Review Questions: Energy and Earth’s Energy Balance

  1. What does the Stefan-Boltzmann Law quantify?

  2. In what form is most of the energy from the Sun transferred to the Earth?

  3. Once the Earth’s surface is heated by the Sun, how is this energy transferred to the atmosphere?

  4. Electromagnetic radiation is divided into types (like gamma rays and radio waves). What is the characteristic that defines these types of radiation?

  5. What type of radiation has the shortest wavelength? Longest wavelength?

  6. What are the wavelengths of the visible light spectrum?

  7. How long does take light from the Sun to reach the Earth?

  8. Why is summer a warmer season than winter?

  9. What causes weather?

  10. At what time of day is beam spreading greatest?

  11. At what latitude is the Sun directly overhead on the summer solstice? During an equinox? On the winter solstice?

  12. Why is the sky blue?

  13. What is albedo?

  14. What is the Earth’s albedo?

  15. What is the greenhouse effect?

  16. How much energy is required to change 1 gram of liquid water at 100oC into water vapor?

  17. Does condensation warm or cool the atmosphere?

  18. What gas is an efficient absorber of longwave radiation between about 5 and 7 microns?

  19. What is an atmospheric window?

  20. What wavelengths does carbon dioxide absorb?

  21. What is the most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere?

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