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50 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Why does a bridge become icy first in comparison to the road on ground?
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The bridge is able to lose heat (energy) from top and bottom, unlike the road on ground.
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Explain how, in winter, ice can form on puddles (in shaded areas) when the temperature above and below the puddle is slightly above freezing.
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strong wind and dry conditions lead to evaporative cooling.
water droplets at the surface are constantly evaporating which is a cooling process and the molecules are also slowing down allowing them to become rigid. With cooler temps above and below, ice can form on the puddle due to energy loss. |
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In northern latitudes, the oceans are warmer in the summer than in the winter. In which season do the oceans lose heat most rapidly to the atmosphere by conduction?
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winter even though the oceans are cooler because there is a bigger temperature contrast.
in conduction processes, heat always travels from warmer to colder regions. Therefore, more heat would be lost in the winter. |
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How fast is heat transferred away from the surface of the moon?
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electromagnetic radiation.
about as fast as it comes in since there is no atmosphere to slow it down |
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If water vapor were no longer present in the atmosphere, how would the earth's energy budget be affected?
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no absorption of infrared radiation from earth would lead to cooling.
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At the top of the earth's atmosphere during early summer (northern hemisphere) above what altitude would you expect to receive the most solar radiation in one day? at the surface?
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in one day: tilt 10 deg
mid and high latitudes the summer sun would be lower and winter sun higher == cooler summers and milder winters surface: tilt 40 deg mid/high latitudes the summer sun would be higher and the winter sun lower == warmer summers and cooler winters |
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How would the lag in daily temperature experienced over land compare to the daily temperature lag over water?
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Because water hears and cools more slowly than land, the lag in daily temps over water is usually much larger than that experience over land
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Where would you expect to experience the smallest variation in temp from year to year and from month to month? why?
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on a small island near the equator because here there would be a very small annual temp range
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In the northern hemisphere, south facing mountain slopes normally have a greater diurnal range in temperature than north facing slopes. why?
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because the southfacing slopes are receiving suns energy longer thatn northfacing slopes. this causes southfacing slopes daytime temps to be larger than northfacing ones causing the southfacing slopes to have a greater temp difference between night and day.
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sources and sinks of Nitrogen
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sources: volcanic eruptions and plant/animal decy
sinks: soil bacteria, ocean processes, lightning, fixed to roots of legumes |
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what percent of air in nitrogen?
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78%
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what percent of air is oxygen?
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21%
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sources and sinks of oxygen?
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sources: photosynthesis
sinks: organic decay, breathing, and chemical combinations |
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condensation releases what?
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latent heat
which causes heating and is major source of atmospheric energy |
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why are greenhouse gases important?
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bc they absorb outgoing radiation from earth
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what percent of atmosphere is water vapor?
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0-4%
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what percent of atmosphere is carbon dioxide?
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0.037%
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sources and sinks of carbon dioxide
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sources: vegetation decay, volcanic eruption, exhalation of animals, burning of fossil fuels, and deforestation
sinks: photosynthesis and ocean phytoplankton |
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effects of greenhouse effect?
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traps outgoing radiation which increases temps --> global warming which melts polar ice caps which increases sea levels which has huge effects on agriculture
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thermal energy is quantified by what?
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TEMPERATURE, obviously
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internal energy is what?
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the sum of the kinetic energy and potential energy due to the molecules and atoms of a system
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thermal energy is what?
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kinetic energy associated with random motions of molecules and atoms
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heat associated with phase change is what?
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latent heat
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heat is transferred in what 3 ways in atmosphere
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conduction
convection radiation |
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what is conduction?
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transfer of heat from molecule to molecule
always warmer to cooler speed depend on material |
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what is convection?
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transfer of heat by the motion of or within a fluid
can't happen in a solid very important |
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horizontal motion is called what?
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advection
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what is albedo?
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ratio of total reflected to total incoming solar radiation
Ereflected --------------- Eincoming |
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what kind of absorbers does the atmosphere contain?
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selective
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Low thick clouds reflect solar radiation which is a [blank] effect
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cooling
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High thin cirrus clouds absorb infrared radiation which is a [blank] effect.
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warming
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calm cloudless nights are [warmer/cooler] than cloudy ones.
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cooler
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radiation can be classified by the
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electromagnetic spectrum
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earth is closer to sun in january than in july, what effect does this have on seasons?
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little or none
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23.5 deg has direct sunlight in northern hemispheres summer time, not the equator
T/F |
True
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why does the arctic circle get months of light or dark?
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bc of tilt
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where are the longest days in a northern hemisphere summer?
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polar latitudes
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why are summers hotter in new york than in alaska?
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insolation
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what is insolation?
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incoming solar radiation
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what is insolation affected by?
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angle of incidence
variations in day length |
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effects of incidence angle?
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as energy comes in at an indirect angle, it reduces the effect of constant sunlight bc the energy scatters
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because polar regions have constant sunlight is there more energy than at midlatitudes?
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no because of the angle of incidence
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what causes global wind circulation?
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temp imbalance of incoming solar radiation
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solar radiation is from the
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SUN
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infrared radiation is from the
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EARTH
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cold air is [more/less] dense than warm air
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more
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greater diurnal and annual variations are [greater/less] in dry climates than in humid ones
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greater
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daily temp variation is controlled by
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input and output of energy
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during the day, input radiation exceeds output radiation which [blanks] the surface air
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warms
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during night, output radiation exceeds input radiation which [blank] the surface air
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cools
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