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Unit 5 Semester 1
Earth's Atmosphere
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Coriolis effect | deflection of winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere because of earth´s rotation; named for the Frenchman who first described it, Gaspard Gustave de Coriolis |
| aerobic | using oxygen; when applied to organisms, cells, or tissues, it means they use oxygen as part of the process of obtaining energy from glucose |
| air pressure | the force exerted by the weight of a column of air above a given point |
| albedo | reflective power; specifically, the fraction of incident radiation, as light, that is reflected by a surface or body |
| anaerobic | not using oxygen; when applied to organisms, cells, or tissues, it means they do not use oxygen as part of the process of obtaining energy from glucose |
| argon | a gas that makes up 0.9 percent of the atmosphere |
| banded iron formation | an iron formation that shows marked banding, generally of iron rich minerals and chert or fine grained quartz |
| barometer | an instrument used to measure barometric pressure |
| barometric pressure | the pressure of the atmosphere, usually expressed in terms of the height of a column of mercury; also called air pressure |
| carbon dioxide | the atmosphere is 0.03 percent carbon dioxide |
| condensation | the process by which water vapor changes from gas to liquid |
| conduction | the transfer of heat through matter by way of the collision of molecules |
| convection | the process in which heat energy is transferred through the movement of matter |
| convection currents | heat is transferred by mass movement (by way of these currents) of heated particles into an area of cooler fluid |
| cyanobacteria | photosynthetic bacteria |
| density | a measure of how closely packed the particles in a substance are; the mass of an object divided by its volume |
| differential heating | unequal heating of the earth´s surface (a significant factor in atmospheric air circulation patterns) |
| doldrums | also equatorial trough; zone along the length of the equator where the air moves vertically and there is little wind |
| electromagnetic energy | energy that moves as a wave at the speed of light |
| energy | the capacity to do work or cause change |
| exosphere | the area that is outside the atmosphere, that starts at the top of the thermosphere and continues into space; hydrogen and helium are the major components and are only present at extremely low densities |
| frequency | the number of waves that pass through a point during a specific amount of time |
| greenhouse effect | the process in which the absorption of short wave radiation by the atmosphere heats up a planet |
| heat | the transfer of thermal energy from one place to another |
| horse | a species reintroduced to the Americas and eagerly adopted by many Native American cultures |
| horse latitudes | subtropical latitudes located between 30 and 35 degrees north and south of the equator having high pressure, dry air, and light winds |
| hydrothermal vent | an opening in the seafloor out of which heated mineral |
| infrared radiation | electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths of about 0.7 to 200 micrometers |
| insolation | exposure of an object to the sun |
| isobar | line on a weather map that connects areas of equal air pressure |
| isoline | a line on a surface connecting points of equal value for any of the characteristics used in the representation of the surface; for example, an isotherm is an isoline connecting points on earth´s surface having the same temperature |
| isotherm | line on a weather map that connects areas of equal temperature |
| latitude | distance measured in degrees north and south of the equator, represented on the globe by parallel (east |
| mesosphere | the layer of the atmosphere between the stratosphere and the thermosphere |
| millibar | a centimeter gram second unit of pressure equal to one thousandth of a bar or 1,000 dynes per square centimeter, used to measure air pressure |
| monsoon | wind that changes direction with the season, caused by differential heating of a land mass and its adjacent ocean and characterized by a marked change in precipitation patterns |
| nitrogen | a gas that makes up 78 percent of the atmosphere |
| outgassing | process by which gases that were once dissolved in molten rock are released as the rock hardens into a crust |
| oxygen | a gas that makes up 21 percent of the atmosphere |
| ozone | a three |
| photodissociation | the breakup of molecules through exposure to light |
| precipitation | any form of water that falls from the atmosphere to the surface of the earth |
| radiation | the process in which energy is emitted by one body, transmitted through an intervening medium or space, and absorbed by another body |
| reflection | process whereby light bounces back from an object at the same angle and intensity that the object received it |
| scattering | the physical process in which particles are deflected haphazardly as a result of collisions |
| specific heat | the energy, in calories, required to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance one degree Celsius |
| stratosphere | the layer of the atmosphere located below the mesosphere and above the troposphere |
| stromatolites | structures produced by sediment trapping, binding, or precipitation as a result of growth of microorganisms, specifically cyanobacteria |
| temperature | a measure of how hot or cold something is; a measure of the average kinetic energy of the particles of a substance |
| temperature inversion | a condition in which a warm air mass is located above a cold air mass, causing the cold air mass to be trapped near the ground |
| thermosphere | the outermost layer of the atmosphere |
| trade winds | prevailing tropical winds that blow from the subtropical high pressure centers toward the equatorial low |
| troposphere | the lowermost layer of the atmosphere; in this layer weather occurs and temperature decreases as altitude increases |
| ultraviolet radiation | radiation having a wavelength shorter than wavelengths of visible light and longer than those of X rays; electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths between about 0.2 and 0.4 micrometers |
| water vapor | water in the form of a gas; water vapor forms when liquid water evaporates |
| wave | a disturbance that travels through a medium transporting energy from one location to another location |
| wavelength | in transverse waves, the horizontal distance between one wave crest or trough and the next |
| weather | the conditions in the atmosphere at a particular place and time |
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