Science

Question 1

Air pressure

Answer 1

The definition of air pressure is the force exerted onto a surface by the weight of the air.

Question 2

Troposphere

Answer 2

the lowest region of the atmosphere, extending from the earth’s surface to a height of about 3.7–6.2 miles (6–10 km), which is the lower boundary of the stratosphere.

Question 3

Stratosphere

Answer 3

the layer of the earth’s atmosphere above the troposphere, extending to about 32 miles (50 km) above the earth’s surface (the lower boundary of the mesosphere).

Question 4

Mesosphere

Answer 4

the region of the earth’s atmosphere above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere, between about 30 and 50 miles (50 and 80 km) in altitude.

Question 5

Thermosphere

Answer 5

The region of the atmosphere above the mesosphere and below the height at which the atmosphere ceases to have the properties of a continuous medium. The thermosphere is characterized throughout by an increase in temperature with height.

Question 6

Radiation

Answer 6

the emission of energy as electromagnetic waves or as moving subatomic particles, especially high-energy particles that cause ionization.

Question 7

Thermal conduction

Answer 7

is the transfer of internal energy by microscopic diffusion and collisions of particles or quasi-particles within a body or between contiguous bodies. The microscopically diffusing and colliding objects include molecules, atoms, electrons, and phonons.

Question 8

Convection

Answer 8

the movement caused within a fluid by the tendency of hotter and therefore less dense material to rise, and colder, denser material to sink under the influence of grav

Question 9

Greenhouse effect

Answer 9

the trapping of the sun’s warmth in a planet’s lower atmosphere due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet’s surface.

Question 10

Global warming

Answer 10

increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants.

Question 11

Wind

Answer 11

the perceptible natural movement of the air, especially in the form of a current of air blowing from a particular direction.

Question 12

Coriolis effect

Answer 12

an effect whereby a mass moving in a rotating system experiences a force (the Coriolis force ) acting perpendicular to the direction of motion and to the axis of rotation. On the earth, the effect tends to deflect moving objects to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern and is important in the formation of cyclonic weather systems.

Question 13

Polar easterlies

Answer 13

The Polar effect or electronic effect in chemistry is the effect exerted by a substituent on modifying electrostatic forces operating on a nearby reaction center.

Question 14

Westerlies

Answer 14

a wind blowing from the west.

Question 15

Trade winds

Answer 15

a wind blowing steadily toward the equator from the northeast in the northern hemisphere or the southeast in the southern hemisphere, especially at sea. Two belts of trade winds encircle the earth, blowing from the tropical high-pressure belts to the low-pressure zone at the equator.

Question 16

Jet streams

Answer 16

a narrow, variable band of very strong, predominantly westerly air currents encircling the globe several miles above the earth. There are typically two or three jet streams in each of the northern and southern hemispheres.

Question 17

Air pollution

Answer 17

the presence in or introduction into the air of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects.

Question 18

Acid precipitation

Answer 18

s a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals and infrastructure.

Question 19

Atmosphere

Answer 19

the envelope of gases surrounding the earth or another planet.