Chapter 1 - From Reading Flashcards
What two gases mostly make up earths atmosphere?
Nitrogen and oxygen
Aerosol, what is it? Where is is
Our atmosphere contains large amount of these tiny particles
What does temperature mean?
Temperature is a measurement of the average speed that molecules move in a substance
How is the Celsius scale divided?
Boiling point of water (100c) and melting point of ice (0c)
How is Kelvin scale divided
Where (0) is set to absolute 0 and goes up from there
What is absolute zero?
Minimum energy state
From bottom to top, how is the atmosphere divided?
Troposphere, tropopause, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere
Going up in altitude of the troposphere, how does the temp change?
The temperature decreases with hight
Going up in altitude of the stratosphere, how does the temp change?
The temp increases in hight
Where is the tropopause located?
Between the troposphere and the stratosphere
Why does the stratosphere temperature go up?
Because of the absorption of ultraviolet radiation
Where is the ozone situated?
In the stratosphere
What are the names of the two jet streams?
Subtropical jet stream
Polar jet stream
What is a jet stream?
Rivers of fast moving air in the upper troposphere
What are jet streams critical for?
The development of the earths weather systems
How does the temperature change in the mesosphere?
Temperatures decrease with hight
What is atmospheric pressure?
Force applied by air on a unit area of surface
What is a millibar?
A unit to determine pressure (ex - sea level is 1013.25 mob
What is the atmospheric density?
Mass in a unit volume (for pressure)
What does a barometer do?
Measures pressure
What is (mean sea level?)
A common sea level altitude in order to appropriately measure pressure density
What is water vapor?
Invisible gas composed of individual water molecules
What is vapor pressure?
Force per unit area applied only by water vapor
What is saturation?
When invisible vapor condenses into visible cloud droplets
What is the saturation vapor pressure?
The vapor pressure when the atmosphere becomes saturated
Relative humidity
Is the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere relative to the vapor pressure
What is the dew point?
Lowest temperature to which air can be cooled before saturation occurs.
What is the phase change for condensation?
From vapor to water
What is the phase change for freezing
From water to ice
What is the phase change for deposition?
Vapor to ice
What is the phase change for sublimation?
Ice to vapor
What is the phase change for evaporation?
Water to vapor
What is the phase change for melting
Solid to liquid
What is latent heat?
Hidden heat required for phase change
What is wind?
Simply the movement of air
What is a anemometer?
A divided to measure wind speed
What are wind barbs
Used to depict wind speed and direction
What is an atmosphere
In earths case, a thin layer of air extending from surface to hight of few hundred kilometers
