10.1 - Global Systems and Solar Energy Flashcards
Open system
Allows energy and matter to cross the boundary.
Closed system
Allows energy but not matter to cross the boundary.
Isolated system
Allows neither matter nor energy to cross the boundary.
All life on Earth exists in the ____?
The biosphere: a thin later of air, earth and water.
What are the two layers of atmosphere most important to life?
The stratosphere and the troposphere.
What does the term “radiation budget” mean?
Energy from the sun must be balanced by energy lost back to space or else the planet will warm up.
What type of radiation do warm objects emit?
Infrared radiation.
What happens to the solar energy that enters the atmosphere?
- 49% is absorbed by land and oceans.
- 42%is absorbed, reflected and scattered by the atmosphere.
- 9% is reflected by the Earth’s surface.
Albedo
The ability of a surface to reflect energy.
- Low = absorbs a lot
- High = reflects a lot
What is the Earth’s atmosphere made of?
21% oxygen gas, 78% nitrogen gas and 1% trace gases.
Climate
Long-term trends in temperature, pressure, humidity and precipitation.
Weather
What is happening outside right now.
What is the Earth’s angle of inclination?
23.5 degrees.
What are the three major climate zones on Earth?
Polar, temperate and tropical.
What are the dividing lines for the climate zones?
The Arctic circle, the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, and the Antarctic circle.
