Transcript Chapter 17 Test Review Notes

Chapter 17 Notes
Place these notes into your
Meteorology notebook.
Scientists hypothesize that Earth’s early
atmosphere was formed primarily of
gases released by volcanic eruptions.
The main gases in the lower atmosphere
are nitrogen and oxygen. N2 @78%, &
O2 @21%.
The composition of Earth’s atmosphere
remains fairly stable because Earth has
an efficient recycling system.
The energy from the sun reaches Earth
by radiation. Radiation falls somewhere
within the electromagnetic radiation
scale.
Conduction is a process that transfers
radiation from one particle to another.
The soles of your feet could be heated if
you stand barefoot on a sun-warmed
sidewalk.
A measure of the average kinetic energy
of the atoms in a substance is its
temperature.
The Earth’s surfaces absorb about 50 %
of the Sun’s radiation.
The freezing point and boiling point of
water on the Celsius scale are
respectively 0º and 100º.
The troposphere is the layer of the
atmosphere in which almost all of
Earth’s weather occurs.
The basic reason why the temperature of
Earth’s surface varies from place to
place is because insolation heats
Earth’s surface unequally.
The Earth receives the greatest amount of the
Sun’s energy when the sun is at a 90º.
On a sunny summer day, the rays of the sun
are strongest at 12pm.
The lower air cools most rapidly during a clear
night.
The latitudes near the equator receive almost
vertical rays of sunlight all through the year.
Continents are warmer than nearby ocean
waters during the summer because ocean
waters warm more slowly than land.
If a city and a forest are located in the same
region, the forest would be cooler on a hot
summer day due to the shade.
Isotherms are lines on a map that connect
places with the same temperature.
Smog is primarily caused by car exhaust.
A temperature inversion occurs when air at
Earth’s surface is colder than air above.
Ozone in the stratosphere is very important to
living things because it absorbs ultraviolet
radiation.
Refer to the diagram below, which shows an island in
the ocean on a clear summer day at 3 P.M. Place an
A in the land area that is absorbing the most energy
and place a B in the area that is reflecting the most
energy.
B
A
Essay #1
Why are the North and South Poles much colder than
the equator?
The North and South Poles are much colder than the
equator because temperatures are lower at the
poles because there is less radiation per unit of
surface area at the poles than there is at the
equator. At the equator, the sun’s rays hit the
surface at a near vertical angle. As a result, the
sun’s energy is more concentrated over a given
area. At the poles, the sun’s energy is less
concentrated over the same given area. Also, the
ice and snow at the poles reflect sunlight back out
to space. (Albedo)
Essay #2
In a middle latitude region, how do the angle of
insolation and the temperature change over
the course of one year? Over the course of
one summer? Over the course of one day?
In one year, the angle of insolation changes
from near vertical during the summer to less
vertical during the winter. Temperature is
warmest in late summer and coolest in late
winter. In one day, the sun’s rays are closest
to vertical at noon. The temperature is
warmest in the afternoon and coolest just
before dawn.