Table of Contents Chapter: Atmosphere Section 1: Earth's Atmosphere Section 2: Energy Transfer in the Atmosphere Section 3: Air Movement
Table of Contents Chapter: Atmosphere Section 2: Energy Transfer in the Atmosphere
*What is Heat? *Heat is energy that flows from an object with a higher temperature to an object with a lower temperature. **This transfer of heat occurs until THERMAL EQUILIBRIUM is reached. Thermal equilibrium is reached when there is no more temperature difference between the bodies that are exchanging heat
Heat = Thermal Energy It depends on the vibration of the atoms that make up the object. The more vibration the higher the temperature
2 Energy from the Sun Earth's energy comes mostly from the Sun. What happens with this energy once it arrives on Earth?
What happens with the energy from the Sun? 35% is reflected back into space by atmosphere and earth's surface 65% absorbed by the atmosphere, the land and the water.
How heat is transferred within Earth s atmosphere Once it is absorbed, this energy will be transferred by different processes: radiation, conduction, and convection.
Radiation: is energy that is transferred in the form of waves.
Conduction: is the transfer of energy by contact molecules collide and transfer heat
Conduction Lab: What happened? the water in the two containers had different temperatures The waters were not in contact the aluminum bar was in contact with both waters and transferred the heat from the warmer one to the colder one.
Convection: is the transfer of heat by the flow of material (more common in liquids and gases) The flow generates Convection Currents
Demo Convection: what happened? the warm water (red) moved up because it is less dense. it cooled down, became denser moved to the bottom of the container, creating convection currents. The convection currents mixed warm water with cold water. All the water turned red and reached the same temperature
*Climate x Weather *Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place. Ex: today is raining *Climate average weather pattern in an area over a long period of time. Ex: Washington is humid during summer
Hydrosphere is a term that describes all the water on Earth s surface.
***Importance of the heat from the Sun 1)The energy from the Sun allows life to exist. warms us up, allows photosynthesis to happen for the production of food and oxygen.
2)**The heat from the Sun is the driving force of weather and climate. By warming up the water, the land and the atmosphere, it creates the movement of air and water. Local weather and climate depend on the movement of air and water around the Earth and the atmosphere
**Movement of air winds **Movement of water water cycle **Water Cycle is the constant movement of water through the atmosphere, hydrosphere and land, due to the Sun s energy. The water cycle involves the processes of evaporation, condensation, precipitation and the flow of water on and under the Earth s surface.
**Water Cycle, Weather and Climate The processes of evaporation, condensation and precipitation involved in the water cycle, allow heat and moisture to move from one area to another These processes, plus the movement of air, are responsible for weather and climate on Earth.
2 Earth s Atmosphere is Unique *Earth s atmosphere is unique *It is the atmosphere that guarantees a balance between energy absorbed and reflected, creating the ideal conditions for life to exist. Why doesn t life exist on Mars or Venus? Read the book, page 102
Why there is no life in Mars? The atmosphere in Mars is very thin. There are not enough gases to trap the Sun s heat. Mars is too cold and does not have enough atmosphere to support life. There is some water in form of ice.
Venus Venus is very hot due to the gases in its atmosphere. Carbon dioxide: 96 percent Nitrogen: 3.5 percent Venus s dense atmosphere trap heat coming from the Sun - greenhouse effect
2 Venus Living things would burn instantly if they were placed on Venus s surface. Also the air pressure is extremely high because of the high density of the gases in the Venus atmosphere. We could not survive this atmospheric pressure.