Download Section 5.3

Chapter Five: Earth’s Atmosphere
• 5.1 The Atmosphere
• 5.2 Layers of the Atmosphere
• 5.3 Earth is Just Right
Investigation 5B
Heating Land and Water
• How does solar radiation affect the heating
and cooling of continents and oceans?
5.3 Earth is just right
• Earth’s surface
temperature stays
within a narrow range—
it is not too hot or too
cold.
• The average
temperature of Earth’s
surface is about 15 °C.
5.3 Earth’s surface temperature
5.3 Heat transfer and water
• The Sun’s heat reaches
Earth by a heat transfer
process called radiation.
• Once heat has arrived on
Earth, there are three ways
that it moves through the
atmosphere: radiation,
convection, and
conduction.
5.3 Heat transfer and water
• Compared to land
surfaces, water has a
high specific heat.
• Having a higher specific
heat means that it takes
more energy to raise a
substance’s temperature.
• Once the substance is
warm, it takes longer to
cool off.
5.3 Earth’s motion
• The motion of Earth also helps to
balance its surface temperature.
• Rotation is the
turning motion of a
planet as it spins.
• It takes one day for
Earth to make one
complete spin.
Spinning a basketball on
your finger is a good
example of rotation.
5.3 Earth’s motion
• Revolution is the motion of a planet
around its star, like a race car that moves
around and around a circular track.
5.3 Temperature and Earth’s
rotation
• Even though Earth is
farther away from
the Sun than
Mercury, our night
side never gets as
cold as Mercury’s
night side.
• One day on Mercury
lasts for about 58
Earth days!
6.1 Revolution and Earth’s seasons
• Earth has seasons because it is tilted on
its axis.
Research Connection
Hurricane Hunters
• If there's a hurricane to be
hunted, it's usually done by
one of the specially
equipped NOAA planes.
• A typical flight can last up to
eight hours and cover over
2000 nautical miles.
• It's not your typical vacation
fight.
Activity
Bernoulli’s Principle
• Because air flows
around objects, a
baseball pitcher can
throw a “sinker,” an
airplane can fly, and
a golf ball can soar
for long distances.
• Demonstrate
Bernoulli’s principle
three different ways
using these activities.