressure in terms of weight of air above some level; why does air pressure always decrease with increasing height above the surface?

there is less air the higher up you go, fewer number of air molecules

on the basis of temperature, list the layers of the atmosphere from the lowest layer to the highest.

troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere

briefly describe how the air temperature changes from Earth's surface to the lower thermosphere.

decreases, increases, decreases, increases

above what region of the world would you find the ozone hole?

Antarctica

distinguish between temperature and heat

temperature is the average kinetic energy of molecules, heat is a form of energy due to a difference in temperature

explain how heat is transferred in our atmosphere

conduction: warmer to colder regions

convection: motions in a fluid

radiation: electromagnetic waves

what is latent heat?

head needed to change phase of a substance

how is latent heat an important source of atmospheric energy?

heat gain or release causes change in temperature

how does the amount of radiation emitted by Earth differ from the sun?

earth is colder than the sun, so less radiation emitted

how does the temperature of an object influence the radiation it emits?

the peak wavelength emission of an object depends on temp and as the temp increases, the amount of radiation increases

how do the wavelengths of most of the radiation emitted by the sun differ from the Earth?

hotter temperature, shorter wavelength, more energy

when a body reaches a radiative equilibrium temperature, what is taking place?

energy in = energy out

why are carbon dioxide and water vapor called selective absorbing greenhouse gases?

both absorb at various wavelengths produced by the Earth while the other gases do not

what are the two most important greenhouse gases?

water vapor and carbon dioxide

explain how the Earth's atmospheric greenhouse effect works

greenhouse gases transmit incoming short wave solar radiation and trap outgoing long wave Earth radiation

what greenhouse gases appear to be responsible for the enhancement of Earth's greenhouse effect?

water vapor and carbon dioxide

why does the albedo of Earth and its atmosphere average about 30%?

oceans, vegetation, aerosols, land cover, etc.

explain how Earth and its atmosphere balance incoming energy with outgoing energy.

energy in = energy out,, short wave solar radiation is absorbed by Earth and converted to long wave radiation

what are the main factors that determine seasonal temperature variations?

location relative to sun, latitude, tilt of Earth

if it is winter in january in new york, what is the season and month in sydney, au?

summer, january

why aren't the northern hemisphere latitudes warmer during the summer?

more incident solar radiation, less direct solar radiation

explain why the warmest time of the day is usually in the afternoon, even though the sun's rays are most direct at noon

it takes a few hours for Earth to respond to incoming solar radiation

on a calm day, why is the air next to the ground normally warmer than the air several feet above?

air is a poor conductor of heat so air closest to the ground is much hotter

what is the condition of the atmo at any particular time?

weather

what is climate?

average weather conditions

what is the #1 weather & climate related disaster that kills people?

heat

what are the 5 layers of the atmosphere in order?

troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere

which law states the at constant temperature, the volume is inversely proportional to the pressure?

boyle's law

which law states that at constant pressures, the volume is directly proportional to the temperature?

charlies law

which law states that at constant volume, the pressure is directly proportional to the temperature?

gay-lussac's law

what kind of energy is in motion?

kinetic

what kind of energy is stored?

potential

what is latent heat?

heat that is needed to change phase of a substance

what are the 3 latent heat values?

vaporization, fusion or melting, sublimination

how many cal/g does it take for water to vaporize from liquid to gas?

540

how many cal/g does it take for water to condense?

540

can you see water vapor?

no you can see it condensed

how many cal/g does it take to melt solid ice?

80

how many cal/g does it take to freeze water?

80

how many cal/g does it take to subliminate ice from solid to vapor?

620

how many cal/g does it take ice to undergo deposition from vapor to solid?

620

what is sensible heat?

heat that changes the temperature of a substance

what is conduction?

the transfer of heat from molecule to molecule

what is convection?

the transfer of heat by mass movement of a fluid

what is the energy that travels in the form of electromagnetic waves?

radiation

t or f: shorter wavelengths have less energy

false

what are visible packets of radiant energy?

photons

what are the strongest to weakest colors of the rainbow?

ultra violet, blue, green, yellow, orange, infrared

What law states that peak wavelength emission of an object depends on temperature?

wien's displacement

what law states as temperature increases, the amount of radiation over a spectrum increases

stefan-boltzmann's

t or f: energy in = no energy out

false

what is the most abundant greenhouse gas?

water vapor

why are there seasons?

23.5 tilt

what is the backwards scattering of light?

reflectivity

what is the forward passing of light?

transmission

what is the trapping of light?

absorption

what is the percent of solar photons reflected from a surface

albedo

reflection + absorption =

extinct or loss of light

t or f: light always gets through in transmission

true

what percentage is earth's albedo?

30%

what is the tropic of summer?

cancer

what is the tropic of winter?

capricorn

what are climatograms?

moderating effects of land and ocean on air temperature

when does max. solat radiation take place?

local noon

which solar radiation waves take place during the day?

SW

which solar radiation waves take place during the night?

LW

how often do LW and SW meet?

twice a day

when do LW and SW meet?

sunrise and noon

what is the lowest temp at which water vapor will condense?

dewpoint temp

what is the lowest temp at which water will evaporate?

wet bulb temp

what is the formula for relative humidity?

rh= (water vapor content)/(water vapor capacity)*100%

why is it more humid in the desert than winter in new england?

bc snow doesn't count

in the hydrological cycle, what does convection do?

vertically transports to make clouds

in the hydrological cycle, what does advection do?

horizontally transports to make clouds move side to side

what is it called when condensation of water droplets go onto an object?

dew

What is haze?

condensation of water droplets onto atmospheric particles called aerosols

what are dust or dirt particles causing visibility issues in the air?

haze

when RH=100%

fog is present

what is smog caused by?

air pollution

cirrus:

curl of hair

cumulus:

heap or cotton

stratus:

layer

numbus:

pouring rain or raining

alto:

middle

how many ice clouds are there?

3

what are the 3 ice clouds?

cirrus, cirrostratus, cirrocumulus

how many middle clouds are there?

2