Test #2 Study Guide Flashcards
The region of the atmosphere below the 90 km of earth, the homosphere, has a near constant composition with about…
78% nitrogen molecule, 21 % oxygen molecule, .09% argon, and other about .01%
Which of the following atmospheric gas species occurs in the atomic form, and not in molecular form
Argon
Among the following pairs of planets, which one has carbon dioxide as being the most dominant or abundant atmospheric gas:
Venus and Mars
The oxygen content of the atmosphere has changed little since about 400/500 million years ago. Which of the following has no role in maintaining this balance between loss and gain of oxygen by the atmosphere
Sea water temperature variation
The escape velocity of a molecule from earth is estimated to be about
25,000 mph
Through the long history of earth, the following gas is considered to have the ability to escape from earth
hydrogen
The pressure of air at the sea level is
760 mm Hg
The atmospheric pressure decreases with altitude because
the density of air decreases
the volume of ONE molecule of air (gas) at zero decree C and 1 atmospheric pressure is about..
22.41 liters
The amount of oxygen in the air is about
21%
The mass of 22.41 liters of dry air at zero degree C and 1 atmospheric pressure is about
28.9 grams
The maximum height of the troposphere is about
12 to 16 km
The troposphere contains about
90% of the total air
The thermal profile of the stratosphere is characterized by
increase in temperature with increase in altitude
The thermal profile of the troposphere is due to
upward adiabatic expansion of the air
The thermal profile of the stratosphere is influenced by
the process of ozone production
The energy of a photon in radiation
increases by a decrease in wavelength
The Sun’s outer photosphere is believed to have a temperature slightly higher than
5500 K
The total energy radiated by sun is called its luminosity, which has been increasing since its formation as a star and is believed to be 30% higher since the formation of sun. Yet the geologic evidence tends to suggest that the temperature of ocean water about 3.5-3.8 billion years ago was a lot higher than that of the modern ocean. One explanation for this paradox could be that the Earth’s atmosphere had
higher carbon dioxide gas content
Of the total amount of solar radiation intercepted by the earth’s atmosphere the largest amount consists of
infrared radiation
The most intense part of the solar radiation is
the visible radiation part
which of the following requires the lowest amount of energy
dissociation of a chlorine molecule into two chlorine atoms
The part of the electromagnetic radiation that is effectively absorbed in causing vibration and rotation of the major air molecules belongs to
infrared radiation
Which on of the following air components is most effective in shielding infrared radiation
carbon dioxide
Assuming that the average temperature of the earth’s surface is about 17 degrees C, the wave length at which earth’s peak emission intensity occurs is
10 micrometer
A radical atom or a radical molecule is a chemical species that
has unpaired electrons
Molecules in the upper atmosphere are dissociated primarily by UV radiation Which one has the strongest bond so that it would require the highest energy for dissociation
nitrogen
Many major atmospheric reactions int he troposphere are driven by the following radical
hydroxyl or OH
The concentration of ozone is maximum at
upper stratospherer
the concentration of ozone at the point of maximum concentration is about
10-20 ppmv
The ozone production in the stratosphere is caused by
dissociation of molecular oxygen followed by combination with molecular oxygen
In the stratosphere, ozone is commonly destroyed
by its reaction with an ultraviolet radiation
Ozone destruction in the stratosphere is enhanced by several catalysts (which are chemical species that participate int he reaction without being consumed in the reaction process) This important ozone forming catalyst is identified as
nitric oxide
