REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR CH2- ENERGY: WARMING THE EARTH AND THE ATMOSPHERE


  1. What is energy?
  2. What are the different types of energy that are important in the atmosphere and how are they defined?
  3. What temperature scales to we use in meteorology?
  4. What is heat capacity and specific heat?
  5. What is latent heat? Is latent heat a big deal in the atmosphere? why or why not?
  6. What are the three heat transfer mechanisms? What are examples of these?
  7. What is radiation?
  8. What is radiative equilibrium?
  9. What is the radiative equilibrium temperature?
  10. Why is the radiative equilibrium temperature for the earth below freezing for the no-atmosphere case?
  11. What is "albedo"?
  12. How does the atmosphere interact with solar and terrestrial radiation?
  13. What does the "greenhouse effect" refer to?
  14. What are the most common greenhouse gasses?
  15. What does "global warming" refer to?
  16. What is a selective absorber? Why is the atmosphere a selective absorber?
  17. What processes are involved with the earth's energy balance with/without at atmosphere?
  18. How are the aurora borealis (northern lights) formed?

last updated: 08/16/04 06:50 PM