Ch. 19 Quiz Flashcards
Atmospheric pressure is measured with a ___.
barometer
___ uses a sealed metal container to measure atmospheric pressure.
An aneroid barometer
What is one harmful effect of temperature inversion?
smog
What are the two most abundant compounds in the atmosphere?
carbon dioxide & water vapor
Energy from the sun travels to Earth as ___.
radiation
The solar radiation least absorbed by the layers of the atmosphere before reaching Earth’s surface is ___.
visible light
After Earth absorbs infrared radiation, which heats the ground, what kind of energy does the atmosphere absorb from the ground?
thermal
A delay between Earth’s absorption of solar energy and an increase in temperature makes the warmest part of the day the ___.
afternoon
Average temperatures are lower near the poles because sunlight strikes the ground at an angle ___.
smaller than 90 degrees
the narrow bands of high-speed winds that blow in the upper atmosphere
jet streams
What are local winds influenced by?
local conditions & local temperatures
winds that blow at speeds of less than 50 km/h
breezes
The trade winds of the Northern and Southern hemispheres meet at the equator in a narrow zone of weak variable winds called ___.
the doldrums
What kind of wind blows cool air from land to water?
land breeze
the movement of matter due to differences in density caused by temperature variations
convection
the uppermost layer of the atmosphere, includes the ionosphere
thermosphere
the curving of the path of a moving object from an otherwise straight path due to Earth’s rotation
Coriolis effect
the fraction of solar radiation that is reflected off the surface of an object
albedo
the transfer of energy as heat through a material by direct contact
conduction
prevailing winds that blow from east to west between 60 degrees and 90 degrees latitude in both hemispheres
polar easterlies
the warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when carbon dioxide and water vapor in the air absorb and radiate infrared radiation
Greenhouse effect
the layer of the atmosphere in which temperature increases as altitude increases; contains the ozone
stratosphere
a mixture of gases primarily nitrogen, oxygen, and argon, that surround the Earth
atmosphere
prevailing winds that blow from east to west from 30 degrees latitude to the equator in both hemispheres
trade winds
the lowest layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature drops at a constant rate as altitude increases; the level where all weather conditions exist
troposphere
