* The primary source of energy for the earth's atmosphere is {the sun} [1] # * The most abundant gases in the earth's atmosphere by volume are {nitrogen} and oxigen [2] # * The primary gases found in the atmosphere are {nitrogen} and oxigen [3] # * Water vapor is {a gas} [4] # * In a volume of air near the earth's surface, {oxigen} occupies 21 percent [5] # * In a volume of air near the earth's surface, {nitrogen} occupies 78 percent [6] # * The negatively-charged particle that circles around the nucleus of an atom is an {electron} [7] # * {Water vapor} is considered a variable gas in the earth's atmosphere [8] # * {Water vapor} is the gas that shows most variation from place to place and from time to time in the lower atmosphere [9] # * Water vapor is {invisible} [10] # * Typically, water vapor occupies less then [4] percent of the air's volume near the earth's surface [11] # * The only substance near the earth's surface that is found naturally in the atmosphere as a solid, liquid, and a gas is {water} [12] # * In the atmosphere, tiny solid or liquid suspended particles of various composition are called {aerosols} [13] # * The most {abundant} greenhouse gas in the earth's atmosphere is water vapor [14] # * Since the turn of this century, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been {increasing} in concentration [15] # * The greenhouse gas that has been {increasing} in concentration, at least partly due to deforestation is carbon dioxide [16] # * A greenhouse gas used as a refrigerant, a solvent, and during the manufacture of foam is {chlorofluorocarbons} [17] # * {Oxygen} is not considered a greenhouse gas [18] # * {Photosynthesis} is a process acting to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere [19] # * The outpouring of gases from the earth's hot interior is called {outgassing} [20] # * The earth's first atmosphere was composed primarily of hydrogen and {helium} [21] # * The primary source of oxygen for the earth's atmosphere during the past half billion years or so appears to be {photosyntesis} [22] # * The most abundant gas emitted from volcanoes is {water vapor} [23] # * Hypoxia is a condition caused by lack of {oxygen} going to the brain [24] # * {Gravity} holds a planet's atmosphere close to its surface [25] # * The amount of force exerted over an area of surface is called {pressure} [26] # * Much of Tibet lies at altitudes over 18,000 feet where the pressure is about 500 mb. At such altitudes, the Tibetans are above roughly {50} percent of the air molecules in the atmosphere [27] # * Newtons are units of {force} [28] # * The unit of pressure most commonly found on a surface weather map are {millibars} [29] # * Pressure is the weather element that always {decreases} as we climb upward in the atmopshere [30] # * The number or mass of air molecules in a given space or volume is called {density} [31] # * A planet whose atmospehre is mainly nitrogen and oxygen is {Earth} [32] # * The atmosphere of {Mars} is composed primarily of carbon dioxide [33] # * The gas responsible for the {greenhouse} effect on Venus is carbon dioxide [34] # * {Venus} is the planet with a strong greenhouse effect, whose surface temperature averages 480 degrees Celsius [35] # * In the stratosphere, the air temperature normally {increases} with increasing height [36] # * The earth's atmosphere is divided into layers based on the vertical profile of air {temperature} [37] # * The stratosphere is between the troposphere and the {mesosphere} [38] # * Almost all of the earth's weather occurs in the {troposphere} [39] # * The most abundant gas in the stratosphere is {ozone} [40] # * The hottest atmospheric layer is the {thermosphere} [41] # * Scientist are able to determine the air temperature in the {thermosphere} by observing changes in satellites orbits [42] # * The atmospheric layer in which we live is called the {troposphere} [43] # * The temperature of the tropopause is much {colder} than the temperature at the earth's surface [44] # * The radiosonde measures temperature, pressure, and {humidity} at various altitudes in the atmosphere [45] # * Warming in the stratosphere is mainly caused by absorption of ultraviolet radiation by {ozone} [46] # * In a temperature inverision air temperature {increases} with increasing height [47] # * The rate at whoch temperature decreases with increasing altitude is known as the {lapse} rate [48] # * The {lowest} level of the ionosphere is referred to as the D region [49] # * The electrified region of the upper atmosphere is called the {ionosphere} [50] # * The inosphere is an atmospheric layer that contains a high concentration of ions. An ion is an atom or molecule that has lost or gained an {electron} [51] # * The ozone hole is found in this atmospheric layer: {stratosphere} [52] # * About 97% of all ozone in the atmosphere is found in the {stratosphere} [53] # * The so-called "ozone hole" is observed above the continent of {Antarctica} [54] # * Most of the ionosphere is found in this atmosheric layer: {thermosphere} [55] # * The term "ozone hole" refers to a seasonal {decrease} in ozone concentration [56] # * If the concentration of ozone decreased significantly, more {ultraviolet} radiation would be absorbed at the earth's surface [57] # * Polar stratospheric clouds are thought to contribute to the problem of {ozone} destruction [58] # * When chlorofluorocarbons are subjected to ultraviolet radiation, {chlorine} is released which rapidly destroys ozone [59] # * The gas that absorbes most of the harmful ultraviolet radiation in the stratosphere is {ozone} [60] # * {Ozone} is produced naturally in the stratosphere and is also a primary component of photochemical smog in polluted air at the surface [61] # * A major way in which {chlorofluorocarbons} can enter the stratosphere is through building thunderstorms that penetrate into the lower stratosphere [62] # * Once released into the atmosphere, {chlorofluorocarbons} remain about 100 years [63] # * In 1978, the United States banned the non-essential use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's). This was because CFC's reduce the ozone concentration in the {stratosphere} [64] # * Oxygen atoms, {chlorine} atoms, and other ozone molecules are capable of destroying ozone in the stratosphere [65] # * {Wind} is the horizontal movement of air [66] # * {Meteorology} did not become a genuine science until the invention of weather instruments [67] # * The latitude belt that describes the middle latitudes is between [30] and 50 degrees [68] # * The {weather} is defined as the condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place [69] # * The wind direction is the direction {from} which the wind is blowing [70] # * A south wind blows from the {south} [71] # * The size of a middle latitude cyclone is {larger} than the size of a hurricane [72] # * A {hurricane} is a tropical storm system whose winds are in excess of 64 knots (74 mi/hr) [73] # * Middle latitude storms are also known as {extratropical} cyclones [74] # * A {thunderstorm} is a towering cloud, or cluster of clouds, accompanied by thunder, lightning, and strong, gusty winds [75] # * A {tornado} is a relatively small rotating funnel that extends downward from the base of a thunderstorm [76] # * In the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, surface winds tend to blow {counterclockwise}, inward around an area of surface low pressure [77] # * In the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, surface winds tend to blow {clockwise}, outward around an area of surface high pressure [78] # * Where cold surface air is replacing warm air, the boundary separating the different bodies of air is termed a {cold} front [79] # * Where warm surface air is replacing cold air, the boundary separating the different bodies of air is term ed a {warm} front [80] # * On a weather map, sharp changes in temperature, {humidity}, and wind direction are marked by a front [81] # * {High} pressure area is most likely associated with fair weather [82] # * Areas of high atmospgeric pressure are also known as {anticyclones} [83] # * Condensation is more likely to occur when the air {cools} [84] # * Clouds often form in the rising air in the center of a {low} pressure area [85] # * Generally, weather in the {middle} latitudes tends to move from west to east [86] #