Exam 11: Heating the Atmosphere

Reflected light bounces back from a surface at the same angle at which it strikes that surface and with the same ________.

Climate data can predict the weather.

Even though ground-level ozone is a health hazard, the "ozone layer" in the stratosphere is a health benefit because ________.

Compare and contrast weather and climate.

Solar radiation is ________, as compared to the ________ emitted by Earth.

How is climate different from weather?

Examine the graph. Note that the explanatory label indicates that during the Northern Hemisphere summer, CO₂ concentrations decrease because plants consume that gas during photosynthesis. But when it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Why doesn't the Southern Hemisphere summer show this same CO₂ drawdown?

Compare and contrast the two maps showing the global distribution of temperatures in January and July. Explain the differences as fully as possible.

________ is the most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere.

More solar energy is reflected back to space (30%)than is absorbed directly by the atmosphere (20%).

Energy from the Sun reaches Earth through ________.

Identify and label each of the layers and boundaries in Earth's atmosphere.

Imagine you are hired by NASA to help plan for a new "rover" mission to Mars. Your supervisors learn that you have been trained in Earth science, and they ask you to consider solar panels as a source of energy for many of the rover's instruments while it is on the Martian surface. Using your knowledge of seasons and temperatures here on Earth as a model, briefly outline the factors what would influence solar radiation on the Martian surface.

The seasonal shift of isotherms is greater over the continents than over the ocean.

Examine the figure and use it as a basis for discussing the role the greenhouse effect plays in the atmospheres of (a)the Moon, (b)Earth, and (c)Venus.

The variation in distance between Earth and the Sun is the cause of the temperature variations that cause the seasons.

Conduction is a form of heat transfer that involves the movement of a mass or substance.

If it were December and you wanted to travel to "the land of the midnight Sun," where would you have to go?

Which of the following can influence temperature?

The most important elements of weather and climate (quantities or properties that are measured regularly)are (1)air temperature, (2)________, (3)type and amount of cloudiness, (4)type and amount of precipitation, (5)air ________, and (6)the speed and direction of the wind.