Atmosphere Study Guide

1. Atmosphere Study Guide

2. 1. What are the two most abundant elements in the atmosphere (percentage)? 1. Nitrogen – 78% 2. Oxygen – 21%

3. 2. What is water vapor? Water that is in a gas form • source of water: vapor: evaporationfrom Earth’s surface This satellite image shows the relative amounts of water vapor: Dark – low water, white – high water vapor

4. 3. What is air pressure and why does it occur? • Air has pressure because it has mass • Air pressure is the measure of the amount of force the air has

5. 4. List the layers of the atmosphere from Earth’s surface to space. Troposphere – Stratosphere – Mesosphere - Thermosphere

6. 5. What are global winds and give three examples? • Blow from a specific direction year round. • Cover a large area • Curve due to the Coriolis Effect • Caused by the unequal heating of the earth’s surface • the equator gets more direct sunlight causing the air to rise at the equator and sink at the poles. Examples – trade winds, jet stream, westerlies, and easterlies

8. 6. What is the greenhouse effect? • The warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of Earth • Occurs when water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases absorb thermal energy from the sun and do not allow the heat to escape back into space. (Like a greenhouse) • There are Increasing levels of carbon dioxide due to the burning of fossil fuels

10. 7. Where does air pollution come from? The burning of fossil fuels Causes: Smog and Acid rain

11. 8. What are local winds and give two examples? • Local winds are wind that blow over short distances • Come from any direction • Examples – sea and land breezes

12. 9. What is the Coriolis effect? • The apparent curving of the path of a moving object from an otherwise straight path due to the Earth’s rotation. • Northern Hemisphere: clockwise • Southern Hemisphere: counter-clockwise

13. 10. What causes wind? Difference in air pressure due to the unequal heating of the Earth’s surface

14. 11. Explain the difference between land and sea breezes.

15. 12. What is the formula for density? Density = mass/volume

16. 13. What is the difference between a barometer and an anemometer? • Barometer measures air pressure • Anemometer measure wind speed

17. 14. Define radiation, conduction, and convection. Give two examples of each. • Radiation- Doesn’t need a substance. Transfer of energy through electromagnetic waves (ex. – campfire, sun’s radiant energy) • Convection – transfer of energy through a fluid (gas or liquid) (ex. – oven, boiling water in a pot) • Conduction – transfer of energy through a material/solid (iron, stove)

19. 15. How are the layers of the atmosphere classified? By changes in temperature

20. 16. What is the difference between volume and mass? • Volume is the amount of space something occupies • Mass amount of matter in an object

21. 17. Explain the difference between warm and cold air and their density. • Warm air is less dense than cold air • Warm air will create low pressure area and rise • Cold air will create high pressure areas and will replace warm air

22. 18. How does pressure effect density? Greater pressure =higher density=sink Lower Pressure=lower desnity=rise

23. 19. What happens to air pressure as you increase with altitude? It decreases The most pressure is at the surface!

24. 20. What is the difference between local and global winds? • Both are caused by unequal heating of Earth’s surface.

25. Local wind blows in any direction over short distances and are caused by unequal heating in a small area. Global wind blow over long distances in predictable patterns and are effected by the Coriolis Effect. They are caused because the equator gets more direct sunlight and the air rises at the equator and sinks at the poles