1.

whatis the primary source of energy for the earths

atmosphere?

THE SUN

2. List the four most abundant gases in todays atmosphere.

NI, O. H2O, CO2

3. Of the four most abundant gases in our atmosphere,

which one shows the greatest variation at the earths surface?

NI

4. What are some of the important roles that water plays in

our atmosphere?

CHANGE THE WE

5. Briefly explain the production and natural destruction of

carbon dioxide near the earths surface. Give two reasons
for the increase of carbon dioxide over the past 100
years.

a.DECAY OF VEGETATION
b BURNING OF FOSSILS AND DEFORESTATION

6. List the two most abundant greenhouse gases in the

earths atmosphere. What makes them greenhouse
gases?

H2O, CO2
7. Explain how the atmosphere protects inhabitants at
the earths surface.

FROM PROTECTING UV RAYS COMING FROM THE SUN

THROUGH OZONE LAYER

8. What are some of the aerosols in our atmosphere?

THEY ARE SUSPENDED PARTICLES IN THE

ATMOSPHERE THAT
PICK UP DUST AND SOIL FROM THE EARTH`S
SURFACE, SALT WATER FROM OCEAN WAVES
SMOKE FROM FIRES

9. How has the composition of the earths atmosphere

changed over time? Briefl y outline the evolution of the
earths atmosphere.

10. (a) Explain the concept of air pressure in terms of mass

of air above some level.
(b) Why does air pressure always decrease with increasing
height above the surface?

11. What is standard atmospheric pressure at sea level in

(a) inches of mercury

(b) millibars, and
(c) hectopascals?
12. What is the average or standard temperature lapse rate in
the troposphere?

6.5 C/1000 m

13. Briefl y describe how the air temperature changes from

the earths surface to the lower thermosphere.

BY WARMING THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH

AND IN TURNS WARMS THE AIR ABOVE IT. THE
TEMPARATURE GOES DECREASING AS HEIGHT IS
INCREASING.

14. On the basis of temperature, list the layers of the

atmosphere from the lowest layer to the highest.

TROPOSPHERE, STATROSPHERE, MESOSPHERE

THERMOSPHERE

15. What atmospheric layer contains all of our weather?

TROPSPHERE

16. (a) In what atmospheric layer do we find the lowest

average air temperature? MESOSPHERE
(b) The highest average temperature?THERMOSPHERE
(c) The highest concentration of ozone?STRATOSPHERE
17.Above what region of the world would you find the ozone
hole? ANTARTIC
18. How does the ionosphere affect AM radio transmission
during the day versus during the night? BY REFLECTION
OF RADIO WAVES THAT WEAKENS DURING
ABSORPTION
19. Even though the actual concentration of oxygen is close
to 21 percent (by volume) in the upper stratosphere, explain
why, without proper breathing apparatus, you would not be
able to survive there.

THE AIR HAS LOW DENSITY IN THAT ZONE AND WITH

FEWER OXYGEN MOLECULES CAN CAUSE HYPOXIA,
THE BRAIN LACKS OXIGEN

20. Define meteorology and discuss the origin of this word.

IT IS THE STUDY OF THE ATMOSPHERE AND ITS

PHENOMENA

21. When someone says that the wind direction today is

south, does this mean that the wind is blowing toward
the south or from the south?

FROM THE SOUTH

22. Describe some of the features observed on a surface

weather map.

FRONT,RAIN,THUNDERSTORM,WIND DIRECTION

23. Explain how wind blows around low- and high-pressure

areas in the Northern Hemisphere.

BECAUSE THE EARTH ROTATION, THE WINDS ARE

DEFLECTED TOWARD THE RIGHT IN THE NORTHERN
HEMISPHERE. THIS DEFLECTION CAUSE THE WINDS TO
BLOW CLOCKWISE AND OUTWARD FROM THE CENTER
OF THE HIGHS, AND COUNTERCLOCKWISE AND
INWARD TO THE CENTER OF THE LOWS.
24. How are fronts defined?

IT IS THE BOUNDARY THAT SEPARATES THE WARM

AND COOL AIR WHERE THERE IS A SHARP CHANGE I
TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY AND WIND DIRECTION

25. Rank the following storms in size from largest to smallest:

hurricane, tornado, middle-latitude cyclonic storm,
thunderstorm.

26. Weather in the middle latitudes tends to move in what

general direction?

THE WINDS SPIN COUNTERCLOCKWISE

27. How does weather differ from climate?

WEATHER IS THE CONDITION OF THE ATMOSPHERE AT

ANY PARTICULAR TIME AND PLACE. AND CLIMATE IS
THE OBSERVATION OF WEATHER OVER A SPECIFIED
INTERVAL OF TIME , AS YEARS , WE WOULD OBTAIN
AVERAGE WEATHER OF A PARTICULAR REGION.

28. Describe some of the ways weather and climate infl uence
the lives of people.
WEATHER DETERMINES THE TYPE OF CLOTHES TO
WEAR ,AND CLIMATE THE TYPE OF CLOTHES TO BUY.
CLIMATE DETERMINES WHEN TO PLANT CROPS AND
WHAT TYPE OF CROPS, AND WEATHER DETERMINES IF
THE CROPS WILL GROW

The earth' s atmospht<e Is a mixture of many gasu. In a vol

ume of dry air near the surf act, nltrogtn (N,) occupies about
78 perctnt and oxygtn (01
) about l 1 percent.

Water vapor. whkh normally occuplu less than 4 percent In

a volume of alrneanhe surface, an condtnse Into Uquld
cloud droplets 0<tr1nsform In to Mlkatelc. crystals. Water
is the only substance In our atmosphere !hit b found natu
rally u a gas (watervapO<), H 1 lquld (water), 1nd u solid
(ice).
Both water VflPO< and carbon dioxide (CO) we lm porunt
gretnhouseguu.
OJIOM (0 ) In the stratosphere protects Ue from harmful ul
traviolet (U V) radiation . At the surfac .. ozone Is the main In
gredient of photochemkal smog.
The majority of water on our planet Is beUeved to have come
from its hot Interior through outgaul ng, although some of
the earth's water may have co mt from colliilons with mete
ors and comets.
Atmospheric pressure at any level represents the total mass
of air above that level, and atmospheric pressure always decreases
with increasing height above the surface.
The rate at which the air temperature decreases with height
Is cal led the lapseratt. A measured increase in air temperature
with height is called an inversion.
The atmosphere may be divided Into layers (or region.s) according
to Its vertical profile of temperature, its gaseous
composition, or Its electrical properties.
The warmest atmospheric layer Is the therrnosphere; the
coldest is the mesosphere. Most of the gas ozone is found In
the stratosphere.
We live at the bottom of the troposphere, which is an atmospheric
layer where the air temperature normally decreases
with height. The troposphere Is a region that contains all of
the weather we are familiar with.
The ionosphere Is an electrified region of the upper atmosphere
that normally extends from about 60 km to the top
of the atmosphere.
Chapter 2

The temperature ofa substance Is a measure of the average

kin etic energy (average motion) of its atoms and
molecul es.
Evaporation (the transformation of liquid In to vapor) Is a
co oling process that can cool the air, whereas condensation
Cool
Warm -
I
e FIGURE 2 Risingairex~
pand.s and cools; sinking air
is compressed and \var ms..
(the transformation of vapor Into liquid) Is a warming process
that can warm the air.
Heat is energy In the process of being t ransferred from one
object to another because of the temperature di fference between
them.
In conduction, which Is the tran sfer of heat by mol ecul e-tomolecule
contact, heat always flows from warmer to cold er
reg ion s.
Air is a poor conducto r of heat.
Convection Is an Important mech ani sm of heat t ransfer, as It
represents the vert ical movement of warmer air upward and
cooler air downward.

A#objt<U with a temperature above absolute uro emit

radiation.
The higher an object 's temperature, the grealer the amounl
of radiation emitted per unit surface areaand the shorter
the wavelength of maximum emission .
The e&rth absorbs so la r radiation only during th e dayli ght
hours: however, It emits infrared radial Ion co n1lnuou sly,
both during the day and at night

The earth's surface behaves as a blackbody, making it a

much better absorber and emitter of radiation than the
atmosphere.
Water vapor and catbon dioxide are Importa nt atmospherk
greenhouse gases that selec11wly absorb and emit infrared
radiation. thereby keeping the earth's average surfacetemperatwe
warme r than It otherwise would be.
Ooudy, calm nights are often wwmer than dear.calm
nights because clouds strongly emit ln frwed radiation back
to the earth's surface.
It ls notthe greenhouse e ffect llSelf that Is of concern, but
the enhancemmtof lt due to Increasing levels of green
house gases.
As greenhou se gases co n1lnu e to In crease In co ncentra tion ,
the average surface air 1empernture Is projected to rise sub
stantlally by the end of I his century.
How does IM a\nage<pttd (motion) o( air molt.:uln
mate ID tM air lmlpenture?
2 . Distinguish bttwttn ~era! Utt anJ heal
3 . (a) How does 1hr KeMn ltmptr.itutt s.oalt d11fer from
the Cdsius seal~
(b) Why is the Kefo.in scale often u~ in >CJt'nl1f11: cJI
culations?
(c) Based on your expentnc<. "'ould a ltrnp<'talutt of
250 K be considered warm or cold? lxpl.un
4. Exp lain how heat is 1ran>ferred In 1he car1h' ntmu
spher e by:
( a ) conduct io n;
(b) convec ti on;
( c) radiation.
5 . H ow is latent heal an imp ortnn t ; mmc of nt 1lkl >Jlh crk
energy?
6. Jn t he atmo.~phere, how d ocs lldvc cthm differ from
convection?
7 . How does the temperature of tm object Influence th e
radiation that it e m its?
8 . Ho w does th e am oun1 of rnd iation emit ted by thcc~n h
d i lkr fro m that emiucd by the s u nr
9 . Ho w do the waveleng th s of m~ of the rad1allon emu
ted by the sun differ from those crn11tcd by the >urface
of I.he earth?
JO. Which photon carries 1hr most energy snfrattJ, v1>
ible. o r ultraviolet?
I I. When a body reaches a radi1tvc equ1ubra1m tempera
lure. what is taking place?
u. If the earth's sumer concinuall)' radiates cncrg) "hr
doesn't ii btcome colder and colder!
13. Whr are carbon dioxide and "akr vapor uDtd kltx
li\c absorbing grttnhou<e g;a,n>
14. Expbin bow the earth's atmosphenc grttnhOU>ttlrc1
works.
l S. Whal grecnhoose gases ap~ar 10 be ~pon>1ble f.,..
!hr enhanc<ml!Dt of the earth'> gttenhOU>e t~ct?
16 . Why do most c6mate modd. pml1ct thJl thr earth'>
average surfiice temperature will U'lettA>< by an udclo
tional 3.llC (5AF) by the end uf 1h1> cen1ury?
17. Whar processes con!ribure !o !he earth's albedo being
30 percen!?
18. How is rhe lower atmosphere warmed from rhe surface
upward?
19. Explain how rhe ear!h and irs abnosphere balance in
coming energy wi!h our going energy.
20. If a blackbody is a rheorerical objec!, why can bo!h rhe
sun and ear!h be rreated as blackbodies?
21. Whar isrhesolar "ind?
22. Explain how rhe aurora is produced.