Atmosphere

Question 1

What is the earth’s atmostphere?

Answer 1

A blanket of gases that contains solid particles (Ie volcanic dust and blown soil) and remains attached to the earth’s surface due to gravitational force.

Question 2

What is the atmosphere a mixture of?

Answer 2

Oxygen (21%), Nitrogen (78%), Co2 (0.057%) and other gases such as hydrogen, helium, neon, xeyon and ozone. As well as water vapour.

Question 3

Where are the atmospheric gases densest?

Answer 3

earth surface

Question 4

These gases in the atmosphere get less dense with increasing height. What percentage of the atmosphere by weight is in the lowest 15 km (9 miles) above the surface

Answer 4

90%

Question 5

How thin is the skin of air that keeps all life on earth alive?

Answer 5

very thin

Question 6

What are the 2 most important greenhouse gases?

Answer 6

Water vapor and CO2

Question 7

Why are water vapour and CO2 the most important greenhouse gases

Answer 7

due to their ability to trap outgoing infra-red radiation, thereby keeping the surface of the Earth warmer than it should be.

Question 8

In the troposphere temperatures decrease by what every 1000m?

Answer 8

6.4 Degrees

Question 9

Why does the troposphere decrease by 6.4 degrees every 1000m?

Answer 9

In the troposphere temperature decreases by 6.4°C for every 1000m in altitude, this is because is warmed by incoming solar radiation which in turn heats the air by convection.

Question 10

What does the troposphere contain?

Answer 10

Atmospheric water, cloud dust, and pollution

Question 11

The upper limit of the troposphere is called what?

Answer 11

tropopause

Question 12

What is the stratosphere categorized by?

Answer 12

The stratosphere is characterised by a steady increase in temperature caused by the ozone layer-

Question 13

What does ozone absorb?

Answer 13

Ozone absorbs incoming (UV) radiation very efficiently.

Question 14

The upper limit of the stratosphere is called what?

Answer 14

stratopause

Question 15

What happens in the mesosphere?

Answer 15

Temperatures fall rapidly with an increase in height in the mesosphere as there is no water vapour, clouds, dust or ozone to absorb the incoming radiation.

Question 16

Mesosphere layer has the strongest what?

Answer 16

WIND

Question 17

Mesosphere layer has the lowest what?

Answer 17

temperatures

Question 18

Temperature’s rise rapidly in the thermosphere due to an increase in what?

Answer 18

atomic oxygen which absorbs incoming radiation

Question 19

How high can temperatures get in the thermosphere?

Answer 19

2,500 degrees

Question 20

The upper limit of the Atmosphere is called what?

Answer 20

exosphere

Question 21

What are the main gases in the exosphere?

Answer 21

light gases, hydrogen, helium, co2, and atmospheric oxygen

Question 22

Energy from the sun heats the atmosphere and the oceans. The energy is transmitted as short wave incoming radiation what is the short word for this type of radiation?

Answer 22

Insolation

Question 23

What percentage of the earth’s energy penetrates the atmosphere to reach the surface of the earth

Answer 23

less than 50%

Question 24

What percentage of the heat is absorbed by the earth’s surface?

Answer 24

46%

Question 25

What percentage of the heat is reflected back by the earth’s surface?

Answer 25

4%

Question 26

What percentage of the heat is reflected by the clouds?

Answer 26

20%

Question 27

What percentage of the heat is scattered by gas?

Answer 27

6%

Question 28

What percentage of the heat is absorbed by dust, water vapor, and other gases?

Answer 28

16%

Question 29

What percentage of the heat is absorbed by the clouds?

Answer 29

3%

Question 30

What percentage gets released as long wave energy from the surface into space again?

Answer 30

6%

Question 31

What is the albedo effect?

Answer 31

Reflection of heat or by snow or ice!

Question 32

94% of clouds act as a blanket absorbing and reflecting. What 2 things do clouds do?

Answer 32

reradiation from the clouds

clounds heat from earth surface

Question 33

As the ground warms up it radiated energy back into the atmosphere - this outgoing energy is called What? .

Answer 33

terrestrial radiation and is long wave or infra red

Question 34

Most of the terrestrial radiation is absorbed by H2O and what?

Answer 34

CO2.

Question 35

What is scattering?

Answer 35

Scattering: this occurs when light passes through a transparent medium that contains small obscuring particles; therefore, light is scattered (ie dust)

Question 36

What is reflection?

Answer 36

Reflection: Heat can be reflected by clouds, atmospheric gases, and the earth’s surface. Most are clouds, but much is reflected by the ice and snow on the surface. Together, reflection and scattering form what is called albedo (reflectivity of a surface) and is responsible for a 30% radiation loss.

Question 37

What is absorbtion?

Answer 37

Absorption: The atmosphere absorbs a relatively small amount of solar radiation, but a large amount of terrestrial radiation. Most of it is absorbed by CO2 and water vapor.