Review Sheet / Outline for Test #2                    Extra Help        Tuesday 11/15 7:45
                        Thursday 11/17 3:20                                                    Friday 11/18 7:45

Test                  Friday 11/18/11

 

Electromagnetic Energy

            All the energy from the sun differs by its wavelength

            Short wavelength energy like ultraviolet and gamma is damaging to organisms.

            Long wavelength energy is radio and microwaves.

            Infrared energy is heat

            Visible light is either absorbed or reflected by the Earth’s surface.

 

BE ABLE TO READ THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTUM DIAGRAM

 

Two paths of energy from the Sun:

            Absorbed – absorbed energy is released as heat

            Reflected – bounces off the surface and goes back to outer space

 

            Light colored surfaces reflect energy.

            Dark colored surfaces absorb energy and heat up.

 

Greenhouse effect:

A good thing: The atmosphere acts like the roof of a greenhouse and traps heat released from the earth.  This is needed to keep the Earth a good temperature for life.

 

Carbon dioxide is the gas in the atmosphere that traps the heat.

 

A bad thing: If we keep adding too much carbon dioxide to the air by burning fossil fuels, the temperature of Earth will increase.  This is called global warming.

 

BE ABLE TO INTERPRET THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT DIAGRAM

 

Three kinds of energy transfer:

            Radiation- transfer of energy through space. Example – Sun to Earth

Conduction – transfer of energy by direct contact (touching) Example – Air touching ice becomes cool at the poles

Convection – transfer of energy by movement of a fluid. Example -  the rising of warmed air and sinking of cooled air.

 

            Air is heated by the ground below it.  The air touching the ground is heated by conduction,         then it heats and rises, then cools and sinks, creating heat transfer by convection.

 

            BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN HOW AIR IS HEATED

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wind:

 

Wind is created when the surfaces of earth are heated unevenly.  Some surfaces heat faster than others (sand vs. water).  This creates areas of high pressure (cool sinking air) and low pressure (warm rising air).  Wind happens when air moves from high to low pressure.

 

Wind is named by the direction it blows from.  The wind vane points TO the direction the wind is blowing from. 

 

An anemometer reads the speed of the wind.

 

Global winds move the weather around the globe and blow over long distances.  The prevailing westerlies move wind from west to east across the United States.

Local winds affect a smaller local area.  Explain a sea breeze vs. land breeze.

 

Isobars connect areas of similar air pressure on a map. 

 

High pressure air (thumbs up) brings GOOD weather : cooler, clear, dry

 

Low pressure air (thumbs down) brings BAD weather : warmer, wet, cloudy

 

BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN HOW WIND IS CREATED and HOW IT IS NAMED

 

Water cycle: know the definitions and where to put them on a water cycle diagram!

 

Evaporation – liquid gains heat and turns to gas

Transpiration – evaporations from trees and plants

Condensation – gas loses heat and turns to liquid (clouds)

Precipitation – water returning to Earth in the form of rain, snow, hail, sleet

Run off – water runs over the ground and back into bodies of water

Groundwater – water infiltrates (seeps, soaks into) the ground where it is stored

InsolationINcoming SOlar RAdiation starts the cycle and keeps it going

 

Energy source to start the water cycle:  sun

 

2 ways water enters the atmosphere : evaporation and transpiration

2 ways water leaves the atmosphere: condensation and precipitation

3 places where water is stored: groundwater, runoff to oceans, frozen in icecaps or glaciers

 

Clouds:

            Clouds form when water evaporates from the ground , becomes water vapor and is part of        the warm, rising air. This is called Condensation.

            At higher altitudes, the air cools, removing heat from the water vapor, turning it to liquid             droplets.

            Clouds are liquid…NOT vapor (gas)