Earth Sciences - Atmosphere

Front 1

1) What is the atmosphere

Back 1

A thin layer of gases surrounding Earth.

Front 2

2) What gases make up the atmosphere

Back 2

Oxygen, Carbon dioxide, and water.

Front 3

3) What is air pressure

Back 3

The force column of air applies on the air or a surface below.

Front 4

4) What is altitude

Back 4

The height of an object or point in relation to sea level or ground level.

Front 5

5) What happens to air pressure as the altitude increases

Back 5

It decreases.

Front 6

6) Name the four layers of the atmosphere

Back 6

Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, exosphere

Front 7

7) What is important about the troposphere

Back 7

Weather appears there.

Front 8

8) What is ozone

Back 8

Protects Earth from ultra violet rays that can kill plants, animals, and other organisms/can cause skin cancer in humans.

Front 9

9) What atmosphere layer contains the ozone layer

Back 9

Stratosphere.

Front 10

10) Which atmospheric layer is the coldest

Back 10

Thermosphere.

Front 11

11) What happens in the ionosphere

Back 11

Collects ions to reflect on radio waves.

Front 12

12) What is radiation

Back 12

Transfer of thermal energy by electromagnetic waves.

Front 13

13) What happens to the radiation once it enters the atmosphere

Back 13

It becomes heat.

Front 14

14) What is conduction

Back 14

Transfer of thermal energy by collisions between particles of matter.

Front 15

15) What is convection

Back 15

Transfer of thermal energy by the movement of particles of matter.

Front 16

16) What is a convection current

Back 16

Way molecules circulate.

Front 17

17) What three processes heat the Earth its atmosphere

Back 17

Green house effect

Front 18

18) What is the green house effect

Back 18

Light reflects off the glass and heat comes in but can’t go out.

Front 19

19) What gas in particular is responsible for the greenhouse effect

Back 19

Thermal/carbon dioxide.

Front 20

20) What is global warming

Back 20

Were we try to use less pollution in the objects .

Front 21

21) What is wind

Back 21

Movement of air from areas of high pressure to area low pressure.

Front 22

22) What creates wind

Back 22

Differences in pressure.

Front 23

23) What causes an area of high pressure

Back 23

Cold air puts less pressure on earth, high altitude.

Front 24

24) What causes an area of low pressure

Back 24

At higher altitudes, the air is less dense because air molecules are farther apart.

Front 25

25) What direction on the Earth does wind generally move

Back 25

An west to east movement.

Front 26

26) What is the Coriolis effect

Back 26

A deflection of moving objects when the motion is described relative to a rotating reference frame.

Front 27

27) What are two types of wind

Back 27

Westerlies and polar easterlies.

Front 28

28) What are trade winds; where are they located

Back 28

Trade winds are steady winds that flow from east to west between 30*N and 60*S.

Front 29

29) What are the Doldrums; where are they located

Back 29

A belt of converging winds and rising air encircling the Earth near the Equator.

Front 30

30) What are horse latitudes; where are they located

Back 30

A belt of calm air and sea occurring in both the northern and southern hemispheres between the trade winds and the westerlies.

Front 31

31) What are westerlies; where are they located

Back 31

Steady winds that flow from west to east between latitudes 30*N and 60*S.

Front 32

32) What are polar easterlies; where are they located

Back 32

Cold winds that blow from the east to the west near the North Pole and South Pole.

Front 33

33) What is the jet stream

Back 33

Narrow band of high winds near the top of the troposphere.

Front 34

34) What affects local winds

Back 34

Local winds occur whenever air pressure is different from one location to another.

Front 35

35) What are the two types of air pollution

Back 35

Acid precipitation and smog.

Front 36

36) What are primary pollutants

Back 36

Smokestacks of large factories and electrical pwer plants that burn fossil fuels.

Front 37

37) What are secondary pollutants

Back 37

Air pollution in large cities and some bacteria found in swamps and marshes.

Front 38

38) What is the major source of air pollution

Back 38

Nitrogen oxides from automobiles.

Front 39

39) What contributes to smog and acid rain

Back 39

Pollution.

Front 40

40) What causes the majority of sulfur oxides in the air

Back 40

The burning of coal from energy plants

Front 41

41) What is acid precipitation

Back 41

When sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide combine with moisture in the atmosphere and form precipitation that has a pH lower than normal rain water.

Front 42

42) What is the ozone hole

Back 42

A region of marked thinning of the ozone layer at high altitude.

Front 43

43) What are some effects of air pollution on the human body

Back 43

Asthma, bronchitis, and can lead to heart attacks.

Front 44

44) What is the Clean Air Act

Back 44

A example of how the government can help fight pollution.