Ch. 16, p. 462 #
1-3, 7, 10
1.
Distiguish
between weather and climate.
A. Weather refers to the state of the
atmosphere
for a short period of time. It is constantly changing. By
contrast,
climate is a composite of weather based on many years of weather
records.
Although they are not the same, both are measured using the same
elements
below (in #2).
2. List the basic elements of weather and climate.
A. The elements of weather and climate are
those
quantities or properties that are measured regularly and include:
a)
air temperature, b) humidity, c) type and amount of clouds, d)type and
amount
of precipitation, e) air pressure, and f) wind speed and direction.
3. What are the two major components of clean, dry air?
A. Nitrogen (~79%) and oxygen (~21%)
7. (a) Why is ozone important to life on Earth?
A. It absorbs damaging ultraviolet
radiation
from the sun. If ozone were not present, our planet would be
uninhabitable
for most life as we know it.
(b) What is the most serious threat to human health of a decrease
in
the stratosphere's ozone?
A. It would probably be an increase in the
incidence
of skin cancer.
10. Briefly explain the primary cause of the seasons.
A. The seasons are caused by the yeaerly
variation
in the altitude of the sun and length of daylight due to the
inclination
of Earth's axis affecting the amount of solar energy received at
Earth's
surface.
Last update
6/29/2005
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