Climate and energy (T1)

Question 1

when was the formation of the Earth?

Answer 1

4550 Ma

Question 2

when was the formation of the Moon?

Answer 2

4527 Ma

Question 3

when was photosynthesis first starting?

Answer 3

3200 Ma

Question 4

when was the atmosphere oxygen rich?

Answer 4

2300 Ma

Question 5

when was the first vertebrate land animals?

Answer 5

380 Ma

Question 6

when was the first Non-avian dinosaurs?

Answer 6

230-66Ma

Question 7

when was the first hornminins?

Answer 7

2 Ma

Question 8

what is space like?

Answer 8

no atmosphere
no heat
no light

Question 9

how does the intensity of solar radiation received by Mercury compare with that a Venus?

Answer 9

intestenisty of radiation form the sun at mercury is 4 tines that at Venus

Question 10

why is Venus hotter than mercury?

Answer 10

mercury has no atmosphere the surface gets very hot during the day but then cools down quickly at night because there is no atmosphere to ‘keep the heat in’

Question 11

why does not Venus ‘cool down’ at night?

day = +465
night = +465

Answer 11

Venus has a very dense thick atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide. This traps a substantial part of the thermal energy causing the surface temperature to exceed that of mercury. Effectively that at night-time temperature is the same as the day.

Question 12

radiation intensity

Answer 12

proportional to 1/R^2

Question 13

what does climate depend on?

Answer 13

atmosphere

solar radiation

Question 14

what is the solar constant?

Answer 14

the total flux of solar energy received at the top of the Earth’s atmosphere on a plane perpendicular to the beam
1,360W/m2

Question 15

How energy is received by the Earth

Answer 15

21% scattered and reflected by clouds
6% scattered from atmosphere
19% absorbed by atmosphere and clouds
51 % absorbed by the Earth's surface
4% reflected from surface 

(70% is absorbed by surface and atmosphere)

Question 16

what’s the flux of absorbed solar radiation on averse that is Earth’s energy budget

Answer 16

solar constant = 1,360 W/m2
70% of the solar flux is absorbed
area of the sphere is 4 times the area of a disk
average solar flux is 340 W/m2

answer = 240 W/m2

Question 17

where does energy go that is absorbed by the Earth?

Answer 17

less than 2% of the solar energy is converted to biomass by photosynthesis (fossil fuels)

rest is ultimately radiated away into space as long wave radiation- the processes involved in the transport of this energy ‘drives’ the Earth’s climate system

Question 18

the flux of geothermal energy?

Answer 18

0.087 W/m2 of geothermal energy

Question 19

definition of climate

Answer 19

• region considers with regard to prevailing weather conditions
• characteristic weather conditions of a country or region, the prevalent patterns of weather in a region throughout the year, in respect of variation of temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind

Question 20

Rain shadow

Answer 20

A rain shadow is a dry area on the leeward side of a mountainous area (away from the wind). The mountains block the passage of rain-producing weather systems and cast a “shadow” of dryness behind them.

Question 21

measure rainfall

Answer 21

length/time

mm/day

Question 22

measure temperature

Answer 22

degrees in temperature or kelvin

Question 23

measure wind speed and direction

Answer 23

distance / time

direction degrees from north

Question 24

measure of pressure

Answer 24

barometer

force / area

Question 25

measure of humidity

Answer 25

% humidity

absolute and relative

Question 26

measure cloud cover

Answer 26

okras

Question 27

measure of sunlight

Answer 27

radiant power / area
irradiance
(tracking dervice = 6 degrees)

Question 28

resources and energy

Answer 28

material resource exploitation depends on the availability and controlled use of energy