Environment Flashcards
What are the layers of the atmosphere in order of farthest away to closest?
Thermosphere
Mesosphere
Stratosphere
Troposphere
How far away is the thermosphere? What is its temperature?
80 to 300 km away from Earth
-100 degrees to 1500 degrees
How far away is the mesosphere? What is its temperature?
50 to 80 km away from Earth
0 degrees to -100 degrees
How far away is the stratosphere? What is its temperature?
50 km to 80 km away from Earth
-60 degrees to 0 degrees
How far away is the troposphere? What is its temperature?
0 to 10 km away from Earth
15 degrees to -60 degrees
Lithosphere
The rigid, outermost shell of a terrestrial plant
Hydrosphere
All water on Earth (all states)
Atmosphere
Layer of gases surrounding the Earth
Where is the ozone layer contained?
The stratosphere
What is the Coriolis Effect?
The rotation of the Earth causes objects in the Northern hemisphere are deflected to the right, while objects in the Southern Hemisphere are deflected to the left. This effects water and air.
This causes hurricanes to spin counter-clockwise in the North and spin clockwise in the South
What are jetstreams?
Fast flowing air currents in the atmosphere
What are polar and subtropical jetstreams?
The strongest jetstreams are polar jets at 9 - 12 km above sea level
The higher altitude and somewhat weaker subtropical jets at 10 - 16 km above sea level
The northern and Southern Hemisphere each have a polar and subtropical jet
What is the angle of inclination?
23.44 degrees
Causes the seasons
What is the albedo effect?
Surface without snow or ice absorbs more heat
Surface with snow reflects more heat
What are the two types of ocean currents?
Surface Currents
Deep Currents
What are surface currents?
Wind driven, primarily horizontal motion
What are deep currents?
Driven by differences in density caused by differences in temperature and salinity, vertical and horizontal motions
Specific Heat Capacity
The amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 g of a substance by 1 degree
Calculated using J/g•C
Thermal Energy
Energy due to the motion of particles
Q = the quantity of thermal energy Q = m*c*delta*t
Measured in Jules
What the different parts in the formula to calculate thermal energy?
Q = thermal energy (measured in Jules)
m = mass (measured in grams)
c = specific heat capacity (J/g•C)
Delta T = change in temp (measured in degrees Celsius)
Precipitation
Water turning from vapour to solid or liquid form
Condensation
A change in the state of water from gas to liquid
How clouds are formed
Evapotranspiration
Evaporation from land, lakes and rivers (liquid to vapour) along with transpiration from plants
Surface runoff
Snow melting so fast it runs down towards the nearest water source
Infiltration
Snow melting so slow that it soaks into the soil
What is heat of fusion?
Is the amount of energy absorbed when 1 mol of the substance changes from solid to liquid phase, without a change in tempurature
What is heat of vaporization?
The amount of energy absorbed when 1 mol of the substance changes from liquid phase to vapour phase, without a change in temperature
What are the formulas to calculate heat of fusion and heat of vaporization?
H fus = Q/n
H vap = Q/n
What are the units of measurement for the different parts in a heat of fusion or heat of vaporization formula?
H fus/H vap = kJ/mol
Q = kJ
N = moles (mol)
Adaption
Any change in the structure of functioning of an organism that makes it more suitable to its environment
Weather
The state of an atmosphere in terms of variables, such as temperature, for a particular place at a particular time
Climate
The average daily and season weather events that occur in a region over a long time period
Climatograph
Summary of the average temperature and precipitation for each month of the year at a given location
Used to compare biomes
What factors that affect the amount of radiation that reaches a region of Earth’s surface?
Time of the year Angle of inclination Length of day Cloud cover Albedo effect
What biome receives about 100 cm of rain per year and has a growing session of about six months?
Temperate Forest
