Term
| What is the difference between weather and climate? |
|
Definition
Weather is the condition of temperature, air pressure, humidity, cloud cover, precipitation, etc. It is very specific and talks about conditions in a particular place at a particular time. Whereas, climate is the average weather conditions that occur in a region over several years. |
|
|
Term
| What is the biosphere and what is it composed of? |
|
Definition
| The biosphere is a thin layer of Earth that has conditions suitable for supporting life. It is composed of all living things on Earth and the conditions that support them. |
|
|
Term
| What "spheres" does the Biosphere contain? |
|
Definition
| The biosphere contains the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, and the lithosphere. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The atmosphere is the layer of gases that surrounds the Earth. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The lithosphere is the solid portion of Earth composed of rocks, minerals, and elements. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The hydrosphere consists of all water on Earth, in all forms. |
|
|
Term
| How high does the atmosphere rise and what is it composed of? |
|
Definition
| The atmosphere rises 500km from the surface of the Earth and is composed of mainly nitrogen and oxygen but also other gases. |
|
|
Term
| What are the most abundant gases on our planet? |
|
Definition
| Nitrogen is the most abundant gas (78%) and Oxygen is the second most abundant gas (21%) |
|
|
Term
| How does Nitrogen help combustion? |
|
Definition
Nitrogen doesn't support combustion, whereas Oxygen does, therefore it limits the amount of combustion on Earth. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Altitude is the distance above Earth's surface measured from sea level. |
|
|
Term
| What are the layers of Earth's atmosphere in order (starting from the surface of the Earth) |
|
Definition
- Troposphere
- Stratosphere
- Mesosphere
- Thermosphere
|
|
|
Term
| Name some properties about the Troposphere. |
|
Definition
The troposphere is the layer of gases at 0 - 10km from the Earth's surface. It's temperature at the surface is 15°C and goes down to -60ºC as it rises. Contains 80% of the atmospheric gases by mass. Only layer of Earth's atmosphere that can support organisms. Contains most of the CO2 and water vapour in the atmosphere.
|
|
|
Term
| Where is the ozone layer found? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Give some details about the Stratosphere. |
|
Definition
The Stratosphere is the 2nd layer from the Earth's surface and goes from 10km-50km. The temperature goes from -60ºC to 0ºC as it goes up. It contains the ozone layer which absorbs the sun rays and causes it's temperature to go up.
|
|
|
Term
| What is the purpose of the Ozone Layer? |
|
Definition
| The ozone layer protects living organisms from damaging high-energy radiation from the sun. |
|
|
Term
| Give some details on the mesosphere |
|
Definition
| The mesosphere is the 3rd layer from the Earth's surface. Its temperature decreases from 0ºC to -100ºC |
|
|
Term
| Give some details on the Thermosphere |
|
Definition
| The thermosphere is the farthest layer from the Earth. Its temperature increases from -100ºC to 1500ºC |
|
|
Term
| Where does Earth receive all its Energy from? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| 2 things the solar energy is converted to are... |
|
Definition
| Most of the solar energy is converted into thermal energy but some is converted to chemical (food) energy through photosynthesis |
|
|
Term
| What form does solar energy come in? |
|
Definition
| Solar energy comes to the Earth as radiant energy or electromagnetic waves. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Insolation is the amount of solar energy received by a region of Earth's surface. |
|
|
Term
4 things insolation depends on are... |
|
Definition
Insolation depends on latitude, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the lithosphere. |
|
|
Term
Define Angle of Inclination |
|
Definition
The angle of inclination is the degre by how much the Earth's poles are tilted from the plane of its orbit. Earth's angle of inclination is 23.5º [image] |
|
|
Term
| How does the angle of inclination cause seasonal change at polar latitudes? |
|
Definition
| The angle of inclination causes one of the poles to be more tilted towards the sun than the other. This is when its summer for the first pole and winter for the second. |
|
|
Term
| What are the latitudes of the equator and the poles? |
|
Definition
| The equator is 0º, while the poles are 90º |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A solstice is when one of the two poles are most tilted towards or away from the sun, therefore they recieve either the most number of daylight hours or the least number of daylight hours during the year. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An equinox is when the number of daylight hours is equal to the number of night hours. |
|
|
Term
| Describe the angle of incidence |
|
Definition
| The angle of incidence is the angle between a ray falling on a surface of the earth and the line perpendicular to that surface. At the equator the angle is close to 0º, while at the poles the angle is close to 90º, however it can never be higher than 90º. |
|
|
Term
| What does the Angle of Incidence signify? |
|
Definition
| At larger angles of incidences, the same amount of sunlight is spread out over a greater surface area. Therefore, areas at more polar latitudes receive less solar energy per km2 than areas near the equator. |
|
|
Term
| What are 2 possible things that can happen to radiation as it comes to Earth? Define them |
|
Definition
| It can be reflected or absorbed by particles of matter. When particles reflect energy they change the ray's direction, but when they absorb energy; it is converted into another form of energy. |
|
|
Term
| What is albedo of a surface? |
|
Definition
| The albedo of a surface is the percent of solar energy that it reflects. |
|
|
Term
| What kind of surfaces have high albedo and what kinds have low albedo? |
|
Definition
| Light-colored, shiny surfaces such as snow have high albedo, whereas dark colored surfaces such as forest or soils have low albedo. |
|
|
Term
| What is the natural greenhouse effect? |
|
Definition
| The natural greenhouse effect is when gases in the atmosphere absorb thermal energy, without the atmosphere the thermal energy would escape into space making the Earth much cooler. |
|
|
Term
| What are greenhouse gases? Name some. What is the main contributor to the greenhouse effect? |
|
Definition
| Greenhouse gases are gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect, these include methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide. However though, water vapour is the main contributor to the greenhouse effect. |
|
|
Term
| What is the net radiation budget? |
|
Definition
The net radiation budget is the difference between the amount of incoming solar radiation and outgoing solar radiation. net rad. bud. = Incoming - Outgoing |
|
|
Term
| What is thermal energy transfer? |
|
Definition
| Thermal energy transfer is the movement of thermal energy from an area of high temperature to an area of low temperature. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Conduction is the transfer of thermal energy through direct contact between particles, without changing their location or moving them. Usually in solids |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Convection is the transfer of energy through the movement of particles from one location to another. Usually in fluids. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| During convection, the movement of particles forms a current or a flow from one place to another IN THE SAME DIRECTION. |
|
|
Term
| What is atmospheric pressure? Which areas of the Earth exert less/more pressure? |
|
Definition
| Atmospheric pressure is the pressure exerted by the mass of air above any point on Earth's surface. Warmer regions exert less pressure because warm air is less dense than cool air. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Wind is the movement of cool air from areas of high atmospheric pressure to areas of low pressure. |
|
|
Term
| What is the Coriolis Effect? |
|
Definition
| If the poles were lined up straight; wind would move north-south, but since the Earth rotates on a tilt the winds are deflected either right or left. The Coriolis effect is the deflection of any object from a straight line path by the rotation of the Earth. |
|
|
Term
| Name 4 of Canada's Biomes |
|
Definition
- Tundra
- Taiga
- Deciduous Forest
- Grassland
|
|
|
