Lecture Notes: CH 17
17.1 Atmosphere Characteristics
Composition of the Atmosphere
Major Components - Air is a mixture of different gases and particles
(Air ______)
Variable Components - ______is the source of all clouds and precipitation. Like carbon dioxide, water vapor ______given off by Earth. It also absorbs some solar energy
______ is a form of oxygen that combines ___oxygen atoms into each molecule
____ ozone did not filter most ______and all of the Sun’s UV rays reached the surface of Earth, our planet would be ______for many living organisms.
Human Influence - Emissions from ______vehicles account for nearly ____ the primary pollutants by weight.
• Secondary pollutants = ______pollutants ______and create new pollutants
What is the most common primary pollutant? ______
Where do primary pollutants come from mostly? ______
Height and Structure of the Atmosphere
The atmosphere rapidly thins out as you travel away from Earth
Pressure Changes - Atmospheric pressure is ______of the air above.
Temperature Changes - divided vertically - ______based on ______.
The troposphere - bottom layer where ______with an increase in altitude.
The stratosphere - layer where temperature remains constant to a height of about 20 kilometers - then begins a gradual increase until the stratopause (because ______
The mesosphere - above the stratosphere and is characterized by ______with height.
The thermosphere - above the mesosphere - characterized by ______due to the ______of very short-wave ______by oxygen.
Draw the BASIC form/line of the
atmosphere layers graph
What are the axes? ______and______
What does it do? ______
The atmosphere is divided into layers based on temperature patterns.
Almost all weather occurs in the ______
Which of these gases contributes the most to weather? ______
The Ionosphere (+ and – charges) occurs in the ______
Earth-Sun Relationships
Earth’s Motions • two principal motions—rotation and revolution (DRAW!)
What is the difference between the two (Earth/Sun)? ______
Earth’s Orientation - Seasonal changes occur because Earth’s position relative to the Sun (continually changes as it travels along its orbit).
Draw a picture of how sun rays strike the Earth
Why does less sunlight strike the poles? ______
Solstices
Longest day of the year ______Shortest day of the year.______
and Equinoxes (when are they? ______).
A day is ______(in time) 12 hours each
17.2 Heating the Atmosphere
Energy Transfer as Heat
Heat is the ______from one object to another because of a difference in the objects’ temperature.
Temperature is a measure of the ______of the individual atoms or molecules in a substance. In the Thermosphere……
An unprotected person will freeze to death (______) but get a sunburn (______)!
3 mechanisms of energy transfer as heat are ______
Conduction is the transfer of heat through matter ______.
Convection is the transfer of heat by mass movement or ______within a substance
Radiation is the transfer of energy (heat) ______waves that travel out in all directions.
Unlike conduction and convection, which need material to travel through, radiant energy ______through the vacuum of ______
Electromagnetic Waves - The Sun ______as well as the ultraviolet rays that cause a Suntan. These forms of energy are only part of a large array of energy emitted by the Sun, called the electromagnetic spectrum.
______, at any temperature, ______energy.
Hotter objects ______total energy per unit area than colder objects do.
The ______radiating bodies produce the _____wavelengths of ______radiation.
Objects that are good absorbers of radiation are good emitters as well.
What Happens to Solar Radiation?When radiation strikes an object, there usually are three different results. ______
The Sun emits ______Earth re-emits ______to space.
Reflection occurs when light (i.e. radiation or electromagnetic waves) bounces off an object.
Reflection radiation has the same intensity as incident radiation.
Scattering produces a larger number of weaker rays that travel in different directions.
Scattering of blue light gives us a BLUE SKY!
Why is the sky blue? ______
Absorption
About 50 percent of the solar energy that strikes the top of the atmosphere reaches Earth’s surface and is absorbed.
Thegreenhouse effect is the heating of Earth’s surface and atmosphere from solar radiation being absorbed and emitted by the atmosphere, mainly by water vapor and carbon dioxide.
What is the greenhouse effect? ______
Draw it