Name: __________________________

Geography 1 – Exam 4 Study Sheet – Atmosphere & Heating

The axial tilt of the Earth is 23.5° from a perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic .

Daylength for virtually all points on Earth is almost exactly 12 hours on the _____.

The Earth is at __ during the Northern hemisphere winter (on or about January 3).

The Earth's ____ produces the continually changing daily pattern of day and night.

Urban heat islands result from the fact that metal, glass, concrete, and other construction materials reflect more insolation than do natural vegetation and soil.

Air pressure decreases rapidly with increasing altitude.

In the list below, the layer of the atmosphere that shields Earth's surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation is the ____________.

A temperature inversion can be described as a temporary reversal in the ______.

Ninety percent (90%) of the total mass of the atmosphere can be found in the __.

On the December solstice, the _______ is at 23.5 degrees south latitude.

For practical purposes the atmosphere is considered to extend to 480 kilometers (300 miles)

from the Earth's surface. Beyond this is the exosphere.

Surface ozone is even more beneficial to humans than the ozone found higher up

in the atmosphere.

Volcanoes, forest fires, and dust storms are all natural sources of air pollution.

The tropopause is located at the top of the troposphere.

Earth's furthest position from the Sun, occurs around __________.

The thermosphere, mesosphere, stratosphere, and troposphere are layers of the

atmosphere with distinctly different temperature characteristic.

When we measure air ________, we are measuring the vibrational (or kinetic) energy

of the air molecules.

Radiant energy from the Sun is called insolation.

Gases in the heterosphere are evenly mixed and generally inert.

On about March 21 and September 21 the noon sun is overhead at the Equator.

On _______ the sun is directly over the Equator then continues north ward during the following days.

Which of these locations experiences only one day per year where the Sun's altitude is 90 degrees (directly overhead)?

The source of the Sun's energy is a fission reaction in which a hydrogen nucleus splits

into several helium nuclei.

Sunspots are the result of magnetic storms on the sun.

At any point along the circle of illumination, the Sun would be on the horizon.

If the speed of Earth's rotation increased 50 percent, the length of a year would not change.

However, each day would be shorter.

Seasons occur as Earth moves closer to -- and farther from -- the Sun during the course of the year.

The top of the atmosphere, also considered the outer boundary of Earth's energy system, is referred to as the __________.

The ______ consists of billions of stars as well as our own solar system.

The Sun emits radiation composed only of visible light wavelength.

Temperature decreases at normal lapse rate within the ___________.

For locations north of the Tropic of Cancer, the Sun's altitude reaches its annual maximum

on the December solstice.

The height of the troposphere is about 9 kilometers (<6 miles) at the equator.

The passage of shortwave and longwave radiation through the atmosphere is called refraction.

Albedo is properly associated with ________ of shortwave radiation.

Rainbows and mirages are examples of ________.

_________ is the molecule-to-molecule transfer of heat energy as it diffuses through a substance.

Surfaces with high albedo reflect more light than those with low albedo.

Over time, Earth reradiates back to space an average of _____ percent of total incoming energy.

The uneven distribution of insolation by latitude is a result of

In the middle and high latitudes, net annual radiation becomes negative poleward of approximately

_________ degrees.

The Solar System, Sun, and Earth formed about 4.5 to 5.6 billion years ago.

The solar wind is deflected by the magnetosphere.

Maximum daily temperatures occur about three hours after maximum insolation.

The effects of wind and low temperatures on human skin is called the

The subsolar point migrates annually between 47° north and 47° degrees south latitude.

Which of these locations has 24 hours of daylight during the northern Hemisphere winter solstice?

The inner four planets of our solar system have a ‘rocky‘surface like Earth.

The auroras in the upper atmosphere are caused by

The noon Sun is overhead in Ventura on about June 21.