Earth Science Chapter 11-The Atmosphere

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Kelvin

absolute zero= 0 K

Between mesosphere and exosphere

thermosphere

What percentage of the Sun's energy does Earth's surface absorb directly or indirectly?

50%

how many calories of energy do you get? for every 1 mL of water that condenses

540 calories

Troposphere

75% of atmosphere

hits parking lot

conduction

The pressure of earth's atmosphere at sea level

14.7 lbs/in^2 condenses

At sea level pressure

14.7 lbs/square inch

Oxygen (O2)

21%

convergence

florida thunderstorms

ways relative humidity can be changed

1. capacity 2. content

What is the relative humidity of fully saturated air?

100%

Carbon dioxide

CO2

Celcius

Freezing= 0 degrees celsius boiling= 100 degrees celsius absolute zero = -273 degrees celsius

Fahrenheit

Freezing= 32 degrees Fahrenheit boiling= 212 degrees Fahrenheit

Relative Humidity

Humidity-the amount of water vapor in the air relative humidity: ratio of water vapor in air divided by amount of water vapor could hod for that temp warm air can hold more water the most common measurement used to describe water vapor in the air. expresses how close the air is to reaching its water vapor capacity %=water vapor content/water vapor capacity*100

stability

ability of an air mass to resist rising stable-air mass warmer than land loases heat to land cools doesn't rise unstable-land mass warmer than air heats up air rises if fast rate can cause thunderstorms

stable air

air that isn't rising or falling

unstable air

air with enough energy to rise/fall (water, land underneath=heat source)

require a medium

air, water, ground

middle

alto, water, ice if cold enough

thermal inversion

anvil head forming

dew point

base of cloud

high

cirro, ice

cloud formation

clouds form when warm moist air rises expands and cools reaches dew point condenses around condensation nuclei (dust, sea salt) less ability for molecules to hit, so it expands

air mass collisions

colder, more dense air mass stays close to Earth Warmer air mass forced to rise over cold as warm air cools, clouds form air mass is the same temperature and humidity

heats air, air rises b/c

convection-heat going into air, thermals gathering heat

cirrus

curl of hair

_______ fossils found 3.5 billion years ago

cyanobacteria

stratus clouds produce

drizzle

why mountains might cause dry conditions on their leeward sides

due to adiabatic cooling it rains on other side of mountain, no water left for leeward side.

solid particles in the atmosphere include salt and

dust

The process of water changing from a liquid to a gas is

evaporation

greenhouse gas

gas that traps in heat from the sun

Temperature inversions: Doesn't obey

general rule of decrease temp with increased height. (up in altitude) gets warmer with height-----> pollution 99 ft damp=4 degrees pressure

coalescence

gets bigger b/c glomp together-water droplets make bigger droplets

radiation

gets energy from sun without plant involved

heat comes from condensation

gives back heat, stored in water to make water vapor

fog

ground-hugging clouds

In contrast,_______ is the transfer of energy that takes place because of temperature differences.

heat

lifted condensation levels

height at which condensation occurs base of clouds

Latent heat

hidden or stored heat source=water vapor

cirro-cumulus

high-altitude, small, wispy, patchy, puffy clouds

troposphere gets colder because

higher pressure means less pressure

hail

hurts

red

iron that has rusted

air is saturated when

it has reached its water vapor capacity and contains all the water vapor that it can hold at a particular temperature

stratus

layer

frontal wedging

like trying to lift a sumo wrestler

heat always goes from

more to less

warm air holds____water vapor, cold air holds_______

more, less

Most of Earth's atmosphere is composed of

nitrogen and oxygen

why is the sky blue

nitrogen molecules right size to scatter light from blue (wavelength) end blue is bounced/reflected from N2 to N2 molecule until it seems to be coming from all directions, nothing absorbed

Why relative humidity does not give an accurate indication of the amount of water vapor in the air

only indicates how "full" that air is, not total amount of water in air (Not HOW MUCH water is there), percentage (%)

What type of cloud formation is shown in B?

orographic liftin.

ultimate thermal inversion

point air can't rise=stratosphere-air cannot rise through warmer air ozone warms it up

cumulus

puffy

Ar-40 is from ___________ decay K-40

radioactive

nimbus

rain

4-9 degrees/1000 m

range- starting temp determines how much water it can potentially hold

Water heats up and cools off

slowly

low

strato, water, ice particles if cold enough (winter)

Dew point/condensation

temperature to which air must be cooled at constant pressure to reach saturation temperature at which air is saturated temperature at which the relative humidity of the air is 100%

relation between the difference in the dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperaturees and the relative humidity of the air

the bigger the wet bulb drop, the less water in the air.

define wavelength

the distance between successive crests of a wave, especially points in a sound wave or electromagnetic wave.

sleet

tiny crystals of ice

Dry adiabatic lapse rate (adiabatic means pressure change

unsaturated air-no cloud, no reserved energy;wet-there is a cloud, using the dry-there's no cloud increases 10 degrees celsius for each 1000 meter increase in altitude gets colder because less pressure reach condensation -cloud (lifted condensation level)

Winds: Cool air sinks (denser) forces warm air up air moves from higher to lower density density differences caused by uneven heating and cooling of earth's surface measured in MPH, km/h, or knots knots used at sea=1.85 km/h

vertical movement of air horizontal movements called winds take place of vertical air biggest change is from a knot to a kilometer

9 degrees celsius/1000 m

very cold air

4 degrees celsius per 1000 m

very warm air

water vapor capacity of air to the temperature of the air

warm air holds progressively more water.

orographic lifting

winds hit mountain nowhere to go but up air expands and cools form clouds rain shadow deserts (deserts never get the rain that you can see on the mountains/across the mountains

Solar fundamentals: Energy is transferred in 3 ways: (remember order)

1. Radiation 2. Conduction 3. Convection

5 electromagnetic waves:

1. radio waves (longest waves) 2. microwaves 3. infrared 4. x-rays 5. gamma rays (most energy, highest frequency)

top three greenhouse gases

1. water vapor 2. carbon dioxide (CO2) 3. Methane

absorbed -atmosphere

15%, hard to hold onto

Stratosphere

24% of atmosphere

reflected solar radiation: Earth's surface-

4%; the poles,white, made out of ice, ice and snow,not water because it absorbs the heat

Earth's surface absorbed: water, ground, trees,photosynthesis

50%, direct or indirect

Nitrogen (N2)

78%

What is a temperature inversion? Explain how one can form.

A temperature inversion is an increase in temperature with height in an atmosphere layer. On a clear winter night where there is a rapid cooling of land, the lower layers of the atmosphere lose heat to Earth's surface. As a result, the lower layers of air become cooler than the air above.

What is happening to the air in both A and B that leads to the formation of clouds?

Air is rising, expanding, and cooling, which leads to water vapor condensing to form clouds. reaching dew point

What percentage of the Sun's energy is scattered or reflected back into space? What causes this loss of solar energy?

about 30%; lost energy is scattered by the atmosphere, reflected from clouds and Earth's surfaces

Ozone in Earth's atmosphere is important because it

absorbs harmful radiation

number one producer of oxygen

algae found in oceans

Temperature in the lower atmosphere generally decreases with increased_______

altitude

vertical lift of air

anvil head

The amount of energy the atmosphere absorbs depends in part on its level of

carbon dioxide

cyanobacteria contain _______ green wavelength, carbon bonds, photosynthesis requires something to capture energy, green pigment

chlorophil

wispy, high clouds made of ice crystals

cirrus

Water vapor in the atmosphere is the source of

clouds and rain

small cloud droplets join to form larger ones

coalescence

As water vapor rises in the atmosphere, it cools and changes into liquid cloud droplets in a process called

condensation

This This change in state is called

condensation.

(Air must be saturated before condensation can occur. Saturation is the point at which the air holds as much water vapor as it possibly can.) The ______is the temperature to which air must be cooled at constant pressure to reach saturation. Until this temperature is reached, condensation cannot occur and rain cannot fall.

dew point

Outermost layer of the atmosphere

exosphere

Air pressure is greater at the top of a mountain than at lower elevations.

false

Wind is the movement of air from an area of low pressure to an area of high pressure

false

Ozone

filters out harmful UV radiation

Ionosphere;Ion=positive/negative charge, not a neutral atom

overlaps other layers; air is ionized by UV radiation; affects how radio waves transmit and reflect; transparent tubes

Red Beds

oxygen everywhere rusty red colored layers of rock younger than 1.8 billion years, Proterozoic and younger Shows that now there is free O2 in the atmosphere sedona rock formations

O3

ozone absorbs UV radiation decreases incidence of skin cancer, cataracts and blindness allows life to exist on Earth

Earth's surface is heated by energy from the Sun. For the most part, the rereleased energy from the surface heats the atmosphere. Describe the method by which energy is transferred from Earth's surface to the air above it.

particles of air on Earth's surface collide with and transfer energy to particles of air in the very lowest part of the atmosphere by conduction.

All forms of water that fall from clouds

precipitation

When cloud droplets combine to form larger drops, they fall to Earth as

precipitation

Temperature decreases with increasing altitude because

pressure

land heats up and cools off

quickly

contains concentrated ozone

stratosphere

Low layered clouds

stratus

too much energy, energy spreads out, energy that goes into air is slower, less energy

sunlight not absorbed in large quantities

What happens in the "pauses"? Tropopause, Mesopause

temperature stays the same

define frequency

the rate at which a vibration occurs that constitutes a wave, either in a material (as in sound waves), or in an electromagnetic field (as in radio waves and light), usually measured per second.

What is the source of all energy that reaches Earth?

the sun

The constant movement of water between the atmosphere and Earth's surface is

the water cycle

Convection

transfer of energy by the flow of a heated substance into air

conduction

transfer of energy through contact of molecules (by touching) from the ground into lower layer

Most weather occurs here.

troposphere

Air is denser near Earth's surface than high in the atmosphere.

true

As you move upward from Earth's surface, wind speeds increase because the air meets with less friction from Earth's surface.

true

In the troposphere, as air temperature increases, generally air pressure increases, too.

true

Particles of air in the atmosphere exert pressure on Earth's surface

true

ozone heats up stratosphere

ultimate thermal inversion

The atmosphere's temperature plays a role in the formation of rain. Rain drops form when ______ in the atmosphere cools and turns from a gas to a liquid.

water vapor

respiration

C6H12O6+O2----->CO2+H2O (photosynthesis reversed) probably with surface

byproduct is sugar and oxygen -photosynthesis

CO2+H2O------->C6H12O6+O2

Describe convection.

Convection is the transfer of energy in the flow of a heated substance. Heated air near Earth's surface rises, expands, and starts to cool. When it cools below the temperature of surrounding air, it increases in density and sinks, creating a convection current.

Temperature can be measured in degrees Fahrenheit, degrees Celsius, or kelvins. The most commonly used temperature scale in the United States is ________

Fahrenheit.

cirro-stratus

High-altitude, thin, wipsy clouds in layers.

cirrus

High-altitude, thin, wispy clouds.

Cumulo-nimbus

Large, dense, towering clouds that cause thunderstorms.

strato-cumulus

Low clouds, broad and flat on the bottom, puffy on top (higher than cumulus and lower than altocumulus)

nimbo-stratus

Low, dark, rain cloud.

Order of atmospheric structure

Lower layers: 1. Troposphere 2. Stratosphere Upper Layers: 3. Mesosphere 4. Thermosphere 5. Exosphere

CH4

Methane

________ and _______ are due to chemical reactions

Methane (CH4), Ammonia (NH4)

What is relative humidity?

Relative humidity is the ratio of water vapor in a volume of air is capable of holding at saturation.

BIF (Banded Iron Formations

Stromatalites from local concentrations of O2 Iron in the rocks oxides red BIF alternates chert mud that has been pressed into rock with oxidized iron Responsible for Michigan iron mines no longer made limited oxygen, around shallow oceans can't happen anymore because there's oxygen

The energy that drives the water cycle comes from the

Sun.

Heat and temperature are not the same. _______ is a measure of how rapidly or slowly molecules move.

Temperature

What is causing the air to rise in B?

The air encounters a mountain, forcing the air upward.

What is causing the air to rise in A?

The collision of the warm air mass with a colder one. frontal wedging. cold air must be more dense. As you increase temperature, water molecules move faster, so they have to expand.

what is the relationship between wavelength, frequency and energy

The greater the energy, the larger the frequency and the shorter (smaller) the wavelength. Given the relationship between wavelength and frequency — the higher the frequency, the shorter the wavelength — it follows that short wavelengths are more energetic than long wavelengths.

Explain how condensation nuclei helps clouds form.

These particles in the atmosphere provide objects around which water vapor can condense to form cloud droplets. (glomp) (platforms for which water particles to glommp onto.

If a particle is above 0 K,Kelvins; No heat/radiation <-----molecules not moving at all

it will emit radiation; doesn't require a medium

As air rises, it cools and eventually reaches the temperature at which condensation occurs. The height above the surface at which condensation occurs is the __________________________________

lifted condensation level.

stratus

low, layered, horizontal, wipsy clouds with a flat base

cumulus

low, puffy clouds

Layer just above the stratosphere

mesosphere

alto-stratus

middle-level, layered clouds

alto-cumulus

middle-level, medium-sized puffy clouds


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