Chapter #1 Solutions - Essentials of Meteorology - C Donald Ahrens - 6th Edition

1qr. What is the primary source of energy for the earth’s atmosphere? Get solution

1qt. Get solution

2qr. List the four most abundant gases in today’s atmosphere. Get solution

2qt. Explain how you considered both weather and climate in your choice of the clothing you chose to wear today. Get solution

3qr. Of the four most abundant gases in our atmosphere, which one shows the greatest variation from place to place at the earth’s surface? Get solution

3qt. Compare a newspaper weather map with a professional weather map obtained from the Internet. Discuss any differences in the two maps. Look at both maps and see if you can identify a warm front, a cold front, and a middle-latitude cyclonic storm. Get solution

4qr. Explain how the atmosphere “protects” inhabitants at the earth’s surface. Get solution

4qt. Which of the following statements relate more to weather and which relate more to climate? (a) The summers here are warm and humid. (b) Cumulus clouds presently cover the entire sky (c) Our lowest temperature last winter was –29°C (–18°F). (d) The air temperature outside is 22°C (72°F). (e) December is our foggiest month. (f) The highest temperature ever recorded in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, was 44°C (111°F) on July 10, 1936. (g) Snow is falling at the rate of 5 cm (2 in.) per hour. (h) The average temperature for the month of January in Chicago, Illinois, is –3°C (26°F). Get solution

5qr. What are some of the important roles that water plays in our atmosphere? Get solution

5qt. Keep track of the weather. On an outline map of North America, mark the daily position of fronts and pressure systems for a period of several weeks or more. (This information can be obtained from newspapers, the TV news, or from the Internet.) Plot the general upper-level flow pattern on the map. Observe how the surface systems move. Relate this information to the material on wind, fronts, and cyclones covered in later chapters. Get solution

6qr. Briefly explain the production and natural destruction of carbon dioxide near the earth’s surface. Give two reasons for the increase of carbon dioxide over the past 100 plus years. Get solution

6qt. Compose a one-week journal, including daily news paper, weather maps and weather forecasts from the newspaper or from the Internet. Provide a commentary for each day regarding the coincidence of actual and predicted weather. Get solution

7qr. What are some of the aerosols in the atmosphere? Get solution

8qr. What are the two most abundant greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere? Get solution

9qr. How has the earth’s atmosphere changed over time? Get solution

10qr. (a) Explain the concept of air pressure in terms of weight of air above some level. (b) Why does air pressure always decrease with increasing height above the surface? Get solution

11qr. What is standard atmospheric pressure at sea level in (a) inches of mercury, (b) millibars, and (c) hectopascals? Get solution

12qr. On the basis of temperature, list the layers of the atmosphere from the lowest layer to the highest. Get solution

13qr. Briefly describe how the air temperature changes from the earth’s surface to the lower thermosphere. Get solution

14qr. (a) What atmospheric layer contains all of our weather? (b) In what atmospheric layer do we find the highest concentration of ozone? The highest average air temperature? Get solution

15qr. Above what region of the world would you find the ozone hole? Get solution

16qr. Even though the actual concentration of oxygen is close to 21 percent (by volume) in the upper stratosphere, explain why, without proper breathing apparatus, you would not be able to survive there. Get solution

17qr. What is the ionosphere and where is it located? Get solution

18qr. List seven common weather elements. Get solution

19qr. How does weather differ from climate? Get solution

20qr. Rank the following storms in size from largest to smallest: hurricane, tornado, middle-latitude cyclonic storm, thunderstorm. Get solution

21qr. When someone says that “the wind direction today is south,” does this mean that the wind is blowing toward the south or from the south? Get solution

22qr. Weather in the middle latitudes tends to move in what general direction? Get solution

23qr. Describe at least six features observed on a surface weather map. Get solution

24qr. Define meteorology and discuss the origin of this word. Get solution

25qr. Explain how the wind generally blows around areas of low and high pressure in the Northern Hemisphere. Get solution

26qr. Describe at least six ways weather and climate can influence people’s lives. Get solution