Download Atmosphere student notes

Topics for the current event on
Atmosphere/Hydrosphere include:
Weather
Storms
Global warming
Greenhouse gases
Climate change
Clouds
Air quality
Air masses
Weather technology
Acid Rain
Human impact on the
atmosphere
 Water currents and heat
transfer
 Ground water/surface
water
 Human impact on
freshwater availability
 Water quality in NC river
basins, wetlands and
tidal environments
Definition – Long term weather patterns in an area that describes annual variations
Causes of
Latitude
Topography
Air Masses
Global wind patterns
Closeness to lakes and oceans Climate
Ocean currents
Availability of moisture Natural Change
Earth’s Rotation
Volcanic Activity
Solar Activity
Precession
Types
Tropical
Mild
Dry
Polar
Continental
Microclimates
Human Change
Increase of greenhouse gases
Deforestation
Heat islands
Climate Categories (Types) p.
359-368
 Koppen climate classification system
 Temperate
 Tropical
 Polar
 Dry
 Continental
Bellringer
 What are the gases that make up the atmosphere?
Draw a pie chart to show the quantities of each gas.
Text p. 272
Climatology – Define
 Climate

 Describes
What?
 Why use normals with caution?
Causes of Climates – Give an
Example of each
Latitude
 Topography
 Closeness to lakes and oceans
 Availability of moisture
 Wind pattern
 Ocean currents
 Air masses

Koeppen Classification System –
Describe each
Tropical
 Dry
 Mild
 Continental
 Polar

Microclimates
Define
 Give an example

Climate Changes – give example
Ice ages
 Seasons
 El nino

Natural causes – give example
Solar Activity
 Earth’s orbit
 Earth’s wobble
 Volcanic activity

Human Impact – How?
Global Warming
 Other human activities

Structure and composition of our
atmosphere p. 271-277
 Summarize Information from charts and graphs
regarding layers of the atmosphere, temperature,
chemical composition, and interactions with radiant
energy
 E:\Removable
Disk\biology\Evolution\Creating_the_Potential_for_L
ife.asf
Describe the Earth’s early
atmosphere
 Mainly methane and ammonia.
 volcanic activity that added water vapor, chlorine,
carbon dioxide, hydrogen and nitrogen.
 introduction of cyanobacteria allowed oxygen in
atmosphere
What makes up atmosphere
today?
 78% Nitrogen
 21% oxygen
 1% other gases
Structure of Atmosphere
 Lower Atmosphere
 Troposphere (most of mass of atmosphere)
 Stratosphere (ozone)
 Upper Atmosphere
 Mesosphere
 Thermosphere
 Exosphere
Joshua and Jennifer Mosser, Briar Woods High
School
Draw the layers of the atmosphere and
briefly describe each (Activity)
 Exosphere: Is the outermost layer of the Earth’s atmosphere.
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Hydrogen and helium are found here and beyond the exosphere is
outer space
Thermosphere: Minute portion of the atmosphere’s mass. Increase
in temperature but would not seem warm to us because of lack of
molecules. (The Ionosphere is part of the thermosphere and is made
up of electrically charged particles)
Mesosphere: No ozone and temperature decreases again
Stratosphere: Contains ozone; O3 and protects us from UV radiation.
Ozone is a pollutant in the troposphere. This heats the stratosphere
Troposphere: Layer closest to Earth , contains most of the mass
including water vapor and most weather. It also contains most of the
pollutants. It decreases in temperature from bottom to top.
Bellringer
 Draw the image below. Read p. 294
Bellringer NCFE 2014 #9
 Which is associated with an increase of
chlorofluorocarbons in the environment?
A an increase in health risks associated with UV
radiation
B an increase in levels of methane gas in the atmosphere
C an increase in ozone levels in the upper atmosphere
D an increase in acid precipitation
Temperature vs Heat
 Measure of movement of molecules
 Rapid movement increased temperature
 Transfer of energy due to temperature differences
Joshua and Jennifer Mosser, Briar Woods High
School
Create a Venn diagram showing the similarities
and differences between heat and temperature.
HEAT
-transfer of energy
-Joules
-transferred by radiation,
convection, conduction
-dependent on mass, size ,
and number of molecules
Similar
-Contribute
to weather
-deal with
energy and
matter
-dependent
on
molecules
TEMPERATURE
-calculation of how
fast or slow molecules
move
-Celsius, Kelvin,
Fahrenheit
-dependent on speed
of molecules
Dew point
 Temperature to which air must be cooled at constant
pressure to reach saturation
Joshua and Jennifer Mosser, Briar Woods High
School
Why is dew point important?
 Air must be saturated for condensation to occur.
Joshua and Jennifer Mosser, Briar Woods High
School
The Atmosphere
Earth’s atmosphere is 21% oxygen and
78% nitrogen
Human activities (cars, factories, burning
land, coal) have increased carbon dioxide
levels, causing a slight greenhouse
effect
Water vapor and carbon dioxide help
the Earth to retain heat and make it
warmer
Burning fossil fuels also causes smog
and contributes to acid rain
Venus has an extreme greenhouse effect
due to carbon dioxide
Energy transfer in the atmosphere
involves convection, radiation and
conduction
Joshua and Jennifer Mosser, Briar Woods High
School
Why is radiation important to
us in terms of the sun?
 This is the way we get energy through space.
 Earth absorbs solar radiation.
 send back 35%
 Infrared radiation is changed into heat when it strikes
an object.
What is conduction?
 heating by direct contact when molecules collide
with each other.
 Heat always flows from hot to cold
 offers only a very thin atmospheric layer of heat
near the earth’s surface
What is convection?
 Heated air or water expands and moves upward.
 Cooled air or water shrinks and moves downward.
 sets up currents of air and water.
Bellringer – you tube
 Describe the three methods by which solar energy that
reaches Earth is transferred?
 P.275-276
Greenhouse effect
 Process by which the atmosphere traps
infrared rays over the earth’s surface
Global warming
 Increased average temperature of
atmosphere caused by the increased
amount of CO2 in atmosphere
Variation in temperature is due to:
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Latitude
Elevation
Water
Wind
Seasons
Meteorology
 Study of atmospheric phenomena
Atmospheric properties that
describe weather conditions:
 Temperature
 Air pressure
 Wind speed
 Amount of moisture in air
Coriolis effect—Earth rotation causes deflection of air in
the atmosphere
 Global wind patterns are caused by the unequal
heating of the Earth creating convection currents.
 Wind flows from High to Low Pressure
 United States weather is controlled by Prevailing
Westerlies and moves from west to east
 Sea breezes—during the day, wind blows from the sea
to the land because the air above the sea is colder
(denser) and the air above the land is warm (less
dense)
 Land breezes—occur at night. Cool air above land
moves out to over warmer water in the sea.
Atmospheric relationships
T↑
P
T↓
P
T↓
D
T↑
D
T= temperature
P=pressure
D = density
↑ = increase
↓ = decrease
Air masses
 Large body of air that takes on the characteristics of
the area of which it forms (AKA – source area)
 Refer to table 12-1 on page 304
Pressure Systems
 Northern Hemisphere
 High – (air sinks) winds rotate in clockwise direction
 Low – (air rises) winds rotate in counterclockwise
direction
Balancing heat energy
 Air mass modification
 Coriolis Effect
 Global winds
 Trade winds
 Prevailing westerlies
 Polar easterlies
Front – narrow region separating two air masses
of different densities.
 Types
 Warm
 Cold
 Stationary
 Occluded
Cold Front – cold air wedged under warm air –
heavy clouds/violent storms
Warm Front – warm air slopes over cold air- hot,
muggy, thunderstorms
Stationary Front
Occluded front
Cloud formation – temperature
and moisture
 Warm air forced up in a convection current
 Warm moist air is forced to rise over a mountain
 Two air masses of different temperatures meet
Cloud Video – Learn 360
What are three ways clouds are important to our earth?
2. What are the four layers of the atmosphere in the video?
3. Where do clouds form and become active?
4. What are the two factors that determine cloud formation?
5. What does the name tell you about the cloud?
6. Describe each of the three cloud shapes.
7. Complete Chart. (Given before video)
8. Who studies weather?
9. What is the term for when a cloud releases any form of water vapor?
10. Why do clouds not appear to be moving fast?
11. What two compounds are used in cloud seeding?
1.
Name of Cloud
Description
Type of weather
Cirrostratus
Spread out cirrus clouds above 3 miles
Rain within 24 hours
cirrocumulus
Puffy clouds that are broken up 3 miles Approaching warm front
above ground
altostratus
Layerless risen stratus clouds up to 3
miles
Rain and snow for a long time
stratocumulus
Heavy and fluffy at low elevation
Cold front
Fog
Low forming status cloud next to
ground
Moist air cooled close to the
ground
altocumulus
Risen cumulus clouds above 1-3 miles
Precede cold fronts and
thunderstorms
cumulonimbus
Massive towers ranging in elevation
from 1-7 miles
Rain, lightining, severe
weather , tornadoes
nimbostratus
Low gray rain clouds
rain
stratus
“layer” featureless sheets of clouds
Just after lifted fog
cumulus
“pile or heap” puffy, lumpy looking
clouds
Fair weather
Cirrus
“hair” wispy, stringy clouds
Distance storm whose cold
winds have created them
I. Cloud formation Lab

Prelab questions:
1. Why would there be more humidity in the air above a
warmer lake than there would be above a colder lake?
2. IN order for a cloud to form, the humid air must be
cooled below it __________ point?
3. As air is compressed (squeezed), will it become
warmer, or will it become cooler?
4. As air rises, will it be compressed, or will it expand?
How will this affect its temperature?
5. What are “condensation nuclei”? Give two examples.
I. What affects Cloud formation?
II. The purpose of this lab is to
determine what factors affect cloud
formation.
III. If water is placed inside of a 2 liter
bottle, then warm water/cold water
(choose one) will produce a cloud
when pressure is exerted on the
bottle.
IV.
V.
2 liter bottle with lid, match, warm water, cold water
1. Pour cold water into 2 liter bottle to line.
2. Screw on lid and shake bottle for 30 seconds.
3. squeeze bottle for several seconds to increase the pressure
and release to allow air to expand.
4. Observe air in the bottle. Record observation.
5. Unscrew cap, light match, BLOW it out!, hold the smoking
match inside the tilted bottle for about 2 seconds.
6. Squeeze and release several seconds. Observe and record
observation.
7. Repeat all procedures using warm water.
VI. Observations
VII. Conclusion: Complete follow up questions.
Was your hypothesis correct or not? Why?
Chapter 11 Assesment p. 296
 1-19
Explain the formation of typical air
masses and the weather systems
that result from air mass
interactions. P. 278-289
 How do air masses move? (pressure differentials)
 How do interactions of air masses form frontal
boundaries, clouds, and affect wind patterns?
 Precautions for severe cyclonic storms to preserve life
and property
Bellringer:
 What are the five types of air masses? Why are we able to find all
five types in North America? Give an example of where each
would be located. Use text page 302-304
Bellringer
 What are the two variables that are involved in air-
mass formation?
Bellringer NCFE 2014 #8
 Which storm most likely develops as air masses
interact with the warm water in the northwest Pacific
Ocean?
A typhoon
B tornado
C blizzard
D monsoon
Observe, analyze and predict weather using
technological resources
 Instruments
 Thermometer - temperature
 Barometer - pressure
 Anemometer - wind
 Hygrometer - humidity
 Ceilometer - clouds
 Radiosonde – temperature, pressure, and humidity
Weather Instruments
Barometer—
measures air
pressure
Sling psychrometer—
measures relative
humidity
Anemometer—measures wind speed
Hygrometer—
measures relative
humidity
Wind vane—shows wind direction
Joshua and Jennifer Mosser, Briar Woods High
School
Radar – “radio detecting and ranging”
 Doppler radar –
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Doppler effect – change in wave frequency that occurs in
energy, such as sound or light, as that energy moves toward or
away from an observer.
Example: wind speeds associated with precipitation areas
including severe weather.
 Satellites – track clouds
 Infrared imagery – detects thermal energy differences
Interpret and analyze weather maps and relative
humidity charts.
 Interpreting a weather map text p. 323
Station Models
Joshua and Jennifer Mosser, Briar Woods High
School
“Storms” Video – Learn 360
 Why was there so many people left behind during

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Hurricane Katrina?
What percentage of New Orleans was flooded?
What type of storm hit Beijing China in 2007?
What is a tornado? What type of storm do they form from?
What are scientists’ concerns with global warming and
weather ?
What is delivering more powerful storms with earlier
seasons?
What are 3 instruments discussed in the video?
Explain how cyclonic storms form
based on the interaction of air
masses p. 333-346
 Importance of water vapor and its influence on
weather (clouds, relative humidity, dew point, and
precipitation)
 Use predictions to develop plans for safety precautions
related to sever weather events
Hurricanes
Hurricanes are the largest storms on Earth.
It moves with counterclockwise movement
and winds reach up to more than 250 km/hr.
Hurricanes are areas of extreme low
pressure that form over warm ocean water of
at least 80 degrees.
Joshua and Jennifer Mosser, Briar Woods High
School
Intensity of hurricanes is
measured on the SaffirSimpson scale and is
determined by sustained
wind speeds
Tornado
 A tornado is a violently
rotating column of air
that usually touches
the ground
 A rotating updraft of air
in a thunderstorm cloud
may form a spinning
column called a
mesocyclone, which
eventually can touch
down on the ground as
a tornado
Joshua and Jennifer Mosser, Briar Woods
High School
Precautions – Chapter 13 (329-351) Before, During ,
and After
 Define and describe the cause
Hurricane
of your specific topic and
Tornado
precautions you would take at
Floods
the time of the event to
preserve life and property.
Winter Storm
 Create a warning sign that
Heat/Drought
tells others what to do to be
Thunderstorms prepared.
Chasing Killer Storms – Learn 360
What are precursors to a tornado?
2. What is a cumulonimbus cell also called?
3. What equipment is used to detect large thunder storms?
4. Where is the eye of a hurricane?
5. What is used to deliver important data in the eye?
6. What type of destruction did Hurricane Bertha cause?
7. How many roots where calculated for Bertha by computer models?
8. What is used in cloud seeding?
9. How is a hurricane formed? What allows for the motions?
10. What type of devastation was caused by hurricane Andrew?
11. What causes tornado and hurricanes to be more dangerous?
1.
Outline
 How deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels
(linked to increased industrialization) contribute to
global climate change
Sasinschool.com
Username: wlincoln
QL: 952
Bellringer
 Read textbook page 380. Complete the graph using
the table given on p. 380. Answer the questions that
follow.
Human activities affect air quality
p. 377, 665-668, 724-729
 Acid rain formation
 How do human activities alter the pH of rain?
 Other human activities that impact quality of
atmospheric composition
 Aerosols, chlorofluorocarbons, burning industrial
byproducts, over farming, etc.
 Methods to mitigate human impact on the atmosphere
SASinschool.org
 Carbon cycle – QL #952
Acid Rain
 Carbon dioxide (CO2) + Water (H2O) -----> Carbonic
acid (H2CO3)
or
Sulphur dioxide (SO3) + Water (H2O) -----> Sulphuric
acid (H2SO4)
or
Nitric oxide (NO) + Water (H2O) -----> Nitric acid
(H2NO2)
 Environmental impacts 4.2 Acid Rain and scrubbing
 http://www.dnr.state.md.us/education/powerup/pdfs/p
owerup_envimpact.pdf
Read Article
 Maryland News
 “Power Plants and the Environment: Coal as a Soarce of
Energy”
I.
Acid Rain & Scrubbing: Why Worry?
Acid Rain Neurtalization Lab
II. How do coal-burning power plants reduce acid rain
forming agents?
III. If limestone is added to an acid solution will/will not
reduce the acidity because…
 IV. Materials:
 cup or 500 ml. Beaker, Distilled water, Acid source
(distilled white vinegar), Granulated/powered
limestone, Wide range of litmus paper with color
matching charts, Eyedropper
V. Procedures
1. Fill the cup ½ full of distilled water. Measure the pH by dipping a piece
of litmus paper into the water. Match the color to the color chart.
2. Label this cup normal rainwater and add three drops of acid solution.
Measure the pH by dipping a piece of litmus paper into the solution.
Match the color to the color chart. Record the pH number in the data
chart below. Normal rain should be 5.6 or above on the pH scale.
3. To this normal rainwater add 12 more drops of acid solution. Stir the
solution and test it with pH paper. This represents added acid from the
burning process of fossil fuels. Match the color to the color chart. Record
the pH number in the data chart below. Acid rain has a pH below 5.0.
4. Add the limestone to the same cup and stir your solution. In a power
plant, granulated limestone (similar to lime) is added to the smoke of a
power plant before it leaves the smoke stack. Measure the pH of the acid
rain water 1 minute after you have added the lime and record the result on
the data chart.
VI. Acid Rain Neutralization Lab
Data Chart
Distilled Water
Normal Rainwater
Acid Rain Water
Acid Rain Water after adding lime
Liquid PH Level
VII. Conclusions:
1. Did the pH of the acid rain water become more acidic (lower pH
number) or more basic (higher pH number) after it was treated with
lime?
2. Water for drinking should not be acidic or basic. What pH number
would indicate a neutral safe pH? Hint: If you are not sure, test some
distilled water with pH paper.
3. Power plants use the term “scrubbing” to describe methods of cleaning
the smoke emitted by their stacks. By “scrubbing”, what are they adding to
the smoke? Does this help prevent acid rain from forming?
4. What are some of the habits/routines of you and your family that add
acid rain agents to the air? Remember that anytime fossil fuels (coal, oil,
gasoline) are burned, acid rain causing agents escape into the air.
*** Was your hypothesis correct or not? Why or why not?
 Extensions:
1. Catch some rainwater in a clean glass container and test it with your
litmus paper.
2. List some ways you can help with the acid rain problem.
Explain p. 368
 How large-scale development contributes to regional
changes in climate
 (i.e. heat islands in large cities like NY, Chicago, and
Beijing
Action
 Humans can take on a local level, as well as on larger
scale, to mitigate global climate change
 Montreal Protocal – CFC’s
 Storm surge
Test Review
 Radiosonde
 Coriolis effect
 Gases
 Dew point
 Water vapor
 Station model
 Nitrogen, oxygen, Carbon dioxide
 Weather
 Ozone
 Climate
 Global warming
 Latent heat
 Temperature inversions
 Radiation
 Condensation nuclei
 Convection
 Koeppen System
 Conduction
 Ceilometer
 Temperate, tropical, and polar zones
 Analog
 Smog
 Tornado
 Particulate matter
 Coalescence
 Source regions (cP, mT, mP, and cT)
 Acid precipitation (rain)
 Layers of the atmosphere
 Ice age
 El Nino
 Climatology
 Trade winds, polar easterlies,
prevailing westerlies
 Jet stream