test 1 review

Question 1

Why is the earth’s atmosphere so thin?

Answer 1

Gravity compresses the atmosphere by pulling air molecules towards earth’s surface, creating a thin layer.

Question 2

What are the first five most abundant gases in the atmosphere?

Answer 2

Nitrogen (N₂), Oxygen (O₂), Water Vapor (H₂O), Argon (Ar), and Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)

Question 3

What are the greenhouse gases?

Answer 3

Water Vapor (H₂O), Carbon Dioxide (CO₂), Methane (CH₄), Nitrous Oxide (N₂O), and Ozone (O₃)

Question 4

What is the CO₂ seasonal cycle?

Answer 4

CO₂ is high in the winter (respiration) and low in the summer (photosynthesis).

Question 5

What is the Dobson Unit (DU)?

Answer 5

The Dobson Unit is the most common unit for measuring O₃ concentration. It’s the amount of O₃ that can be compressed with 1 atm pressure at 0°C and create a layer 0.01 mm thick.

Question 6

What is the concentration of ozone in the earth’s atmosphere in dobson units?

Answer 6

300 DU, 3mm thick layer

Question 7

What formed Earth’s second atmosphere and what gases did this release?

Answer 7

Outgassing (volcanic eruption) released CO₂, N₂, and H₂O.

Question 8

What is vorticity?

Answer 8

a concept in fluid dynamics that describes the tendency for elements of a fluid to spin

Question 9

When does a parcel have positive vorticity?

Answer 9

when it has a counterclockwise spin

Question 10

When does a parcel have negative vorticity?

Answer 10

when it has a clockwise spin

Question 11

When a parcel spins very fast, the absolute value of its vorticity is…

Answer 11

large

Question 12

When a parcel spins very slow, the absolute value of its vorticity is…

Answer 12

small

Question 13

What is the standard sea-level pressure?

Answer 13

101,325 Pa

Question 14

How do you solve for atmospheric pressure?

Answer 14

P = 101325e^(-z/7290)
z - height in meters

Question 15

List the order of atmospheric layers from closest to the earth to the farthest.

Answer 15

Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere

Question 16

Describe the nature of the troposphere.

Answer 16

temperature decreases with height due to surface heating

Question 17

Describe the nature of the stratosphere.

Answer 17

temperature increases with height as a result of stratospheric ozone absorbing solar uv

Question 18

Describe the nature of the mesosphere.

Answer 18

temperature decreases with height

Question 19

Describe the nature of the thermosphere.

Answer 19

temperature increases with height due to residual oxygen absorbing highly energetic solar uv

Question 20

What is temperature?

Answer 20

the measure of the average speed of molecules

Question 21

What is kinetic energy and how do you solve for it?

Answer 21

the work that a body can do by virtue of its motion
KE = 1/2mv²
m - mass
v - speed

Question 22

What is potential energy and how do you solve for it?

Answer 22

the work an object can do as a result of relative position
PE = m * g * h
m - mass
g - acceleration of gravity
h - object’s height above the ground

Question 23

What is internal energy?

Answer 23

total energy stored in an object (potential + kinetic)

Question 24

Shorter wavelength corresponds to …

Answer 24

high frequency

Question 25

Longer wavelength corresponds to …

Answer 25

low frequency

Question 26

A photon’s energy is dependent on …

Answer 26

the wave frequency

Question 27

What kind of wave carries more energy?

Answer 27

shorter waves

Question 28

What does Stefan-Boltzman Law state?

Answer 28

the amount of energy per square meter per second that is emitted by a blackbody is related to the 4th power of its kelvin temperature

Question 29

What emits more radiation: a warmer object or a cooler object?

Answer 29

a warmer object

Question 30

What does Wien’s Law state?

Answer 30

wavelength of peak radiation emitted by an object is inversely related to temperature
wavelength = 2897 / T

Question 31

Solar radiation is what kind of radiation?

Answer 31

shortwave