Science Chapter 18 - Earth's Atmosphere 7th Grade

the envelope of gases that surrounds a planet

atmosphere

what was the old-earth story of how the atmosphere was created?

oxygen catastrophe

what was the young-earth story of how the atmosphere was created?

God created in on Day 2

the Flood changed the composition of the _________________

atmosphere

kinds of gases the atmosphere contains

composition

what are the regions divided by composition?

homosphere and heterosphere

what percent of oxygen is near the earth's surface?

21%

what percent of nitrogen is near the earth's surface?

78%

what region is where gases near the earth's surface are uniformly mixed?

homosphere

what region of the atmosphere is where there are layers of different gases and are arranged by atomic weights?

heterosphere

what are the layers of the atmosphere?

troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, and thermosphere

what is the lowest layer of the atmosphere?

troposphere

where are jet streams found?

stratosphere

what are strong winds found in the stratosphere?

jet streams

temperature increases/decreases with increased what?

altitude

what layer of the atmosphere has a still uniform mix of gases?

mesosphere

the further you go up in the atmosphere, it gets colder or warmer?

warmer

what is the area where meteoroids are burned up?

thermosphere

what is the highest layer of the atmosphere?

exosphere

true or false. gases can escape earth's gravity

true

what does the carbon cycle use?

living things, earth, water, and atmosphere

what must atmospheric oxygen be converted into?

organic or fixed nitrogen compounds

what are the two types of cycles?

carbon and nitrogen

what is the ozone molecule?

O3

what layer absorbs ultraviolet energy?

ozone layer

what layer reflects radio communication waves?

ionosphere

what layer of the atmosphere protects earth from charged particles?

magnetosphere

what layer of the atmosphere has belts discovered by James Van Allen? What are those belts called?

magnetosphere; van allen belts

what kind of waves does the sun give off?

electromagnetic waves

what kind of winds does the sun give off?

solar winds

what kind of wavelengths does the earth receive from the sun?

visible and infrared

what is some of the sun's energy reflected by?

clouds and particles

what is some of the sun's energy absorbed by?

clouds, dust, and water vapor

what percentage of incoming solar energy can reach the earth's surface?

60-75%

when is the sun's rays maximized?

when it is vertical to the earth's surface

when do the sun's rays deposit less energy at the surface?

slanted

what does earth's surface do to incoming radiant energy?

absorbs and converts it to thermal energy

what is the direct contact between the earth's surface and atmosphere?

conduction

what do warmed surfaces radiate?

infrared rays

what are infrared rays?

a type of thermal radication

what are the vertical movements of warmed masses of air into cooler regions?

convection

what is a convection current similar to?

other density currents

what is the most efficient method of warming the atmosphere?

conduction

what does the lower atmosphere trap and absorb?

infrared energy

what are gases that contribute most to absorbing heat?

greenhouse gases

why do we need to create models that help us understand the atmosphere?

to protect its features