Chapter 10: The Physics and Chemistry of Water and Air

Question 1

What are the 4 levels of atmosphere in ascending order?

Answer 1

Troposphere (0-20)
Stratosphere (20-50)
Mesosphere (50-80)
Thermosphere (80-700)

Question 2

Where is the troposphere the thickest and thinest?

Answer 2

Thickest at the equator

Thinnest as the poles

Question 3

Where does most weather related phenomena occur?

Answer 3

The troposphere

Question 4

What happens when compounds go through a change in state?

Answer 4

energy is either released or absorbed

–> result is latent heat

Question 5

How does air move in the troposphere?

Answer 5

Moves in convection cells in response to temperature, density and pressure gradients

Question 6

What happens to density as the temp and pressure increases?

Answer 6

The density of air decreases

Question 7

Where is density the lowest?

Answer 7

At higher elevations, higher temps and low atmospheric pressure

Question 8

Where is density the highest?

Answer 8

At lover elevations, lower temp and high pressure

Question 9

Which is more dense, warm or cold air? and why?

Answer 9

Cold air is more dense
-Warm air rises and because the air pressure is decreasing with increasing altitude, the rising air expands adiabatically

Question 10

What is an Adiabatic process?

Answer 10

One in which occurs without the addition or subtraction of heat from any external source

Question 11

Why is there no heat source in the troposphere?

Answer 11

The expansion of air uses up energy and surrounding temperatures fall

Question 12

Which is less dense, humid or dry air? and why?

Answer 12

Humid air is less dense than dry air
This is because adding water vapour to the air replaces heavier air molecules with lighter water ones, therefore the density of the air decreases

Question 13

What is the process of condensation?

Answer 13

Moist air rises, expands+cools until its at the temperature where it becomes fully saturated with water vapour, starting the condensation process

Question 14

How does convection happen?

Answer 14

Heated air near the equator rises to the top the troposphere and spreads outward. As the air travels, it gets colder, heavier, and then sinks. When it reaches earths surface, the cool descending air flows back towards the equator where it starts the convection cycle over again

Question 15

What is the Coriolis effect?

Answer 15

Causes any body of water to move freely with respect to the rotating earth to veer to the right in the Northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere

Question 16

What does the Coriolis effect do to the flow of air?

Answer 16

it breaks up the flow of air between the equator and poles into Hadley or Ferrel cells according to their North-South arrangement

Question 17

How are winds produced?

Answer 17

By variations of pressure in the atmosphere

- from high to low pressure zones

Question 18

What kind of pressure zone is when the pressure of the atmosphere is increasing?

Answer 18

A High pressure zone

Question 19

Where does air near the ground flow inward to create?

Answer 19

A low pressure centre?

Question 20

Strong spiral patterns around a low pressure cell are calle?

Answer 20

Cyclones

Question 21

Strong spiral patterns around a big pressure cell are called?

Answer 21

Anticyclones

Question 22

What does inward spiral flow in a cyclone cause?

Answer 22

Convergence which leads to an upward flow of air at the centre of the low pressure

Question 23

What does an outward spiral flow of an anti cyclone cause?

Answer 23

Divergence, which corresponds to and outward flow of air at the base

Question 24

How do ocean waters separate warm water form cold water?

Answer 24

Solar radiation heats the top layers, which causes it to expand and become less dense than cold deep water, so the layers sit on top of each other

Question 25

What is a thermocline?

Answer 25

Separates war shallow water form cold deep water

-waters barely mix

Question 26

What is a Gyre?

Answer 26

Results of an initial push of the winds on the ocean surface and as a result moves the deeper waters

Question 27

What do you have when you combine the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Stream?

Answer 27

The Thermohaline circulation

Question 28

What are the 3 ways in which ocean water density can be increased?

Answer 28

1. Water evaporation in the tropics
2. Formation of sea ice
3. Cooling salt water