Earth Science; Solar Energy and the Atmosphere

human activities, in addition to natural causes

What changes the balance (solar energy that enters atmosphere=amount that escapes) and causing the average temperature of the atmosphere to increase?

tilt of the Earth's axis

What do temperatures vary by seasonally?

slows the escape of energy that radiates from it

What does Earth's atmosphere do for the Earth's surface?

when gases or liquids are heated unevenly

What does convection occur?

warms it

What does the continuous cycle in which cold air sinks and warm air rises do to Earth's atmosphere?

sunlight that reaches the surface comes from all directions

What happens as a result of scattering?

the less dense, warmer air is pushed upward

What happens as dense, cool air moves into a low-pressure region?

molecules move faster

What happens as molecules in a substance become heated?

The portion of the Earth's surface that receives the most intense sunlight changes

What happens as the Earth revolves around the sun once each year?

warm air exerts less pressure than the same volume of cooler air

What happens because warm air is less dense than cool air?

the temperature of water changes less than the temperature of land

What happens because water heats and cools down slower than land?

the absorption of thermal energy from the ground heats the lower atmosphere

What happens to keep Earth's surface much warmer than it would be if there were no atmosphere?

it is absorbed by rocks, soil, water, and other surface materials, and when this happens, the radiation heats the surface materials

What happens to solar radiation that is not reflected?

the energy is spread out over a larger area and is less intense

What happens when sunlight hits Earth's surface at an angle smaller than 90 degrees?

wind patterns in the area

What is a factor that affects temperature?

the infrared rays

What is absorbed by gas molecules, such as water vapor and carbon dioxide, in the atmosphere?

Radiation from the sun does not heat Earth equally at all places at all times.

What is true about how radiation from the sun heats Earth?

moderate

What kind of temperatures do land areas close to large bodies of water generally have?

increases in the amount of carbon dioxide

What may intensify the greenhouse effect and may cause Earth to become warmer?

Earth's surface must absorb energy for a time

What must happen before enough energy has been absorbed and reradiated from the ground to change the temperature of the atmosphere?

lowest few centimeters of the atmosphere

What part of the Earth is heated by conduction, where air comes into direct contact with the warmed surfaces of Earth?

transfer of energy, which warms the substance

What results from collisions between particles?

Clouds, dust, water droplets, gas molecules in the atmosphere

disrupt the paths of radiation from the sun and cause scattering

waves

Radiation travels through space in the form of ____________ at a very high speed- approximately 300,000 km/s.

conduction

the transfer of energy as heat through a material

latitude, surface features, and the time of year and day

The temperature of the atmosphere in any region on Earth's surface depends on these several factors.

winds

These are created because of the pressure differences, which are the result of the unequal heating that causes convection.

earth is a sphere

Why do the sun's rays not strike all areas of the Earth at the same angle?

because water vapor stores heat

Why does the amount of water in the air affect the temperature of a region?

As a result of scattering, the sky appears ________ and the sun appears _______ at sunset.

blue, red

Most incoming infrared radiation is absorbed by

carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other complex molecules in the troposphere

Most of the solar rays that reach the lower atmosphere, such as visible and infrared waves,

have longer wavelengths

radiation

includes all forms of energy that travel through space as waves; all of the energy that Earth receives from the sun travels through space between Earth and the sun as this.

scattering

occurs when particles and gas molecules in the atmosphere reflect and bend solar rays. This deflection causes the rays to travel out in all directions without changing their wavelength.

process that keeps a greenhouse warm

one of the ways in which gases of the atmosphere absorb and reradiate infrared rays can be compared to this

As visible light waves pass through the atmosphere,

only a small amount of this radiation is absorbed

mirage

sometimes, warm air bends light rays to produce this effect

the amount of solar energy that enters Earth's atmosphere is about equal to this

the amount that escapes into space

As solar radiation passes through Earth's atmosphere,

the atmosphere affects the radiation in several ways

albedo

the fraction of solar radiation that is reflected off the surface of an object

convection

the movement of matter due to differences in density that are caused by temperature variations; can result in the transfer of energy as heat

latitude

the primary factor that affects the amount of solar energy that reaches any point on Earth's surface

greenhouse effect

the warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other gases in the air absorb and reradiate radiation