Describe and give examples of the various ways that heat can be transported in the atmosphere. In the atmosphere, heat is transferred by conduction, convection, and radiation. Conduction is the transfer of heat from molecule to molecule. An example of conduction would be burning your hand after touching a hot stove. Convection is the transfer of heat by the mass movement of fluid. A good example of convection is actually a microwave oven.
Radiation is the heat transfer that travels in the form of a wave that releases energy when they are absorbed by an object. A great example of this is the warmth that you would feel on your face when you are facing the sun. 2. What causes air pressure? Is there air pressure on the moon? Air pressure is the amount of force that is exerted over an area of surface. The weight of the air molecules act as a force on the earth. As you climb in elevation, air pressure will decrease because there are less air molecules above us.
The moon does not have an atmosphere so there is no air pressure on the moon. 3. What are the principal gaseous components of the earth’s atmosphere? Where do scientists believe these gases came from? The ironical gases in the Earth’s atmosphere are nitrogen and oxygen. There are also small amounts of water vapor and carbon dioxide. Scientists believe that these gases came from molten rock within the hot interior that escaped through volcanoes and steam vents.
This is how they believe the 2nd Earth atmosphere was developed. 4. Many people will blow on a bowl of hot soup to try to cool it. In your view, what are the two most important heat transport processes cooling the soup? Convection is an important way to cool a bowl of soup because the hot soup heats the layer of air that is surrounding the bowl. The layer rises because t is hotter than the surrounding air and cold air takes the place of the hot rising air. When you blow on a bowl of soup this cycle will repeat.
Conduction is the 2nd most important heat transfer method because molecules can be transferred from something cold such as an ice cube to cool the soup. 5. Imagine that the temperature of the sun were to change. Describe or discuss some of the effects that this might have on the earth’s energy budget and the earth’s climate. How might it affect the weather where you live? If the temperature of the sun were to change, Earth’s atmospheric patters of wind and weather would be changed which could affect everything that is living on earth.
