Chapter 15 Flashcards
What is the measure of the force with which air molecules push on a surface?
Air pressure
What is the lowest layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature decreases at a constant rate as altitude increases?
Troposphere
What is the layer above the atmosphere that is above the troposphere in which temperature increases as altitude increases?
Stratosphere
What is the layer of the atmosphere between the stratosphere and the thermosphere and in which temperature decreases as altitude increases?
Mesosphere
What is the uppermost layer of the atmosphere, in which temperature increases as altitude increases?
Thermosphere
What is the transfer of energy as electromagnetic waves?
Radiation
What is the transfer of energy as heat through a material?
Thermal Conduction
What is the transfer of thermal energy by the circulation or movement of a liquid or gas?
Convection
What is the warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of Earth that occurs when water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases absorb and reradiate thermal energy?
Greenhouse effect
What is a gradual increase in average global temperature?
Global Warming
What is the movement of air caused by differences in air pressure?
Wind
What is the apparent curving of the path of a moving object from an otherwise straight path due to the Earth’s rotation?
Coriolis Effect
What is prevailing winds that blow from east to west between 60 and 90 latitude in both hemispheres?
Polar easterlies
What is prevailing winds that blow from west to east between 30 and 60 latitude in both hemispheres?
Westerlies
What is prevailing winds that blow northeast from 30 north latitude to the equator and that blow southeast from 30 south latitude to the equator?
Trade Winds
