Chapter #2 Solutions - Understanding Weather and Climate - James E Burt, Edward Aguado - 7th Edition

1c. What is potential energy? Get solution

1ct. Goose down is composed of a large number of very small filaments. These separate the air within a parka or sleeping bag into many small pockets that do not readily circulate. How does this feature make down such a good insulating material? How does this feature of goose down relate to the material in this chapter? Get solution

1. Get solution

1rq. Give several examples of kinetic and potential energy as they exist on Earth. Get solution

1va. Get solution

2c. Explain what happens in terms of kinetic and potential energy as a raindrop falls from a cloud. Get solution

2ct. Some old buildings are warmed by radiators. And the latest trend in residential heating is “radiant heat” supplied by hot water running through tubing in floors. Is this a truly accurate descriptor of how rooms in those buildings are actually warmed? Get solution

2. Get solution

2rq. Conduction and convection are alike in that both transfer heat within a substance. What is the critical difference between them? Get solution

2va. Get solution

3c. How is energy transferred in conduction, convection, and radiation? Get solution

3ct. Why is it not completely accurate to describe the energy coming from the Sun as visible radiation? Get solution

3. Get solution

3rq. We have discussed sunlight and X-rays as two examples of electromagnetic radiation. Describe radiation as a wave phenomenon, and explain what is meant by the term electromagnetic. Get solution

3va. Get solution

4c. Describe the types of energy transfer involved in heating soup in an iron cooking pot suspended above the glowing coals of a campfire. Get solution

4ct. If Earth’s speed of rotation were to change, would there be a corresponding change in the amount of energy the planet as a whole receives? Get solution

4. Get solution

4rq. Why is wavelength important in radiation transfer? That is, when discussing radiation, why isn’t it enough to specify the amount or rate of energy transfer? Get solution

5c. What is electromagnetic radiation? Get solution

5ct. At noon the solar angle is always greater at Tucson, Arizona, than at Laramie, Wyoming. Is the same also true for 6 P.M.? Get solution

5. Get solution

5rq. Place the following wavelength bands in correct order of wavelength: visible, X-rays, ultraviolet, microwave, infrared. Get solution

6c. Explain how the electromagnetic spectrum is categorized into bands. Get solution

6ct. Locations near the equator typically have less seasonality than do locations farther away from the tropics. Explain why this is so. Get solution

6. Get solution

6rq. Why is the Kelvin scale superior to the Fahrenheit and Celsius scales in many scientific applications? Get solution

7c. What does the Stefan-Boltzmann law tell us about the relationship between an object’s temperature and the amount of radiation it emits? Get solution

7ct. Why is it that the solar angle cannot be considered the sole influence on the amount of radiation reaching Earth’s surface? Is the situation different for the Moon? Get solution

7rq. Describe how the wavelengths and total energy emitted change as the temperature of an object increases. Get solution

8c. How would an increase in Earth’s temperature influence the amount of radiation emitted by Earth’s surface? Get solution

8ct. How might the temperature change in the course of a day differ on east-facing vs. west-facing slopes? Get solution

8rq. The solar constant is about 1361 W/m2. If the distance between Earth and Sun were to double, what would be the new value? Get solution

9c. What does Wien’s law tell us about the relationship between the temperature of an object and the wavelength at which it radiates? Get solution

9ct. At noon at 45° N latitude, the solar angle is 45° above the southern horizon. What would the angle of incidence be on a north-facing slope of 45°? Would the slope of the surface affect both beam spreading and atmospheric path length? Get solution

9rq. What is the most important factor responsible for seasons on Earth? Get solution

10c. How has Wien’s law been applied in the understanding of satellite images of clouds? Get solution

10ct. Describe the apparent path of the Sun to a person standing at the North Pole on June 22. Get solution

10rq. Describe the annual march of solar declination. Get solution

11c. How does the intensity of solar radiation vary with distance from the Sun? Get solution

11ct. On the equinoxes a person at the equator would see the sun rise exactly to the east, pass directly overhead at noon, and set exactly in the west—all over a 12-hour period. How will this change on the solstices? Get solution

11rq. What is the significance of the Arctic and Antarctic Circles? Get solution

12c. What is the solar constant and how is it derived using the inverse square law? Get solution

12rq. If the tilt of Earth’s axis were 10°, where would we find the Arctic and Antarctic Circles? Would this cause a change in the dates of the solstices, equinoxes, and perihelion and aphelion? Get solution

13c. Describe the orientation of Earth’s axis at the winter solstice, summer solstice, and the equinoxes in the Northern Hemisphere. Get solution

13rq. Pick a day in the Northern Hemisphere winter. Describe the changes in daylength and solar position you would encounter if you were to travel from the North Pole to the South Pole. Do the same for a day in the Northern Hemisphere summer. Get solution

14c. Explain how the position of the subsolar point varies from one solstice to the next. Get solution

14rq. Explain why the equator always has 12 hours of sunlight. Get solution

15c. What are the two general ways in which solar declination and latitude combine to affect the heating of the surface? Get solution

15rq. Explain how changes in solar position influence the intensity of radiation on a horizontal surface. Get solution

16c. Why are seasonal differences in temperature generally greater at higher latitudes than lower latitudes? Get solution

16rq. If you were to travel from the equator to the North Pole, on what day would variations in solar radiation be smallest? Why? Explain how daylength and solar angle change as you move poleward. Get solution

17rq. Burlington, Vermont, is located at 44.5° N. What is the angle of the noontime Sun on either of the equinoxes and on the solstices? Get solution