EPS 7 Final Flashcards

What 3 key factors are responsible for the industrial revolution?

James Watt, scientific revolution and abundant coal

Who is credited with starting the industrial revolution with their invention?

James Watt bc he made the steam engine more efficient

Who established the law of conservation of energy?

James Joule bc he discovered that mechanical work gets converted to heat

What is the unit for energy?

Joule

What is the unit for power?

Watt

If a laser delivers 30 W of energy to a target over 2 seconds, how much energy does it deliver to the target?

60 J because 30 W * 2 s = 60 W(s) --> J = W(s)

If a lightbulb produces 100 J of heat and light while on for 10 seconds how much electrical power does the lightbulb consume?

10 W because 100 J / 10 s = 10 J/s --> W = J/s

How is a Watt defined in terms of other units?

J/s

How is a Joule defined in terms of other units?

W(s)

When a mass exchanges energy with an adjacent mass by jiggling against it what do we call this?

conduction

When a mass exchanges energy with a faraway mass by sending photons to it what do we call this?

radiation

When energy moves from one place to another because a mass carries that energy there what do we call this?

convection

Using the minus-thirty times a-half approximation what is 80 F in Celsius?

25 C because 80 - 30 = 50 --> 50/2 = 25

Using the minus-thirty times a-half approximation what is 110 ◦F in Celsius?

40 C because 110 - 30 = 80 --> 80/2 = 40

What is 30 C in Kelvin?

303 K because 273 + 30 = 303

What is 0 C in Kelvin?

273 K because 273 + 0 = 273

What is special about 0 K?

nothing moves

What is the typical temperature on Earth?

300 K

What is the typical temperature on the sun?

6000 K

How far does a person go if they jog at 3 m/s for 1 hour?

10.8 km because 3

What is true about all photons?

they travel at the same speed

What emits photons?

lightbulb...sun...phone screen

What is the definition of wavelength?

the distance from a peak to an adjacent peak

When talking about the wavelengths of radiation from the Sun and Earth..it is most convenient to use which unit?

micrometer

Which of the three has the longest wavelength: green red or blue?

red

Which of the three has the shortest wavelength: red green or blue?

blue

Using Wien's law what is the peak wavelength of radiation emitted by and object with a temperature of 100 K?

30 micron because 3000um K / 100 K = 30um

Using Wien's law what is the peak wavelength of radiation emitted by an object with a temperature of 6000 K?

0.5 micron because 3000um K / 6000 K = 0.5um

What do we call the radiation emitted by a planet

longwave (infrared)

What do we call the radiation emitted by the sun?

shortwave (ultraviolet)

The power per area emitted by an object (Stefan-Boltzman Law) is expressed by...

W/m^2 = 6(T/100)^4

Which radiates the most power a wall with a total area of 2 m^2 and temperature of 310 K or a chair with a total area of 2 m^2 and temperature of 310 K?

they radiate the same power (same area & temp)

Which of the following radiates the most power: an object with Area=100 m^2 and T=200K an object with Area=1 m^2 and T=1000 K or an object with Area=1000 m^2 and T=100 K?

the object with Area = 1 m^2 and T = 1000 K because...

(6 (T/100)^4) (W/m^2 area) = W

If we plug in #'s...

A = 100 m^2 & T = 200 K then W = 9600 W

A = 1 m^2 & T = 1000 K then W = 60000 W

A = 1000 m^2 & T = 100 K then W = 6000 W

Between a blue star and a read star which has the higher temperature?

the blue star bc Wien's law (3000/0.7 < 3000/0.5)

Between a blue berry and a red berry which has the higher temperature?

can’t tell bc they don't emit light

What is albedo?

the fraction of sunlight reflected to space

If a planet's TSI is 2000 W/m^2 and its albedo is .4 how much power per area must the planet radiate?

300 W/m^2 because TSI (2000) / 4 = 500 W/m^2 --> (1 - 0.4) * 500 = 300 W/m^2

Using the approximate Stefan-Bolzmann law power per area = 6 (T/100)^4 what is the temperature of a planet that radiates 6 W/m^2?

100 K because 6 (T/100)^4 = 6 W/m^2 so...

6 (T/100)^4 = 6

(T/100)^4 = 1

T/100 = 1

T = 100

How many planets are there in our solar system

8

How many rocky planets are there in our solar system?

4 (MVEM)

How many gas giants are there in our Solar System?

4 (JSUN)

Compared to the Earth is Mars cold or hot?

cold because its farther away from the sun

What is the average temperature of Earth?

288 K

If we could somehow double the albedo of Mars would its temperature go up or down?

down because the planet would be absorbing less sunlight

What does optically thick mean?

gas scatters or absorbs radiation...it can't get through

What does optically thin mean?

gas cant's scatter or absorb radiation...it can get through

The optical depth T for some path of light through a gas depends on...

the optical depth of a gas depends on the distance (z) of the light path and the density (p) of the gas

How deep into a gas does the gas emit radiation like a solid surface?

T=1

From what optical depth into the Sun does the Sun emit light to space?

T=1

Who is credited with identifying the gases responsible for the greenhouse effect?

John Tyndall

In what year was the greenhouse effect postulated thereby initiating the field of climate science?

1824

What best describes the atmospheric greenhouse effect?

the atmosphere lets shortwave pass through but greenhouse gases absorb longwave

On planet Kruftulon the effective height of longwave emission to space is at 3 km where the temperature is 310 K. If the lapse rate in Kruftulon's dry atmosphere is 10 K/km what is the surface temperature?

340 K because 310K + (3 km * 10K/km) = 340K

On planet Zorkon the effective height of longwave emission to space is at 9 km where the temperature is 210 K. If the lapse rate in Zorkon's dry atmosphere is 10 K/km what is the surface temperature?

300K because 210K + (9 km * 10K/km) = 300K

Who first predicted global warming and made a calculation of Earth's climate sensitivity?

Svante Arrhenius

What is the change in temperature for a doubling of CO2?

Climate sensitivity

The prediction of global warming was made in what year?

1896

Who is credited with alerting scientists to global warming by documenting the rising concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and thereby kicking off the field of climate science?

Dave Keeling

What was the preindustrial concentration of CO2?

280 ppm

Who is credited with alerting the public to global warming with his congressional testimony in 1988?

James Hansen

What is the modern estimate for the likely range of Earth's climate sensitivity?

1.5 to 4.5 K (best estimate is 3K)

What can we say about a sand dune which has a height of 50 meters and a net inflow of sand of 10 kg/s?

it is not in a steady state because there’s only net inflow

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is −15 kg/s/m by what amount does its net rate of inflow change if we apply a sudden height perturbation of 3 m?

-45 kg/s because -15 × 3 = -45

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is +24 kg/s/m by what amount does its net rate of inflow change if we apply a sudden height perturbation of 2 m?

48 kg/s because 24 × 2 = 48

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is −20 kg/s/m by what amount does its net rate of inflow change if we apply a sudden height perturbation of −4 m?

80 kg/s because -20 * -4 = 80

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is +25 kg/s/m by what amount does its net rate of inflow change if we apply a sudden height perturbation of −5 m?

-125 kg/s because 25 * -5 = -125

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is +8 kg/s/m what happens if we suddenly reduce the height of the dune by 2 m?

it will disappear because the feedback parameter is negative so the negative perturbation will become more negative and disappear

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is −5 kg/s/m what happens if we suddenly add 4 m of sand?

it will go back to its original steady state because negative feedback parameters bring the water level back to its steady state

What word do we ascribe to a sand dune that has no grains of sand being added or removed?

static equilibrium

What do we call a situation where wind is actively blowing sand onto and off of the sand dune but the height of the sand dune is not changing in time?

steady state

What is a positive perturbation?

an increase in the stock from its steady-state level

What is a negative forcing?

an externally applied reduction in the net inflow

What is a negative perturbation?

a decrease in the stock from its steady-state level

What is a positive forcing?

an externally applied increase in the net inflow

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is +3 kg/s/m what is the final perturbation if a forcing of 3 kg/s is applied?

nonsense question because the dune is unstable

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is −3 kg/s/m what is the final perturbation if a forcing of −9 kg/s is applied?

-3 m

If a sand dune's feedback parameter is +1 kg/s/m what is the final perturbation if a forcing of -2 kg/s is applied?

nonsense question because the dune is unstable

Why does burning fossil fuels cause global warming?

the extra atmospheric CO2 lifts the T=1 layer to a colder level in the atmosphere

With respect to Earth's temperature an increase in CO2 in the atmosphere can be described as a…

positive forcing.

What is Earth's biggest negative feedback?

Planck feedback

If the Earth suddenly becomes cooler than its steady-state temperature the Planck feedback tends to make the Earth warmer or cooler?

warmer

If the Earth suddenly becomes warmer than its steady-state temperature

the Planck feedback tends to make the Earth warmer or cooler?

What is Earth's biggest positive feedback?

water-vapor feedback

Given Earth's feedback parameter of -1.1 W/m2/K what is roughly its final temperature perturbation in response to a doubling of CO2 which causes a forcing of 3.7 W/m2?

3 K

Given Earth's feedback parameter of -1.1 W/m2/K what is roughly its final temperature perturbation in response to a brightening of the Sun that leads to 9.9 W/m2 of extra solar absorption?

9 K

Who created the cloud classification scheme that we use today?

Luke Howard

What causes the seasons?

the Earth's axis of rotation is titled with respect to Earth's orbital plane

Photosynthesis is best described by what chemical reaction?

CO2 + H2O + photon --> O2 + CH2O

Respiration is best described by what chemical reaction?

O2 + CH20 --> CO2 + H2O + photon

What is the empirical formula for coal?

C or CH

What is the empirical formula for oil?

CH2

What is the empirical formula for gas?

CH4

What does Gya mean?

billion years ago

When was the universe formed?

14 Gya

When was the Earth formed?

4.5 Gya

When was most coal formed?

Carboniferous period (300 Mya)

When was most oil formed?

Jurassic period (150 Mya)

Coal is…

fossilized peat

Oil is…

fossilized plankton

Natural gas is…

fossilized plankton