Chapter 16, Atmosphere Composition, Structure & Temperature.
Review Question Answers
1. a) Weather
b) Climate
c) Climate
d) weather
e) weather
f) climate
g) weather and climate
h) weather
2. The high altitude ash cooled the climate for the entire
northern hemisphere.
3. a) 3
b) 12 kilometers is aboout 75 miles, so so the pressure at that
altitude is about 200 mb. The surface pressure at mean sea level
is 1013.25 mb, so 80% of the Earth's atmosphere is below you at 12
kilometers altitude
4. none of the answers is correct. A radar, not
would give you the altitude you were at, so then
determine which layer of the atmosphere you were
if you are at the top of the atmosphere, you are
the atmosphere at all. This is a very misleading
a doppler radar
you could
in. But actually
not in a layer of
question.
5. About 1,000 miles per hour. If the circumference of the Earth
is 24,900 at the equator, we know that the Earth makes one
rotation (1 day) in 24 hours. So the speed is 24,900 divided by
24 or 1,038 miles per hour.
6. The sun would never be directly over head at the summer
soltice at local solar noon because the earth is tilted at 23.5
degrees from the ecliptic. So if you go to 23.5 degrees north
latitude on the summer soltice at local solar noon the sun will
appear directly overhead. If the sun were directly overhead at
40 degrees north on the summer soltice at local solar noon, the
Earth's axis were be tiled at 40 degrees from the Ecliptic. If
the Earth were tiled at 40 degrees the seasons would be more
extreme.
7. The angle of the sun shining on the north pole during the
northern hemisphere summer is such that the Sun appears near the
horizon all of the time. This causes a veryt small amount of en
energy to be absorbed at the surface near the north pole.
8.The peak radiation emitted by a rock at room temperature is at
the longest wavelength. The light bulb would be at the shortest
wavelength and the car engine would be between those two
wavelengths.
9. If the Earth albedo were to increase to 50% the Earth would be
much cooler.
10. San Francisco climate is affected by the cool California ocean
current off shore. The climate in the middle of a continent is
both colder in the winter and hotter during the summer.
11. Clear skies during the day and clear skies at night would
produce the largest temperature range because during the day the
sun's energy reaches the ground without be reduced a great deal
and at night the infrared radiation emitted by the ground is able
to escape to space at the greatest rate possible.
12. The chapter opening photo is a tropical island. Since it is
tropical it is at fairly close to the equator (plus or minus 30
degrees). Since it is tropical it isn't at high altitude, but
is near sea level. At this altitude and latitude, there will be
substantial warming during the day which will cause clouds to
build up over the island and shower to occur frequently on many
afternoons.