Download Weather and atmosphere learning targets 2016 KEY

WEATHER AND ATMOSPHERE LEARNING TARGETS
Focus Question
1a. Draw and describe how
the sun’s energy (radiation)
travel to Earth and what
happens to it after it arrives
at Earth.
1b. How much of the sun’s
energy reaches the Earth?
Explain why.
2. Describe the process of
conduction, and how it
relates to atmospheric
heating
3a. Describe what
convection is.
3b. What are two examples of
convection?
Detailed Explanation
The sun sends energy to the earth in the form of radiation / light,
and it is changed into thermal energy (heat) some of which is
absorbed by land and oceans.
This energy transfer is done without contact which is why it is
radiation and not conduction.
Although the sun radiates a huge amount of energy, 50% is absorbed by
the Earth Surface. Approximately 30% is reflected back to space while
the rest is absorbed by clouds and atmosphere gases.
The transfer of heat energy through a material.
Conduction relates to atmospheric heating by the warmed earth
(land and water) transferring its heat to the air it comes in contact
with. This warms the atmosphere.
The transfer of heat energy through liquids and gases by moving
particles.
The warm air/water becomes less dense and rises,
The cool air/water becomes more dense and sinks as it moves
away from the earth’s surface and sinks back down.
1. Rice boiling on the stove
2. Convection oven
4. Describe how clouds are
formed.
Water vapor rises and cools and condenses around dust and other
particles. This forms clouds.
5. Describe the atmosphere
as a mixture of gases.
The atmosphere is composed of 78% Nitrogen & 21% Oxygen &
1% other gases.
Nitrogen, with lesser amounts of oxygen, and a very small amount
of other trace gases.
Note carbon dioxide is a tiny fraction of the 1%.
Real World Example: Draw a Picture(caption) or
Write in Words
6. Explain the greenhouse
effect.
The Greenhouse Effect is a warming up of the Earth from certain
gases (Carbon Dioxide, Water Vapor, Methane, Nitrous Oxide,
Oxygen) in the atmosphere. Atmosphere acts like a blanket for the
earth and controls the heating up and cooling off at night.
7. Describe how
greenhouse gases are
important to the Earth?
Solar Radiation (Sunlight) when it reaches the Earth it is soaked
up by land, water and plants. But, a lot of this energy is sent back
into the atmosphere in the form of infrared heat. The greenhouse
gases absorb some of that HEAT and send it back down to the
Earth’s surface. This keeps the Earth warm.
8. Describe how
temperature, density
and air pressure
changes with elevation.
Air temperature:
At higher elevations the air temperature is generally colder
in the troposphere.
Air density:
Decreases as altitude increases.
for example-the number of oxygen molecules per breath is
less on a mountain than at sea level
Air pressure:
As altitude increases air pressure decreases since the air
gets thinner as elevation increase in the troposphere.
9. List and describe
features of the
atmosphere as you
move away from the
earth’s surface
Troposphere-the lowest layer of the atmosphere. it contains
almost 90% of the atmosphere’s total mass! almost all of the
earth’s carbon dioxide, water vapor, clouds, air pollution,
weather, and life-forms are in the troposphere. weather occurs
here.
Stratosophere-the atmospheric layer above the troposphere.
almost all of the ozone in the stratosphere is contained in the
ozone layer.
Mesosphere-above the stratosphere is the mesosphere. the
middle layer of the atmosphere. it is also the coldest layer.
Thermosphere-the uppermost atmospheric layer. in the
thermosphere, temperature again increases with altitude.
Ionosphere-in the upper mesosphere and the lower
thermosphere. nitrogen and oxygen atoms absorb harmful solar
energy. these ions radiate energy as shimmering lights called
auroras.
Exosphere: where atmosphere and space blend.
10. Describe how much
air temperature affects
how much water vapor it
can hold.
Cool air holds less water vapor than warm air. Cold air
molecules are closer together and there is less room
between them. a cool air mass will fill up quickly with
precipitation and will empty out (in the form of rain or
snow). Warm air masses have particles that are farther
apart. there is more room in a warm air mass and it will
take more water vapor to fill it up. The air might feel
humid because there is more water in the air.
11. Describe what wind
is and how it moves
Wind is the movement of air from areas of high pressure
to areas of low pressure.
12. Describe how the
sun causes winds
The pressure differences are caused by the sun’s uneven
heating of the earth’s surface.
13. Explain the Coriolis
effect and how it
influences winds.
If the temperature drops on a warm humid day,
then it rains because cold air cannot hold as
much water vapor.
Air heats up at the doldrums (equator) and
move toward the poles where it cools and sinks.
The Coriolis effect occurs because of the earth’s rotation.
it causes the wind to curve to the right in the northern
hemisphere
14. Describe what cause Weather is due to the motion of the atmosphere from the
sun’s uneven heating of the earth. ( Air masses come
weather.
into contact with each other- causing changing weather)
Pilots have to adjust their flight path when
they travel from detroit to miami.
Once in
January there was warm weather in Michigan,
the air mass came from Bahamas.
15. Describe what an air A huge body of air that has similar temperature,
mass is and what causes humidity and air pressure at any given height in the
atmosphere. The temperature changes in the air masses
it to move.
cause them to move in the atmosphere.
16. Describe why warm
air masses and cold air
masses don’t mix.
Due to different densities of warm and cold air, they do
not readily mix.
17. Describe what
happens when a warm
front moves in and the
weather associated with
it.
Describe picture weather: Warm air slow moves up and
over the cold air mass.
18. Draw and Describe
what happens when a
cold front moves in.
19. Draw and Describe
what happens at
stationary front.
Describe:
On a warm day our weather comes from a
continental tropical air mass.
How is front represented on weather map?
With Red half circles
Picture
Cold fronts move quickly, bring thunderstorms, heavy rain
or snow. behind the front is cooler temps
Describe:
The air masses stay near each other and bring many days
of cloudy wet weather.
Picture
20. Draw and Describe
what happens at an
occluded front.
21. Explain what a jet
stream is and how it
influences weather
22. Interpret the
weather for a station
models.
Describe
Two cold air masses trap a warm air and push it up. It
brings cool temps and large amounts of rain and snow.
They are concentrated high altitude streams of fast moving
wind which blows from west to east across the northern
and southern hemispheres. It is responsible for the
movement of major weather features from west to east
across north America (and the earth as a whole).
Picture