Weather and Atmosphere Flashcards
What are the four layers of the atmosphere in order from closest to farthest from Earth
Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere
Most clouds and weather occur here and air temperature gets colder as you go higher in this layer
Troposphere
Coldest layer, no ozone molecules to absorb solar radiation and covert to heat
Mesosphere
The air is extremely thin and HOT
Thermosphere
No weather activity, most airplanes fly in the lower part of this layer, ozone absorbs energy from the sun and converts to heat
Stratosphere
What happens to air pressure as you move higher up in the atmosphere
Decreases
Height above sea level is called…
Altitude or elevation
Why do temperatures change in the different layers?
Temperatures change because some layers have gasses that easily absorb energy from the sun and others do not.
What is the name for the natural heating process that keeps the atmosphere at a comfortable temperature for living things
Greenhouse Effect
What are some important greenhouse gases?
Water vapor, carbon dioxide and methane
What is global warming?
a gradual increase of temperature in Earth’s atmosphere. related to the increase of some greenhouse gasses due to pollution.
Energy transferred in rays or waves
Radiation
the transfer of energy that occurs when molecules bump into each other.
Conduction
transfer of heat by the flow of material
Convection
True or false: Water can keep its temperature stable for longer periods of time than land
True
