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Earth Science > Unit 5 > Flashcards

Unit 5 Flashcards

1
Q

What are the layers of the atmosphere, from the surface up?

A

Troposphere
Stratosphere
Mesosphere
Thermosphere
Exosphere

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2
Q

What is in between the layers of the atmosphere?

A

A pause; e.g. Tropopause, Stratopause, etc.

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3
Q

What is temperature inversion?

A

When temperature increases as altitude increases

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4
Q

Why is temperature inversion a thing?

A

Because ozone molecules absorb UV radiation and get heated up as a result

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5
Q

What does temperature inversion do?

A

It controls air circulation

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6
Q

What is the homosphere and heterosphere?

A

Homosphere is the lower atmosphere where molecules are equally mixed
Heterosphere is the upper atmosphere where molecules are not equally mixed

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7
Q

What sphere helps radio communications?

A

Ionosphere

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8
Q

What was earth’s earliest atmosphere, and what happened to it?

A

Hydrogen and helium; escaped the atmosphere because too light

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9
Q

What was earth’s second atmosphere, and how was it produced?

A

Mostly water vapor, and a little CO2 and SO2; outgassing (release of gases from volcanoes)

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10
Q

What happened to the molecules in earth’s second atmosphere?

A

Water vapor condensed to form oceans, and CO2 got locked in rocks

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11
Q

How did earth’s third atmosphere form?

A

Since water vapor and CO2 went away, it left behind chemically inert nitrogen as the main component

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12
Q

How did the oxygen of earth’s fourth atmosphere form?

A

Living beings made it

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13
Q

What is photodissocation?

A

the breakup of molecules due to exposure to light

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14
Q

What process made earth and other planets?

A

Accretion (rocks, gas, and dust collide to form planets)

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15
Q

What organism produced the first oxygen for earth’s atmosphere, and how?

A

Cyanobacteria, via photosynthesis

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16
Q

What is a banded iron formation, and how did it form?

A

Layers of sedimentary rock that alternate between rusted and unrusted layers (red and white); undersea volcanoes released iron, which settled on the seafloor, but when oxygen was made it reacted with the iron to make rust

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17
Q

What happened when there was not enough iron for oxygen to react with?

A

It became part of the atmosphere and formed the ozone layer

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18
Q

What did oxygen in the atmosphere do?

A

Allow for the development of aerobic organisms and life on land

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19
Q

In what way does heat flow?

A

From hot to cold

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20
Q

What is temperature, and what is connected to it?

A

How fast molecules move; kinetic energy

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21
Q

What is conduction?

A

Heating by direct contact

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22
Q

What is convection?

A

Heating by moving of particles

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23
Q

Define wavelength, frequency, and their relationship to energy.

A

Wavelength is how long a wave is; frequency is the number of waves passing a point over a certain period of time; high energy correlates to high frequency

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24
Q

What percent of energy does earth absorb that hits it?

A

50%

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25
Q

Does earth’s atmosphere radiate energy into space?

A

Yes

26
Q

What provides energy for the earth?

A

The sun

27
Q

What is absorption, transmission, and reflecting of light?

A

Absorption is an object absorbing the light;
Transmission is letting it pass through unchanged;
Reflecting is reflecting the light

28
Q

What is scattering light?

A

Light scatters in all directions, making a soft glow

29
Q

How does the earth maintain a constant temperature?

A

The solar radiation flowing in is the same that is going out

30
Q

What is insolation?

A

Exposure of an object to the sun

31
Q

What is albedo?

A

The percentage of light reflected by a surface

32
Q

The air, clouds, and earth’s surface reflect what percent of incoming radiation?

A

30%

33
Q

The land and sea absorb what percent of incoming radiation?

A

50%

34
Q

What are the greenhouse gases of the atmosphere?

A

Water vapor and CO2

35
Q

Where does weather happen?

A

Troposphere

36
Q

What air makes temperature inversion?

A

Hot on cold

37
Q

Air pressure is exerted from what directions?

A

All of them

38
Q

How is air pressure exerted?

A

From the collision of air molecules

39
Q

What is the relationship between density and pressure?

A

High density makes high pressure, and vice versa

40
Q

Which way does wind blow?

A

From high to low pressure.

41
Q

Air pressure is measured in what?

A

Millibars

42
Q

What are lines of equal pressure called, and what are lines of equal temperature called?

A

Isobars; isotherms

43
Q

What is differential heating?

A

Unequal heating of the earth’s surface

44
Q

What are sea breezes and land breezes?

A

Sea/land breeze is when the cool sea/land air goes towards the warm land/sea and produces wind

45
Q

What are seasonal winds?

A

Winds caused by different heating rates of the earth during specific seasons

46
Q

What causes global winds?

A

Differential heating of the earth’s poles/equator

47
Q

What causes the differential heating of the poles/equator?

A

The sun’s energy strikes the earth more directly at the equator than at the poles, leading to a higher intensity at the equator than the poles

48
Q

What are the three convection cells and where are the located in order of closest to farthest from equator?

A

Hadley, Ferrel, polar

49
Q

Does wind move in a straight line?

A

NOPE

50
Q

How many degrees does the earth turn every hour?

A

15°

51
Q

What is the Coriolis effect?

A

The deflection of winds from their intended destination due to earth’s rotation

52
Q

What direction is wind pushed when in the northern/southern hemisphere?

A

Northern: to the right
Southern: to the left

53
Q

What are doldrums?

A

Areas of little to no wind

54
Q

What is the hydrologic cycle?

A

The cycle in which water moves

55
Q

What causes clouds to form?

A

The movement of heat and water throughout the atmosphere

56
Q

What is precipitation, and when does it occur?

A

Any form of water that falls from clouds; when droplets of water or ice grow big and heavy enough to fall down

57
Q

hunderstorms form within large clouds that often develop on summer afternoons. Hot, humid air rises rapidly in convection currents. As this hot air rises, it cools and vapor condenses from it, creating huge thunderclouds that produce heavy rain and sometimes hail.

Tornadoes form from the same clouds that form thunderstorms. The Great Plains region of the United States is a tornado-prone region because it is where warm air from the Gulf of Mexico meets cooler, drier air from Canada.

A
58
Q

hurricane begins as a low-pressure area over tropical waters. Recall that water heats up slower but can retain heat longer than land does. This scenario, along with the more direct heating of tropical waters by the sun, sets up a situation from June through November for hurricanes to form. The lowest air pressure and the warmest temperatures are at the center of a hurricane.

A
59
Q

What are the three main winds, from the equator to the poles?

A

Trade winds, prevailing westerlies, polar easterlies

60
Q
A

Earth Science (10 decks)

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