mod3quiz

Question 1

The mass of air surrounding a planet

Answer 1

Atmosphere

Question 2

The pressure exerted by the atmosphere on all objects within it

Answer 2

Atmospheric pressure

Question 3

An instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure

Answer 3

Barometer

Question 4

The lower layer of earth’s atmosphere, which exists from ground level to roughly 80 kilometers (50 miles) above sea level

Answer 4

Homosphere

Question 5

The upper layer of earth’s atmosphere, which exists higher than roughly 80 kilometers (50 miles) above sea level

Answer 5

Heterosphere

Question 6

The region of the atmosphere that extends from ground level to roughly 11 kilometers (7 miles) above sea level

Answer 6

Troposphere

Question 7

The region of the atmosphere that spans altitudes of roughly 11 kilometers to 48 kilometers (30 miles)

Answer 7

Stratosphere

Question 8

The region of the atmosphere that spans altitudes of roughly 48 kilometers to 80 kilometers (50 miles)

Answer 8

Mesosphere

Question 9

Narrow bands of high-speed winds that circle the earth, blowing from west to east

Answer 9

Jet streams

Question 10

Energy that is transferred as a consequence of temperature differences

Answer 10

Heat

Question 11

A measure of the energy of random motion in a substance’s molecules

Answer 11

Temperature

Question 12

The region of the atmosphere between altitudes of roughly 80 kilometers and 460 kilometers

Answer 12

Thermosphere

Question 13

The region of the atmosphere above an altitude of roughly 460 kilometers

Answer 13

Exosphere

Question 14

The region of the atmosphere between the altitudes of roughly 65 kilometers and 330 kilometers, where the gases are ionized

Answer 14

Ionosphere

Question 15

Suppose the earth’s atmosphere contained twice the number of molecules it does today. Would atmospheric pressure be greater than, equal to, or less than it is now?

Answer 15

Atmospheric pressure would be greater than it is now.

Question 16

Two students make two different barometers. Although they are placed side by side so that they are both exposed to exactly the same atmospheric pressure, the column of liquid in the first student’s barometer is significantly lower than the column of water in the second student’s barometer. Assuming both students made their barometers correctly, what explains the difference?

Answer 16

The students used different liquids.

Question 17

The average, sea-level value for atmospheric pressure is 14.7 pounds per square inch, which is the same as 29.9 inches of mercury. If the atmospheric pressure is 0.85 atms, which of the following values would correspond to atmospheric pressure as reported in a weather report?

31.1 inches of mercury, 29.9 inches of mercury, 25.4 inches of mercury

Answer 17

An atmospheric pressure of 25.4 inches of mercury would be reported.

Question 18

Two vials contain air samples taken at different altitudes. The first is composed of 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, and 1% other. The second is 95% helium, 4% hydrogen, and 1% other. Which came from the homosphere?

Answer 18

The first came from the homosphere.

Question 19

You are reading the data coming from a data-gathering balloon as it rises in the atmosphere. You have no idea what altitude it is at, but the balloon is sending a signal from its thermometer, telling you the temperature of its surroundings. How will you know when the balloon enters the stratosphere? How will you know when it enters the mesosphere?

Answer 19

The balloon enters the stratosphere when its temperature readings cease to decrease and begin increasing. The balloon enters the mesosphere when the temperature readings cease increasing and begin decreasing again.

Question 20

Name the three regions of the homosphere, from lowest to highest.

Answer 20

Troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere

Question 21

Although the temperature gradient changes from region to region in the homosphere, there is one gradient that stays the same. It continues to decrease as you increase in altitude, no matter where you are in the homosphere. To what gradient am I referring?

Answer 21

I am referring to the “amount gradient.”

Question 22

A plane is experiencing a lot of problems because of a storm in the area. Is the plane flying in the troposphere or the stratosphere?

Answer 22

The plane is flying in the troposphere.

Question 23

A scientist has two vials of ammonia gas. She tells you that in the first vial, the gas molecules are traveling with an average speed of 1,000 miles per hour. In the second vial, they are traveling with an average speed of 1,300 miles per hour. Which vial contains the gas with the higher temperature?

Answer 23

The second vial contains the gas with the highest temperature.

Question 24

As you are outside on a cold winter night, you begin to shiver from the cold. Your companion says that you are shivering from the heat. Is your companion correct? Why or why not?

Answer 24

Your companion is correct. Heat is energy that is being transferred. The reason you are cold is that energy is being transferred from your body to the surrounding air.

Question 25

Suppose there were a layer of carbon dioxide gas in the mesosphere. What would happen to the temperature gradient in that region?

Answer 25

The temperature gradient would reverse, getting warmer near that region.

Question 26

Why will the ban on CFCs most likely not save or improve people’s lives?

Answer 26

A ban on CFCs will probably not save or improve lives because CFCs cause a depletion of ozone only during a few months out of the year and mostly over Antarctica.

Question 27

Why will the ban on CFCs most likely result in a tragic loss of human life?

Answer 27

A ban on CFCs will most likely cost many lives because refrigeration, surgical sterilization, and firefighting will all be less efficient, causing death by starvation, death by eating food-borne illness, death by surgical infection, and death by fire.

Question 28

Even though human civilization is responsible for less than 1% of all chlorine in the atmosphere, it is responsible for 80% of all ozone-destroying chlorine. Why?

Answer 28

Some kinds of human-made molecules that contain chlorine can survive the trip up to the ozone layer, while most naturally produced chlorine-containing molecules cannot.

Question 29

What makes it possible for CFCs to travel up to the ozone layer and begin destroying ozone?

Answer 29

The polar vortex lifts the CFCs into the ozone layer.

Question 30

Where is the ionosphere, and what makes it useful to us?

Answer 30

The ionosphere is a stretch of the atmosphere ranging from the upper mesosphere to the lower parts of the thermosphere. It is useful to us in radio communication, as radio signals can bounce off of it to extend their range.