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77 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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weather
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the condition of Earth's atmosphere at a particular time and place.
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What does the Earth's atmosphere consist of?
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nitrogen, oxygen carbon dioxide, water vapor, and other gases, as well as particles of liquids and solids.
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What is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere?
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nitrogen
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What is the second most abundant gas in the atmosphere?
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oxygen - it makes up about 21% of the volume.
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How do plants and animals use oxygen?
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they take oxygen from the air and use it to release the energy in food. Oxygen is also necessary for fire to burn.
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What percentage of our atmosphere is made up of carbon dioxide?
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less than 1 %
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What two gases make up 99% of dry air?
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oxygen and nitrogen.
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What are the gases that make up the remaining 1% of dry air?
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mostly argon, plus other gases in amounts so small that they are described as trace gases.
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water vapor
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water in the form of gas
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How do clouds form?
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when water vapor condenses out of the air to form tiny droplets of liquid water or crystals of ice.
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What happens if the droplets in a cloud become heavy?
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they fall as rain or snow
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Air also contains tiny solid and liquid particles. What are they made up of?
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dust, smoke, salt, and chemicals.
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How is the Atmosphere a System?
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it interacts with other Earth systems, such as the ocean. It has different parts, such as clouds, air, wind, and energy. Events in one part of the atmosphere affect other parts of the atmosphere. Energy from the sun drives the motions in the atmosphere.
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What properties does air have?
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it is made up of atoms and molecules, which have mass. Because air has mass, it also has other propertinies, including density & pressure.
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Density
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the amount of mass in a given volue of air.
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pressure
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the force on an area or surface.
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Air pressure
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the result of the weight of a column of air pushing on an area.
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What instrument is used for measuring air pressure?
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a barometer
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Name two types of barometers.
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mercury and aneroid
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Mercury Barometer
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it consists of a long glass tube that is closed at one end and open at the other. The open end rests in a dish of mercury. The closed end contains very little air. Increases in air pressure force the column of mercury higher in the tube. The level of the mercury in the tube shows the pressure of the air that day.
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Aneroid Barometer
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it has an airtight metl chamber. When air pressure increases, the thin walls of the chamber are pushed in. When air pressure drops, the walls bulge out. As the chamber's shape changes a needle on the dial moves.
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Altitude
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is the distance above sea level.
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What happens to the altitude when air pressure decreases?
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the altitude increases.
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As the air pressure decreases, what happens to the density?
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it also decreases.
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nitrogen
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the most abundant gas in the atmosphere. It makes up a little more than 3/4ths of the air we breathe. Nitrogen occurs in all living things & makes up about 3% of the weight of the human body.
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oxygen
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2nd most abundant gas which makes up about 21% of the volume.
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carbon dioxide
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makes up much less than 1% of the atmosphere - essential to life.
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atmosphere
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the envelope of gases that surrounds the plant.
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water vapor
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water in the form of a gas
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How do you calculate the density of a substance?
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by dividing its mass by its volume.
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What units are used to measure air pressure?
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millibars
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Scientists divide Earth's atmospher into 4 main layers classified according to changes in temperature. Name them.
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troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, and the thermosphere.
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Troposhere
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inner or lowest layer of the Earth's atmosphere. It is the layer in which the Earth's weather occurs.
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Stratosphere
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it extends from the top of the troposhere to about 50 kil. above the Earth's surface. It is the second layer of the atmosphere & contains the ozone layer.
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Mesosphere
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it is above the stratosphere, a drop in themperature makes the beginning of the next layer (mesosphere). It is the layer of the atmospher that protects Earth's surface from being hit by most meteoroids.
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Thermosphere
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Near the top of the atmosphere, the air is very thin. It is the outermost layer.
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What are the two layers in the Thermosphere?
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ionospher and exosphere
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ionosphere
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the lower part of the thermosphere.
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exosphere
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the outer layer of the thermosphere
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Electromagnetic Wave
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a wave that can transfer electric & magnetic energy through the vacuum of space.
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How does energy from the sun travel to the Earth?
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most of the energy from the sun travels to Earth in the form of visible light and infrared radiation. A smaller amolunt arrives as ultraviolet radiation.
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radiation
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the direct transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves.
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infrared radiation
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electromagnetic waves with wavelengths that are longer than visible light bu shorter than microwaves.
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ultraviolet radiation
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electromagnetic waves with wavelengths that are shorter than visible light but loner than X-rays.
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What happens to the sun's energy when it reaches Earth?
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some sunlight is absorbed or reflected by the atmosphere before it can reach the surface. The rest passes through the atmosphere to the surface.
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What is "scattering"?
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When dust-sized particles and gases in the atmosphere disperse light in all directions.
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greenhouse effect
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the trapping of heat near a planet's surface by certain gases in the planet's atmosphere. It keeps Earth's atmospher at a comfortable temperature.
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What happens to the sun's energy when it reaches Earth?
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some sunlight is absorb ed or reflected by the atmosphere before it can reach the surface. The rest passes through the atmosphere to the surface.
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Heat
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is thermal energy that is transferred from a hotter object to a cooler one.
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How is heat transferred?
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convection, conduction, and radiation.
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Convection
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the transfer of heat by the movement of a fluid.
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Conduction
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the transfer of heat between two substances that are in direct contact.
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Radiation
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the direct transfer of energy by electromagnetic waves.
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Convection Currents
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the movement of a fluid, caused by differences in temperature, that transfers heat from one part of the fluid to another.
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temperature
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how hot or cold something is; a measure of the average energy of motion of the particles of a substance.
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Thermal energy
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the total energy of all the particles of an object.
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What instrument is used to measure air temperature?
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thermometer
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What two scales are used to measure temperature?
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Celsius scale and the Fahrenheit scale.
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convection current
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the movement of a fluid, caused by differences in temperature, that transfers heat from one part of the fluid to another.
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Wind
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the movement of air parallel to Earth's surface.
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What caused air to move?
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differences in air pressure
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What causes differences in air pressure?
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caused by the unequal heating of the atmosphere.
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What is used to measure wind speed?
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anemometer
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windchill factor
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the increased cooling that a wind can cause.
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local winds
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winds that blow over short distances.
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What causes local winds?
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the unequal heating of Earth's surace within a small area.
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sea breeze
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also known as a lake breeze is a local wind that blows from an ocean or lake.
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land breeze
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the flow of air from land to a body of water.
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global winds
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winds that blow steadily from specific directions over long distances.
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How are global winds created?
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by the unequal heating of Earth's surface.
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convection currents
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the movement of a fluid, caused by differences in temperature, that transfers heat from one part of the fluid to another.
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Coriolis effect
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the effect of Earth's rotation on the direction of winds and currents. The way Earth's rotation makes winds curve.
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Global Wind Belts
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The Coriolis effect and other factors combine to produce a pattern of wind belts and calm areas around the Earth. Such as Doldrums, Horse Latitudes, Trade Winds, Prevailing Westerlies and Polar Easterlies.
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Doldrums
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calm area where warm air rises.
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Horse Latitudes
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two calm areas of sinking air.
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Trade Winds
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blow from the horse latitudes toward the equator.
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Prevailing Westerlies
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blow from west to east, away from the horse latitudes.
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