Weather And Climate - Ch. 1

Front 1

weather

Back 1

the condition of Earth’s atmosphere at a particular time and place

Front 2

Atmosphere

Back 2

the envelope of gases that surrounds the planet. The earth’s atmosphere makes conditions of Earth suitable for living things.

Front 3

Composition of the atmosphere

Back 3

78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and 1% includes argon, carbon dioxide, neon, helium, methane, krypton and hydrogen

Front 4

Oxygen

Back 4

involved in many important processes: plants and animals take oxygen directly from the air, fuels use oxygen to burn, oxygen is used for chemical reactions (rust) etc.

Front 5

How many atoms in oxygen

Back 5

2

Front 6

How many atoms in ozone?

Back 6

3

Front 7

ozone

Back 7

the layer of oxygen in the atmosphere that protects us from sun’s dangerous ultraviolet rays

Front 8

What are the atoms of Carbon dioxide?

Back 8

one atom of carbon, and two atoms of oxygen CO

Front 9

What is the chemical abbreviation for carbon dioxide?

Back 9

CO

Front 10

Carbon dioxide

Back 10

Plants must have carbon dioxide to produce food- then when they break down the food to make energy they give off carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. When they photosynthesize they give off oxygen to the atmosphere.

Front 11

Air pressure

Back 11

the result of the weight of a column of air pushing down on an area. The atmosphere is heavy- (because air has mass!)- but air pushes in all directions- so there is air pushing down on a desk, pushing up from under the desk and pushing on the sides of the desk- that is why the desk does not get crushed.

Front 12

Give an example of air pressure.

Back 12

Air pressure changes all the time- depending on where you are (altitude above sea level) and the conditions around you. Ex- drive up a mountain (altitude increases) air pressure outside you decreases, while the air pressure inside you stays the same- popping ears try to even out the pressure

Front 13

Barometers

Back 13

are used to measure air pressure

Front 14

What are the two kinds of barometers?

Back 14

Mercury barometers
Aneroid barometers

Front 15

Mercury barometers

Back 15

uses mercury to show air pressure- as mercury rises (due to pressure on the mercury in an open dish) the air pressure increases. This is measured in inches of mercury. Ex- air pressure was 30 inches. The National Weather Service uses millibars of pressure (1 inch=33.87 millibars)

Front 16

Aneroid barometers-

Back 16

uses an air tight chamber that is sensitive to air pressure- the chamber moves in and out according to the air pressure around it- thus making a needle on a dial move.

Front 17

How many layers are there in the atmosphere? What are they?

Back 17

The atmosphere is divided into four main layers according to changes in temperature- the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and the thermosphere.

Front 18

Troposphere

Back 18

(tropo means turning/changing) the lowest layer- the layer in which weather occurs- the shallowest layer and the most dense. This layer is from the earth’s surface to 16 km above.

Front 19

Stratosphere

Back 19

(strato means layer or spread out) the second layer- contains the ozone layer – is cold, -60 degrees Celsius- 16 km to 50 km above earth

Front 20

Mesosphere

Back 20

(meso means middle)- the third layer- protects the earth’s atmosphere from meteoroids- begins 50 km above earth- ends 80 km above earth- temperatures approach -90 degrees Celsius

Front 21

Thermosphere

Back 21

(thermo means heat)- the outermost layer- from 80 km to space- the air is very thin- but also very hot-up to 1800 degrees Celsius-suns rays hit this layer first- but since the air is so thin the temperature would not register (temp is average motion of molecules- few molecules=low temp reading) This layer is divided into two layers- ionosphere- 80-400 km above earth- aurora borealis (caused by particles from the sun entering the atmosphere by the poles then striking atoms making them glow), and radio waves bounce of ions in this layer exosphere- (means outer)- from 400 km for thousands of miles

Front 22

How many layers is the thermosphere divided into? What are they?

Back 22

This layer is divided into two layers- ionosphere- 80-400 km above earth- aurora borealis (caused by particles from the sun entering the atmosphere by the poles then striking atoms making them glow), and radio waves bounce of ions in this layer exosphere- (means outer)- from 400 km for thousands of miles

Front 23

ionosphere

Back 23

A part of the thermosphere. ionosphere - 80-400 km above earth- aurora borealis (caused by particles from the sun entering the atmosphere by the poles then striking atoms making them glow), and radio waves bounce of ions in this layer

Front 24

exosphere

Back 24

A part of the thermosphere. exosphere- (means outer)- from 400 km for thousands of miles