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Atmosphere general terms. Does not include weather or global patterns.

Quiz yourself by thinking what should be in each of the black spaces below before clicking on it to display the answer.
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Question
Answer
#1 gas in Earth's atmosphere   nitrogen  
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#2 gas in Earth's atmosphere   oxygen  
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gas in Earth's atmosphere that absorbs most ultraviolet rays, protecting life on Earth   ozone  
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gas in Earth's atmosphere that condenses to produce clouds and precipitation   water vapor  
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lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere in which practically all weather occurs   troposphere  
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as altitude in the troposphere increases, air temperature ___   decreases  
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as altitude in the troposphere (in fact, ALL layers) increases, air pressure ___   decreases  
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upper edge (limit) of the troposphere is called the ___   tropopause  
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layer of Earth's atmosphere that contains the ozone layer   stratosphere  
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as altitude in the stratosphere increases, air temperature ___   increases  
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upper edge (limit) of the stratosphere is called the ___   stratopause  
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the troposphere and stratosphere, when combined, that make up 99+% of its ___   mass  
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MIDDLE layer of Earth's atmosphere that absorbs little solar radiation so temperature decreases with altitude within it   mesosphere  
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upper edge (limit) of the mesosphere is called the ___   mesopause  
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layer of Earth's atmosphere that contains the ionosphere and whose temperature can exceed 1000 ºC due to absorbing high energy solar radiation, and is the location of the I.S.S.   thermosphere  
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a charged particle (broken apart molecule/atom) that is common in the thermosphere   ion  
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minor layer of Earth's atmosphere that reflects AM radio waves back to Earth, allowing radio communication over Earth's horizon   ionosphere  
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upper layer of Earth's atmosphere that has no outer limit... it just gets thinner and thinner, and is the location of Hubble   exosphere  
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the ___ theory states that all matter is made of tiny particles in constant, rapid, random motion   kinetic  
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a moving object possesses ___ energy due to its motion   kinetic  
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the AVERAGE kinetic energy of the (moving) particles in matter is measured by ___   temperature  
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a measure of the TOTAL kinetic energy of the (moving) particles in matter   thermal energy  
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as the temperature of a sample of matter increases, the particles (atoms, molecules) in the matter move ___   faster  
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the moving particles in matter have kinetic energy (KE)... the sum TOTAL of all the KE of the particles in a sample of matter is called ___ energy   thermal  
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transfer of thermal energy by electromagnetic waves   radiation  
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principal means by which the Sun transfers energy to Earth   radiation  
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the 2 primary forms of radiant energy (electromagnetic waves) produced by the Sun are visible and ___ light   infrared  
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50% of the Sun's radiation that strikes Earth is ___ by its surface   absorbed  
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30% of the Sun's radiation (energy) that strikes Earth's atmosphere ___ back into space   reflects  
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since a ___ surface absorbs more solar radiation, ice/snow-covered ground tends to stay cold longer (so as polar ice melts, scientiest expect the rate of climate change to accelerate)   dark  
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energy transfer that occurs when 2 objects at different temperatures are in contact   conduction  
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primary means of energy transfer between Earth's surface and the lower atmosphere that touches its surface   conduction  
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energy transfer that occurs in liquids and gases because they can circulate, usually due to temperature-related density differences   convection  
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a circulating area of liquid/gas caused by density differences due to uneven heating (ex: these in the mantle move tectonic plates OR in the atmosphere cause winds) is a(n) ___ current   convection  
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device that measures temperature, it often uses expansion of a liquid to indicate temperature change   thermometer  
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temperature scale on which the boiling point of water is 100 and freezing point of water is 0   Celsius  
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temperature scale primarily used in the U.S., but almost no where else on Earth   Fahrenheit  
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SI (scientific) temperature scale that starts with the lowest temperature at 0 and has only positive numbers   Kelvin  
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theoretical lowest possible temperature at which all molecular motion stops is ___ zero   absolute  
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quantity calculated by using the equation: force ÷ area   pressure  
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air pressure is the push applied by the atmosphere's weight to a surface... and the atmosphere has a weight due to Earth's ___   gravity  
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psi, mm of Hg, and millibars are all units that measure air ___   pressure  
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device which measures air pressure (the original contained mercury but today's are the aneroid type)   barometer  
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air pressure at sea level (highest) is about 100,000 pascals (N/m2) OR ___ millibars   1000  
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if the temperature of a gas increases, the pressure exerted by the gas ___   increases  
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if a gas is allowed to expand (by reducing pressure on it), the temperature of the gas ___   decreases  
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a temperature ___ a cooler layer in Earth's atmosphere is trapped near the surface by an overlying layer or warm air so that air pollution/smog over a city can build up   inversion  
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in general, any movement of air in Earth's atmosphere   wind  
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device used to measure wind speed   anemometer  
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nautical unit for measuring wind speed (1 ___ = 1.15 mph)   knot  
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term that refers to water vapor in the atmosphere   humidity  
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describes air that contains the maximum water vapor (humidity) possible for the current temperature   saturated  
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the amount of water vapor that is in the air COMPARED TO the maximum possible at the given temperature   relative humidity  
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temperature to which an air mass must be cooled to reach saturation so water vapor starts to condense   dew point  
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a(n) ___ temperature change occurs when air expands (or contracts) without adding or removing heat (Ex: when an air mass goes over a mountain)   adiabatic  
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