Chapter 1

Question 1

What is the most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere?

Answer 1

Nitrogen

Question 2

What is the second most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere?

Answer 2

Oxygen

Question 3

What is the layer of the atmosphere closest to the Earth’s surface?

Answer 3

Troposphere

Question 4

Which layer of the atmosphere contains the ozone layer?

Answer 4

Stratosphere

Question 5

What is the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere called?

Answer 5

Tropopause

Question 6

Which layer of the atmosphere is known for its high temperatures due to the absorption of solar radiation?

Answer 6

Thermosphere

Question 7

What is the process by which heat is transferred in the atmosphere through the movement of air?

Answer 7

Convection

Question 8

What is the layer of the atmosphere where weather phenomena occur?

Answer 8

Troposphere

Question 9

What is the main greenhouse gas in Earth’s atmosphere?

Answer 9

Carbon dioxide

Question 10

What is the layer of the atmosphere with the highest concentration of ozone?

Answer 10

Stratosphere

Question 11

What is the process by which water vapor in the atmosphere turns into liquid water?

Answer 11

Condensation

Question 12

True or False: The exosphere is the outermost layer of the atmosphere.

Answer 12

True

Question 13

What is the layer of the atmosphere that contains the ozone layer?

Answer 13

Stratosphere

Question 14

What is the layer of the atmosphere where temperature decreases with altitude?

Answer 14

Troposphere

Question 15

What is the layer of the atmosphere where most commercial airplanes fly?

Answer 15

Troposphere

Question 16

Fill in the blank: The ____________ is the boundary between the stratosphere and the mesosphere.

Answer 16

Stratopause

Question 17

What is the layer of the atmosphere where the ozone layer helps protect life on Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation?

Answer 17

Stratosphere

Question 18

What is the layer of the atmosphere where temperature increases with altitude?

Answer 18

Stratosphere

Question 19

What is the definition of air density?

Answer 19

Air density is the mass of air molecules per unit volume.

Question 20

True or False: Air density decreases with increasing altitude.

Answer 20

True

Question 21

What is the standard atmospheric pressure at sea level?

Answer 21

1013.25 hPa

Question 22

Fill in the blank: Pressure ________ with increasing altitude.

Answer 22

decreases

Question 23

Which gas makes up the majority of Earth’s atmosphere by volume?

Answer 23

Nitrogen

Question 24

What is the SI unit of pressure?

Answer 24

Pascal (Pa)

Question 25

At what altitude does the pressure drop to half of its sea level value?

Answer 25

Approximately 5.6 kilometers (18,000 feet)

Question 26

What is the formula for calculating pressure?

Answer 26

Pressure = Force / Area

Question 27

What is the relationship between air density and pressure?

Answer 27

Air density decreases with decreasing pressure.

Question 28

What instrument is used to measure atmospheric pressure?

Answer 28

Barometer

Question 29

What is the lapse rate in the atmosphere?

Answer 29

The rate at which temperature decreases with an increase in altitude in the atmosphere.

Question 30

True or False: The environmental lapse rate is the actual rate at which temperature decreases with altitude in the atmosphere.

Answer 30

True

Question 31

Fill in the blank: The ______ lapse rate is the rate at which a rising parcel of air cools as it ascends in the atmosphere.

Answer 31

adiabatic

Question 32

What causes the dry adiabatic lapse rate to be constant?

Answer 32

It is constant due to the ideal gas law and the lack of condensation or evaporation in the parcel of air.

Question 33

What is the unit of measurement for energy?

Answer 33

Joule

Question 34

True or False: Heat is a form of energy.

Answer 34

True

Question 35

What is the specific heat capacity of water?

Answer 35

4.18 J/g°C

Question 36

What is the unit of measurement for temperature?

Answer 36

Celsius (°C)

Question 37

What is the First Law of Thermodynamics?

Answer 37

Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred or transformed.

Question 38

What is the difference between heat and temperature?

Answer 38

Heat is the energy transferred between objects due to a temperature difference, while temperature is a measure of the average kinetic energy of particles in a substance.

Question 39

What is thermal equilibrium?

Answer 39

When two objects are at the same temperature and no heat flows between them.

Question 40

What is the heat capacity of a substance?

Answer 40

The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a substance by 1 degree Celsius.

Question 41

What is the definition of specific heat capacity?

Answer 41

The amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1 degree Celsius.

Question 42

What is the difference between conduction and convection?

Answer 42

Conduction is the transfer of heat through direct contact, while convection is the transfer of heat through the movement of fluids.