quiz 1

Question 1

nitrogen

Answer 1

permanent gas, 78% of atmosphere

Question 2

oxygen

Answer 2

permanent gas, 21% of atmosphere

Question 3

variable gases

Answer 3

water vapor h20, carbon dioxide co2, methane ch4

Question 4

current level of carbon dioxide in earth’s atmosphere

Answer 4

425 ppm

Question 5

main elements of weather

Answer 5

air temperature, air pressure, humidity, clouds, precipitation, visibility, and wind

Question 6

weather

Answer 6

the condition of atmosphere at any particular time and place (what we GET)

Question 7

climate

Answer 7

average weather conditions over around 3+ decades (what we EXPECT)

Question 8

hydrologic cycle

Answer 8

water cycle, continuous movement and exchange of water among the Earth’s surface, oceans and atmosphere, including phase changes (oceans as 70% of surface)

Question 9

sun’s radiation

Answer 9

most important energy for the climate system of Earth, ultraviolet and visible radiation emitted

Question 10

solar constant

Answer 10

1368 W/m^2 at the outer edge of earth’s atmosphere

Question 11

visible light wavelengths

Answer 11

.4-.7 micrometers (red .7, purple/blue .4)

Question 12

electromagnetic waves

Answer 12

can travel through a vacuum, move at the speed of light

Question 13

shortwave radiation

Answer 13

the sun’s ultraviolet radiation

Question 14

longwave radiation

Answer 14

the earth’s infrared, terrestrial radiation

Question 15

stefan-boltzmann law

Answer 15

hotter objects emit more radiation than colder objects (sun more than earth)

Question 16

wen’s displacement law

Answer 16

hotter objects emit radiation with shorter wavelengths (hot sun emits shortwave radiation, cool earth emits long wave radiation)

Question 17

ozone shield

Answer 17

97% ozone is int he stratosphere and it protects humans from incoming ultraviolet radiation from the sun (cancerous)

Question 18

montreal protocol

Answer 18

international agreement to reduce the use of ozone-depleting substances (like chlorofluorocarbons)

Question 19

Dobson unit

Answer 19

amount of ozone o3 in air

Question 20

photochemical smog

Answer 20

ozone near earth’s surface

Question 21

specific hear

Answer 21

amount of heat required to raise temp of 1 gram of substance by 1C

Question 22

substance’s specific heat

Answer 22

measured by that of liquid water

Question 23

heat capacity

Answer 23

ability of a material to absorb heat (ocean greater than air because temp varies less)

Question 24

temperature

Answer 24

measure of kinetic energy of atmospheric molecules

Question 25

lapse rate

Answer 25

change in air temp w/ height

Question 26

diurnal temp range

Answer 26

daily high temp MINUS daily low temp = clear skies with high range, cloudy skies with small range

Question 27

largest diurnal temp. range

Answer 27

deserts > tropical rainforests

Question 28

radiational cooling

Answer 28

rap-id cooling of the atmosphere overnight due to loss of infrared radiation (clear and dry skies, calm winds, snowpack)

Question 29

summer air temp

Answer 29

peaks at 4 pm, lowest at 6 am

Question 30

earth's percentage of cloud coverage

Answer 30

67

Question 31

high solar radiation in clouds

Answer 31

thick clouds with abundant liquid

Question 32

air pressure

Answer 32

force exerted by air over an area of earth's surface, ALWAYS decreases with height

Question 33

equivalent units of air pressure

Answer 33

1 hectapascal = 1 milibar

Question 34

average pressure at sea-level

Answer 34

1013 hPa = 1013 mb

Question 35

air density

Answer 35

number of air molecules in a given space

Question 36

albedo

Answer 36

reflectivity, low albedo for asphalt, high for snow

Question 37

radiative forcing

Answer 37

change in energy fluxes at the tropopause (driver of climate change)

Question 38

ccn = cloud condensation nuclei

Answer 38

dust, smoke, sea salt, and other aerosols that are important for condensation and cloud formation

Question 39

stomata

Answer 39

holes in plant leaves that support gas and moisture exchange with the air = water vapor is transpired to the atmosphere through stomata

Question 40

photosynthesis

Answer 40

sink of c carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere

Question 41

cause of earth's seasons

Answer 41

tilt of axis while it revolves around the sun

Question 42

summer solstice

Answer 42

June 21

Question 43

winter solstice

Answer 43

dec 21

Question 44

aphelion

Answer 44

in July, time when earth is farthest from sun along its elliptical orbit

Question 45

perihelion

Answer 45

in January, time when earth is closest to the sun

Question 46

Tropic of Cancer

Answer 46

23 n

Question 47

Tropic of Capricorn

Answer 47

23 s

Question 48

forces that affect the horizontal motion of air near the earths surface

Answer 48

pressure gradient force, Coriolis force, and friction

Question 49

pressure gradient force

Answer 49

initiates wind, blows from high to low pressure

Question 50

strong pgf

Answer 50

strong wind

Question 51

Coriolis force

Answer 51

apparent force due to rotation of earth, deflects right in the northern hemisphere and left in the southern hemisphere, strong at poles and absent at equator

Question 52

low clouds

Answer 52

mostly liquid water since warm

Question 53

high clouds

Answer 53

mostly ice since cold

Question 54

high clouds

Answer 54

cirrus, cirrostratus, cirrocumulus

Question 55

mid clouds

Answer 55

altostratus, altocumulus

Question 56

low clouds

Answer 56

stratus, stratocumulus, nimbostratus

Question 57

clouds with vertical development

Answer 57

cumulus, cumulonimbus

Question 58

4 layers of earths atmosphere

Answer 58

troposphere (colder ^), stratosphere (warmer ^), mesosphere (colder ^), and thermosphere (warmer ^)

Question 59

troposphere

Answer 59

most weather, most water vapor

Question 60

stratosphere

Answer 60

most of earth's ozone

Question 61

mesosphere

Answer 61

burns up meteors

Question 62

thermosphere

Answer 62

produces auroras, satellites orbit earth

Question 63

main components of earth system

Answer 63

atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, pedosphere

Question 64

how much of evaporated water from earths surface into atmosphere is from oceans

Answer 64

85