The Atmosphere and Weather Flashcards
When you travel upward and you feel the air is colder, you are traveling through the ___.
atmosphere
What is an atmosphere?
layers of gases surrounding Earth
How many kilometers above Earth does the atmosphere extend to?
700 km
What is the layer of the atmosphere closest to Earth?
the troposphere
How high is the troposphere?
11 km
The troposphere has how much percent of air in the entire atmosphere?
80%
What is air?
a mix of gases, dust and water vapor
The troposphere has 99% of ____ in the entire atmosphere.
A. Water Vapor
B. Air
C. Dust
D. Stratosphere
A. Water Vapor
It contains 99% of water vapor because most weather (water cycle) happens.
Does most weather take place in the troposphere or most clouds?
A. Most weather
B. Most clouds
C. Both
D. None
C. Both
Most weather occurs in the troposphere layer because that is where most clouds are formed.
True or False; the higher you go uphill in the troposphere, the colder the temperature will be.
true
The air pressure of the troposphere drops the higher you go up, that’s why it becomes colder.
What is the second lowest atmosphere layer from the Earth?
stratosphere
Why do jet planes usually fly in the stratosphere, rather than the other layers?
The air in the stratosphere lacks turbulence and updrafts compared to in the troposphere, so their ride is smoother.
What is the ozone layer?
It is a layer that blocks the UV rays, or harmful rays from the Sun. It converts it into heat when it reaches Earth’s surface.
True or False: the higher you go uphill in the stratosphere, the temperature becomes colder, like in the troposphere.
false
The temperature of the stratosphere becomes hotter the higher you go up because the air lacks updrafts and turbulence unlike the troposphere layer.
What is the third layer of the atmosphere from Earth’s surface?
mesosphere
What temperatures can the mesosphere reach?
90C
True or False: we can breathe in the thermosphere.
false
there is little air in the thermosphere, we can barely breathe in that layer.
Why do we feel that the temperatures in the thermosphere is below freezing while in reality it is the opposite (2,000C)
We feel the thermosphere’s temperature is so cold because the layer of air is too thin.
True or False: the mesosphere’s top is the coldest.
true
The higher you go up in the mesosphere, the colder it will be. The mesosphere’s top is the coldest part in the entire atmosphere.
How much air pressure does the mesosphere have?
A. above 1% of the sea level
B. below 100% of the sea level
C. below 1% of the sea level
D. above 100% of the sea level
C. below 1% of the sea level
Why is the exosphere considered to be a layer of the atmosphere by some, but not by others?
Because the layer is so far from Earth’s surface, and the air is too thin, thinner than the thermosphere which barely has any already.
What do you mean when the exosphere is “leaking” into the atmosphere?
The very thin air of the exosphere is VERY slowly releasing into the outer space.
True or False: the ionosphere is part of the layers of the atmosphere.
false
The ionosphere is composed of several regions in parts of the mesosphere and thermosphere.
The ionosphere is composed of:
A. electrons
B. lights
C. auroras and lights
D. atoms and molecules
D. atoms and molecules
The electrons, atoms and molecules were separated because of the Sun’s radiation.
What are energetically charged atoms and molecules called?
ions
What is another name for Northern/Southern Lights?
Auroras
What are auroras?
A beautiful light that shows in the sky rarely
Name the objects that scientists observes weather with.
- Doppler Radar
- Weather Balloons
- Weather Satellites
What are the 4 main weather variables?
cloud cover, precipitation, temperature, wind
What do updrafts form?
clouds
What are updrafts?
hot air rising
What do clouds hold before they precipitate?
water and ice crystals
What causes an electric charge?
downdrafts brushing into updrafts, water and ice crystals colliding
What makes lightning?
several electric charges forming one big charge
What are the three ways lightning can form?
ground to cloud, cloud to cloud, cloud to ground
When is Earth closest to the sun?
during January
How is thunder created?
it is created because of the rapid air movement expanding and contracting.
