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CM Earth Science 6-1
Unit 6 Mr. Wilbur/Barbis: Chapter 22--RB 7
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Atmosphere | Mixture of gases that surrounds the Earth; Protects Earth’s surface from sun’s radiation;Helps regulate temperature of Earth’s surface |
| Most abundant gaseous elements & percentages | Nitrogen (78%);Oxygen (21%);Argon (0.9%);Other (0.1%) |
| Most abundant compounds in atmosphere | Carbon Dioxide and Water Vapor |
| Nitrogen cycle | Removed from air by nitrogen-fixing bacteria;Changes nitrogen into nitrogen compounds;Animals eat plants that contain nitrogen;Nitrogen returned to the soil by decay of plants and animals or animal wastes;Also comes from lightning |
| What processes keep oxygen cycling through atmosphere | Photosynthesis: plants use sunlight, water & carbon dioxide to produce food & release oxygen;Precipitation |
| Importance of Ozone | Absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from sun, protects living organisms from burn |
| Particulates in atmosphere (solid particles) | Volcanic dust, ash from fires, microscopic organisms, mineral particles |
| Atmospheric pressure | Force per unit area that is exerted on a surface by weight of the gases (gravity); Force exerted equally in all directions;99% of total mass within 32 km;Temperature decreases as pressure increases |
| Measuring atmospheric pressure | Millimeters or inches of mercury; millibars; barometer |
| Standard atmospheric pressure | 1 atmosphere = 760 mm of mercury = 1000 millibars (sea level = 1 atm) |
| Temperature inversion | Layering of warm air on top of cool air; warm air (less dense) cool air (more dense): can trap cool, polluted air beneath it. |
| Air pollution | Any substance in atmosphere that is harmful to people, animals, plants and/or property |
| 3 processes of energy movement throughout atmosphere | Conduction;Convection;Radiation |
| Conduction | Particle collision transfers energy (best in solids) |
| Convection | Flow of energy from high to low temperature due to unequal heating [convection cells, wind currents] distributes heat throughout troposphere |
| Radiation | All energy that Earth receives from sun travels through space from sun as waves; also electromagnetic waves; can travel through space; doesn’t need particles (medium) to go through |
| Albedo | Fraction of solar radiation that is reflected off the Earth’s surface of an object |
| Greenhouse effect & importance | Warming of surface and lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when carbon dioxide , water vapor, & other gases in the air absorb & reradiate infrared radiation |
| wavelengths of energy given off by Earth vs. wavelengths of energy from Sun | Cloud cover keeps radiation from leaving atmosphere;Warm moisture/cold water |
| Insolation | Characteristics of Earth’s surface materials that affects amount of sunshine absorbed: Texture;Color;Composition;Clouds (absorb & keep heat in, keep Earth warmer) |
| Factors causing temperature variations in atmosphere | Unequal heating from sun’s radiation;Slight delays in absorption of energy and increase in temperature;Latitude, surface temperatures, time of day and year |
| Causes of air movement | Coriolis effect;Global winds;Local winds |
| Global Winds | Each hemisphere contains three looping patterns of air flow called convection cells; flows from poles to equator; also called prevailing winds |
| Outgassing | Origin of atmosphere gases vented by volcanoes; mostly water vapor (water, carbon dioxide, nitrogen); atmosphere mostly nitrogen/oxygen; most water vapor in oceans |
| Pauses | Place in atmosphere where temperature changes occur; cold in upper atmosphere since no particles to conduct heat (mesopause, stratopause) |
| Scattering | Particles & gas molecules reflect and bend solar rays |
| Reflected | Sun’s rays hit surface and bounce off |
| Absorbed | Sun’s rays absorbed by rocks, soil, and water |
| Texture, color, composition | Changes how rays are absorbed, refracted or reflected; water absorbs more energy than land; water vapor stores more heat |
| Coriolis Effect | Curving path due to Earth’s rotation;Circulation of atmosphere & ocean affected;Winds that blow from high pressure (low temperature) to low pressure areas |
| Prevailing winds | Winds that blow predominantly from a single general direction over a particular point on Earth's surface (named for area of Earth’s surface they are in): Westerlies;Polar Easterlies;Doldrums/horse latitudes |
| Convection cells | The three looping patterns of air flow in each hemisphere |
| Wind Belt | Winds that flow in one main direction |
| Jet Stream | Narrow band of strong winds that blow in the upper troposphere; can cross prevailing winds |
| Local winds | Winds on a smaller scale that global winds; gentle winds are breezes |
| Land Breeze | When land cools more rapidly (overnight) than the water does and sea breeze is replaced by land breeze; flows from cool land to warmer water |
| Sea Breeze | Warm air above land rises as cool air from above water moves in to replace warm air; flows from cool water to warmer land |
| Trade winds | Prevailing winds that blow from east to west from 30 degrees latitude to the equator in both hemispheres |
| Westerlies | Prevailing winds that blow from west to east between 30 and 60 degrees latitude in both hemispheres |
| Polar easterlies | Prevailing winds that blow from east to west between 60 and 90 degrees latitude in both hemispheres |
| Doldrums | Trade wind systems of the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere meet at the equator in a narrow zone |
| Horse Latitudes | Subtropical high-pressure zones where air approaches 30 degrees latitude and descends causing a high-pressure zone |
| Valley breeze | Warm air from valleys moves up slopes |
| Mountain breeze | At night, cool air descends from the mountain peaks |
| Land vs. sea | Land surfaces heat up faster than water |
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vbarbis
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