GMO chapter 19 and 20 review

explain the direction atmospheric pressure is exerted

exerted equally in all directions- up, down, and sideways

describe composition of dry air on Earth's surface

it is nearly the same everywhere on Earth's surface and up to an altitude of 80 km

What happens as water vapor enters the atmosphere?

it is removed by the processes of condensation and precipitation.

What would happen without the ozone layer?

living organisms would be severely damaged by the sun's ultraviolet rays

what are the types of barometers?

mercurial barometers and aneroid barometers

Sometimes, warm air bends light rays to produce an effect called a ___.

mirage

As visible light waves pass through the atmosphere...

only a small amount of this radiation is absorbed

what are particulates?

tiny solid and liquid particles

at what average altitude does the temperature stop decreasing? What is this zone called?

- 12 km - tropopause

Earth's gravity keeps __% of the total mass of the atmosphere within __km of Earth's surface. the remaining __% extends upward for hundreds of kilometers but gets increasingly ___ at high altitudes

- 99% - 32 - 1% - thinner

What is radiation?

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

explain how a mercurial barometer works

- Atmospheric pressure presses on the liquid mercury in the well at the base of the barometer. - The height of the mercury inside the tube varies with the atmospheric pressure. - The greater the atmospheric pressure is, the higher the mercury rises.

Explain how Aneroid Barometers work.

- Inside an aneroid barometer is a sealed metal container from which most of the air has been removed to form a partial vacuum. - Changes in atmospheric pressure cause the sides of the container to bend inward or bulge out. These changes move a pointer on a scale. - An aneroid barometer can also measure altitude above sea level. When used for this purpose, it is called an altimeter.

what happens to the temperature in the upper stratosphere as altitude increases and why does this happen? What marks the upper boundary of the stratosphere? How far above Earth's surface is this mark and what is the average temperature?

- It increases as altitude increases because air in the stratosphere is heated from above by absorption of solar radiation by ozone. - The stratopause - about 50 km above Earth's surface and about 0°C

How does the size of particles affect how long they remain in the atmosphere?

- Large, heavy particles remain in the atmosphere only briefly - tiny particles can remain suspended in the atmosphere for months or years.

how does thermal energy affect the atmosphere?

- The absorption of thermal energy from the ground heats the lower atmosphere and keeps Earth's surface much warmer than it would be if there were no atmosphere.

what is the wavelength?

- The distance from any point on a wave to the identical point on the next wave, for example from crest to crest - The various types of radiation differ in the length of their waves.

thermosphere upper boundary

- There are not enough data about temperature changes in the thermosphere to determine its upper boundary. - However, above the ionosphere is the region where Earth's atmosphere blends into the almost complete vacuum of space. - This zone of indefinite altitude is called the exosphere and extends for thousands of kilometers above the ionosphere.

how does water vapor affect atmospheric pressure? Why?

- air that contains a lot of water vapor is less dense than drier air because water vapor molecules have less mass than nitrogen or oxygen molecules do - the lighter water vapor molecules replace an equal number of heavier oxygen and nitrogen molecules, which makes the volume of the air less dense

What are ways oxygen is removed from the air?

- animals, bacteria, and plants remove oxygen from the air as part of their life processes - forest fires, the burning of fuels, and and weathering of some rocks also remove oxygen from the air

what happens to atmospheric pressure as temperature increases? why is this?

- atmospheric pressure at sea level decreases - molecules move farther apart when the air is heated, so fewer particles exert pressure on a given area and the pressure decreases

what does the amount of energy that is absorbed or reflected depend on?

- characteristics such as color, texture, composition, volume, mass, transparency, state of matter, and specific heat of the material on which the solar radiation falls. - The intensity and amount of time that a surface material receives radiation

which human activities damage the ozone layer?

- compounds called chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs which were previously used in refrigerators and air conditioners - exhaust compounds such as nitrogen oxide break down the ozone and have caused parts of the ozone layer to weaken

what is the ozone layer?

- formed by ozone in the upper atmosphere - the ozone layer absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun

what holds the gases of the atmosphere near Earth's surface? What happens as a result of this?

- gravity - air molecules are compressed together and exert force on earth's surface

What do the temperature differences in the atmosphere mainly result from?

- how solar energy is absorbed as it moves through the atmosphere. - scientists identify the four main layers based on this

What is the percentage of water vapor in the atmosphere

- it varies depending on the time of day, location, and season - dry air has less than 1% water vapor and moist air contains as much as 4% water vapor

Explain the process of the nitrogen cycle

- nitrogen is removed from the air mainly by the action of nitrogen-fixing bacteria - the bacteria chemically change nitrogen from the air into nitrogen compounds that are vital to the growth of all plants - When animals eat plants, nitrogen compounds enter the animals' bodies - Nitrogen compounds are then returns to the soil through animal wastes or by the decay of dead organisms - Decay releases nitrogen back into the atmosphere

what happens as a result of scattering?

- sunlight that reaches Earth's surface comes from all directions - The sky appears blue, and the sun appears red at sunset.

what happens to the temperature in the troposphere as altitude increases? Why?

- temperature decreases - air in this layer is heated from below by thermal energy that radiates from Earth's surface

Because there is less weight pressing down from above at higher altitudes, what happens? What can you conclude from this?

- the air molecules are farther apart and exert less pressure on each other at high altitudes atmospheric pressure decreases as altitude increases

Mesosphere(about, where located, upper boundary)

- the coldest layer of the atmosphere - between the stratosphere and the thermosphere, in which the temperature decreases as altitude increases - located above the stratopause and extends to an altitude of about 80 km. - The upper boundary of the mesosphere, called the mesopause, has an average temperature of nearly -90°C, which is the coldest temperature in the atmosphere.

thermosphere

- the uppermost layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increase as altitude increases; includes the ionosphere - Temperature increases as altitude increases because nitrogen and oxygen atoms absorb solar radiation. - The lower region of the thermosphere, at an altitude of 80 to 400 km, is commonly called the ionosphere. - Interactions between solar radiation and the ionosphere cause the phenomena known as auroras.

Sources of particulates

- volcanic ash and dust - tornadoes and windstorms carry dirt and dust high into the atmosphere - Wind carries pollen from plant to plant - as seaspray evaporates, salt particles are left in the atmosphere

How does scattering occur?

- 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.

the average atmospheric pressure at sea level is...

1 atm

How much of the atmosphere does oxygen make up?

21%

How much of Earth's atmosphere does Nitrogen make up?

78%

Examples that cause scattering

Clouds, dust, water droplets, and as molecules in the atmosphere disrupt the paths of radiation from the sun and cause scattering

what absorbs infrared rays?

Gas molecules such as water vapor and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

What happens to solar radiation that is not reflected? what is the result of this?

It is absorbed by rocks, soil, water, and other surface materials. When this happens, the radiation heats the surface materials

Which solar rays tend to have longer wavelengths?

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

What are the components of the atmosphere?

Nitrogen, oxygen, ozone, argon, water vapor, and particulates

radiation whose wavelengths are among the shortest are

X rays

what is ozone?

a gas molecule that is made up of three oxygen atoms

standard atmospheric pressure

aka 1 atm, is equal to 760 mm of mercury, or 1,000 mb

electromagnetic spectrum

all of the frequencies or wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation

what units to meteorologists use for measuring atmospheric pressure?

atmospheres (atm), millimeters or inches of mercury, and millibars(mb)

Interactions between solar radiation and the ionosphere cause

auroras

at what rate does temperature in the troposphere decrease as the distance from earth's surface increases?

average of 6.5°C per kilometer

What do meteorologists use measure atmospheric pressure?

barometer

What are the two most abundant compounds in the atmosphere?

carbon dioxide(CO2) and water vapor(H2O)

Most incoming infrared radiation is absorbed by ...

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

Apart from changes in altitude, what else changes atmospheric pressure?

differences in temperature and in the amount of water vapor in the air

the trade winds of the northern and southern hemispheres meet at the equator in a narrow zone of weak variable winds called

doldrums

how can plants and animals release water vapor?

during life processes of transpiration or respiration

Describe photosynthesis

during photosynthesis, plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to produce their food, and they release oxygen as a byproduct.

westerlies

prevailing winds that blow throughout the contiguous United States

average temperatures are lower near the poles because sunlight strikes the ground at an angle...

smaller than 90°

atmospheric pressure

the force per unit area that is exerted on a surface by the weight of the atmosphere

What is Albedo?

the fraction of solar radiation reaching Earth that is reflected

what is albedo?

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

What are the most abundant elements in the air?

the gases nitrogen, oxygen, and argon

what is water vapor?

the invisible gas that enters air as water evaporates from oceans, lakes, streams, and soil

what is the stratosphere?

the layer of the atmosphere that lies between the troposphere and the mesosphere and in which temperature increases as altitude increases; contains the ozone layer

jet streams

the narrow bands of high-speed winds that blow in the upper atmosphere

How is Nitrogen maintained?

the nitrogen cycle

where and how fast does radiation travel?

through space in the form of waves at a very high speed which is approximately 300,000 km/s.

What makes up a global wind belt?

trade winds, westerlies, polar easterlies

almost all the water vapor and carbon dioxide is found in which layer of the atmosphere?

troposphere

Layers of the atmosphere from low to high

troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere

What is the Nitrogen cycle?

when nitrogen moves from air to the soil and then to plants and animals, and eventually returns to the air