Deck 18: Energy Balance in the Atmosphere

Question 1

Earth's surface emits ____________________ radiation, which has a relatively long wavelength and low frequency.

Answer 1

infrared

Question 2

The process that occurs when an electron falls out of an excited state is called the ____ of radiation.

A) absorption
B) emission
C) reflection
D) scattering

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The sky appears blue from Earth's surface because the blue component of the sunlight ____________________ more than the other frequencies.

Answer 3

scatters

Question 4

____________________ is the upward and downward flow of fluid material in response to heating and cooling.

Question 5

On the ____________________, every portion of the globe receives 12 hours of sunlight and 12 hours of darkness twice each year.

Question 6

During the ____ of radiation, the energy of the photon may initiate chemical and physical reactions.

A) reflection
B) scattering
C) emission
D) absorption

Question 7

____________________ are particles of light or the smallest particle or packet of electromagnetic energy.

Question 8

The electromagnetic spectrum comprises the entire range of electromagnetic radiation, including ____ waves.

A) shock
B) radio
C) seismic
D) tidal

Question 9

____________________ is the reflectivity of a surface.

Question 10

Carbon dioxide and methane can trap heat in Earth's atmosphere known as ____________________ gases.

Question 11

____________________ is the state of the atmosphere at a given place and time, characterized by temperature and precipitation.

Question 12

____________________ is the characteristic weather of a region, averaged over many years.

Question 13

____________________ is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of substance by 1 ° C.

Question 14

When the energy in a photon is transferred to an electron in a molecule, the electron jumps to a(n) ____________________.

Question 15

____________________ is the energy released or absorbed when a substance changes from one state to another.

Question 16

Earth's surface reemits energy from the Sun mostly as ____________________ radiation.

Question 17

About ____ percent of the incoming solar radiation reaches Earth's surface.

A) 1
B) 10
C) 50
D) 95

Question 18

____________________ is the transport of heat by collisions between atoms and molecules.

Question 19

The ____________________ is the entire range of electromagnetic radiation.

Question 20

____ can behave as both a wave and a particle simultaneously.

A) Light
B) Photons
C) Electrons
D) X-rays

Question 21

Water has an unusually high ____.

A) latent heat
B) specific heat
C) sublimation rate
D) greenhouse effect

Question 22

A mirror has an albedo of ____.

A) 1 percent
B) 10 percent
C) almost 100 percent
D) clear water

Question 23

The measure of the total energy in a sample is called ____.

A) temperature
B) heat
C) conduction
D) specific heat

Question 24

Snow has a very high latent heat in that it takes a lot of energy to melt the snow without ____.

A) causing sublimation
B) increasing the specific heat
C) raising the temperature
D) decreasing the temperature

Question 25

The region of the globe directly beneath the Sun is warmer because it ____.

A) is closer to the Sun
B) receives direct sunlight
C) has more yearly daylight than other parts of Earth
D) sees more intense wavelengths reaching the surface

Question 26

The horizontal airflow in atmospheric convection is called ____.

A) wind
B) convection
C) conduction
D) sublimation

Question 27

The cooling of Earth will cause more snow glaciers to grow, which will cause even more cooling. This is an example of a(n) ____ mechanism.

A) feedback
B) albedo
C) emission
D) latent heat

Question 28

Why does the Sun appear yellow from Earth?

A) Yellow is the color of white light with most of the blue removed.
B) The gases in the atmosphere filter out all colors except yellow.
C) Yellow light scatters less than blue light.
D) The amount of scattering light is proportional to the wavelength of the light.

Question 29

In Earth's northern hemisphere, the hours of sunlight per day during the Summer Solstice are ____ at the North Pole as compared to the Equator.

A) longer
B) shorter
C) the same
D) 12 hours longer

Question 30

____ plays an important role in heat transfer and storage because it commonly occurs naturally on Earth in all three states: solid, liquid, and gas.

A) Hydrogen
B) Air
C) Rock
D) Water

Question 31

In the visible spectrum, blue has the ____ frequency.

A) longest
B) shortest
C) highest
D) lowest

Question 32

Clouds have the ____ highest albedo.

A) fourth
B) third
C) second
D) absolute

Question 33

The wavelength (color) of emitted electromagnetic radiation is determined by the ____ of the source.

A) heat
B) temperature
C) latent heat
D) frequency

Question 34

Snow has an albedo of ____ percent.

A) 1 to 2
B) 30 to 60
C) 50 to 55
D) 80 to 90

Question 35

Why doesn't Earth get hot enough to boil oceans and melt rocks from the radiant energy it absorbs from the Sun?

A) The energy is transferred by atmospheric convection.
B) Most of the energy is stored as latent and chemical heat.
C) Ocean currents redistribute the heat to the poles.
D) Rocks, soil, and water reemit most of the energy they absorb from the Sun.

Question 36

On the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, sunlight strikes Earth from directly overhead at the tropic of ____.

A) Aries
B) Centaurus
C) Cancer
D) Capricorn

Question 37

Earth remains warm at night because ____.

A) clouds cause short-wave radiation to reflect back down to the surface while possessing latent heat
B) left-over short-wave radiation from the daytime is continually scattered in the atmosphere
C) the atmosphere absorbs and retains much of the radiation emitted from the surface
D) a dark sky retains more heat than a blue sky

Question 38

When a substance changes from one state to another, ____ heat is absorbed or released.

A) latent
B) specific
C) special
D) temperate

Question 39

When high-energy, visible light from the Sun is absorbed, Earth's surface will emit ____.

A) infrared energy
B) visible spectrum waves
C) ultraviolet frequencies
D) x-rays

Question 40

____ absorbs infrared radiation in the atmosphere.

A) Oxygen
B) Nitrogen
C) Carbon dioxide
D) Helium

Question 41

The amount of light that will scatter in the atmosphere depends largely on the frequency of the electromagnetic wave.

Question 42

Photons travel through space at only one speed.

Question 43

Incoming solar radiation is absorbed by Earth's surface as long-wave radiation and reemitted as short-wave radiation.

Question 44

Locations at the same latitude that receive the same amount of solar radiation ____.

A) will have the same climate
B) can have different climates
C) are not affected by their heat storage properties
D) have the same temperatures during the summer months only

Question 45

Visible light takes up a large portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Question 46

Cloudy regions generally have a narrower daily temperature range than regions with predominantly blue sky and starry nights because clouds cool Earth during the day and warm it at night.

Question 47

Snowfields and glaciers have relatively low albedo.

Question 48

Why do continental interiors show greater seasonal extremes of temperature than coastal regions?

A) Ocean currents can absorb extreme atmospheric temperatures.
B) Wind convection is greater on land.
C) Specific heat of land causes faster heating and cooling compared to ocean water.
D) Latent heat of land causes faster heating and cooling compared to ocean water.

Question 49

If Earth had no atmosphere, sunlight would travel directly to the surface, and the Sun would look white in a black sky.

Question 50

Air is a good conductor of heat because of gas molecules that freely move about.

Question 51

Equinoxes are lines on a weather map connecting areas with the same average temperature.

Question 52

Evaporation is a process whereby water ____.

A) loses heat and cools
B) gains heat and cools
C) convects heat
D) increases latent heat

Question 53

All areas of the globe receive the same total number of hours of sunlight every year.

Question 54

Ocean currents play a major role in determining average temperature of a given region on Earth.

Question 55

When a bucket of water and a rock absorb equal amounts of energy, the ____.

A) rock and the water heat to equal temperatures
B) water becomes hotter than the rock
C) rock becomes hotter than the water
D) water absorbs a smaller quantity of solar radiation

Question 56

Conduction is the transport of heat by direct collision among atoms or molecules.

Question 57

The most important greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are ____.

A) oxygen, water vapor, and methane
B) nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide
C) oxygen, nitrogen, and methane
D) water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane

Question 58

The emission of radiation requires a relatively high albedo.

Question 59

If Earth had no atmosphere, radiant heat loss would be so rapid that Earth's surface would cool drastically at night.

Question 60

Photons appear when they are emitted and disappear when they are absorbed.

Question 61

Why is carbon dioxide an important greenhouse gas?

Question 62

List two reasons why it is warm in the Northern Hemisphere during June.

Question 63

What is sublimation and how many calories does water require?

Question 64

Where are the coldest temperatures recorded in North America and why does this happen at that location?

Question 65

Describe the radiation balance for the Earth in terms of sunlight that reaches the Earth.

Question 66

Describe the levels of a photon's energy.

Question 67

Describe the surface of the Sun's temperature and the type of energy it emits.

Question 68

What is specific heat? Compare and contrast water and basalt.

Question 69

Define and describe the electromagnetic spectrum.

Question 70

Describe the summer solstice and where the sun is located during this time for the Northern Hemisphere.

Question 71

What is specific heat?

Question 72

What are photons and how fast do they travel in a vacuum?

Question 73

What can affect Earth's atmospheric temperatures in terms of absorption or reflection?

Question 74

What is the difference between weather and climate?

Question 75

What is the speed of light and how fast does it take a photon to move between the Sun and Earth?

Question 76

What is conduction?

Question 77

What is latent heat and how many calories are required to go from each state?

Question 78

What is the temperature of the Sun's surface?

Question 79

What is the frequency of a wave?

Question 80

Compare the albedo of snow, glaciers, clouds, buildings, pavement, and forests.