Climate Change

Question 1

Weather

Answer 1

State of the atmosphere at a particular place and time

Question 2

Climate

Answer 2

Long term pattern of weather conditions in a particular area, typically observed over 30 years

Question 3

Earth’s energy budget

Answer 3

Refers to the balance between the energy earth receives from the sun and the energy it radiates back into space

Question 4

Solar radiation

Answer 4

electromagnetic radiation emitted from the sun

Question 5

Visible Light

Answer 5

Colors seen by human eye, absorbed and reflected by earth surface, reflected becomes infrared

Question 6

Infrared radiation

Answer 6

Felt as heat and absorbed by troposphere and earth surface

Question 7

UV radiation

Answer 7

Invisible light that causes sunburns and skin cancers, absorbed in the mesosphere

Question 8

Natural Greenhouse Effect

Answer 8

Greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation and traps heat in the troposphere

Question 9

Albedo

Answer 9

Refers to the amount of light a surface reflects

Question 10

Solar Cycles

Answer 10

Amount of energy the sun produces following a pattern (solar maximum, solar minimum) 11 years

Question 11

Uneven heating by the sun

Answer 11

Solar radiation that hits polar regions is spread over a larger area and therefore less concentrated due to curve of earth’s surface

solar radiation that hits equator region is spread over a small area, and is hotter due to more concentrated heat (less curved)