Lab #9 :Atmosphere (Week#5)

Monday- Lab#9 Vertical profile of the atmosphere....
http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/Atmosphere/layers.html

Layers of the Earth's Atmosphere

The atmosphere is divided into five layers. It is thickest near the surface and thins out with height until it eventually merges with space.
1) The troposphere is the first layer above the surface and contains half of the Earth's atmosphere. Weather occurs in this layer.
2) Many jet aircrafts fly in the stratosphere because it is very stable. Also, the ozone layer absorbs harmful rays from the Sun.
3) Meteors or rock fragments burn up in the mesosphere.
4) The thermosphere is a layer with auroras. It is also where the space shuttle orbits.
5) The atmosphere merges into space in the extremely thin exosphere. This is the upper limit of our atmosphere.

Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere Lab

STUDENT INSTRUCTIONS

Failure is not an option! Read, Understand and Apply!

• You should cut and glue each section as you complete them. Remember, there may be some writing between diagrams and graphs!
• Always answer the questions with complete sentences and complete thoughts.
• Where applicable, use numerical values to support your answer.  
• Write legibly and always keep the lab room neat and clean.

PROCEDURE: For ALL data tables and diagrams use PENCIL only!

1. Complete the title information. Read and understand the introduction. Cut and glue the title and introduction into your lab book.
2. Using Data Table 1 and Figure 1, plot the first data set (station 1). First, find the temperature value of station 1 on the horizontal axis. Second, find the altitude (vertical height above the mean sea level) on the vertical axis. Put a dot where they both intersect.
3. Using information from procedure 1, plot each set of data by finding the temperature first, and then altitude. When you plot first two sets of data, connect them by drawing a line. Continue plotting each data set and connecting them with a line graph. ALWAYS connect the new dot with the previous data point before you proceed to plot the next one.
4. Using the information below, draw thick horizontal lines to distinguish and label each layer of the atmosphere by its range of altitude and name. Use large capital letters. If you wish to, you can color each layer in sequence; red, light red, orange, light orange, yellow, light yellow, green, light green, blue

           

            LAYER       ALTITUDE RANGE                     LAYER           ALTITUDE RANGE                        1. Troposphere            0-12 km                                 2.Tropopause               12-25 km

           3. Stratosphere 25-50 km (Ozone layer, Ozonospher 4. Stratopause             50-55 km

           5. Mesosphere:            55-82 km                               6. Mesopause              82-92 km

           7. Thermosphere          92 km and up

5. How is the temperature changing in troposphere from 0 to 12 kilometers? Use numerical values to support your answer.
6. How is the temperature changing in tropopause from 12 to 25 kilometers? Use numerical values to support your answer.
7. How is the temperature changing in stratosphere from 25 to 50 kilometers? Use numerical values to support your answer.
8. Using the terms troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere, explain what happens to the air temperature in the atmosphere, within each atmospheric layer, starting from the mean sea level to 100 km altitude.
9. The data table 2 shows the concentration of ozone, in ozone units, in Earth’s atmosphere at different altitudes. One ozone unit is equal to 10¹² molecules per cm³. On the grid provided, construct a line graph of ozone concentration in the atmosphere recorded at different altitudes shown on the data table 2 by plotting each set of data from the table with an “X“ and connecting the points with a line.
10. Use your ESRT “Selected Properties of Earth’s Atmosphere” chart. Based on the graph and data of the procedure 9, state the name of the temperature zone of the atmosphere in which the concentration of ozone is greatest. Use complete sentence and complete thoughts. Use numerical values to support your answer.

CLEAN THE LAB TABLE AND LEAVE IT NEAT. ORGANIZE ALL MATERIALS.

Conclusion/Evaluation Questions: Answer in complete sentences and complete thoughts. Where applicable, use numerical values to support your answers.

1.      Based on this activity, on what basis do you think the atmosphere divided into several layers? Support your answer.

2.      How does the presence of ozone seem to affect the temperature of the atmosphere in stratosphere? Explain.

3.      State how incoming solar radiation (insolation) is affected by the presence of ozone in the atmosphere.

4.      How would the lack of ozone in stratosphere affect air temperature in troposphere? Support your answer.

5.      Which level of the atmosphere affects the most of the weather system? (Hint: clouds).

6.      Based on your answer to the question 5, which layer should have the most of the water vapor concentration in the atmosphere? Explain your answer.

lab sheets

Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere Lab

Last: ______________________ First: ________________ Period: ____ Group: _____ Date:      /       /

Group Members: ________________________, ________________________, ________________________

Failure is not an option! Read, Understand, Apply!

Investigative Question: On what basis is the atmosphere divided into several layers?

Materials:  Student instructions, Pencils, colored pencils (optional), ESRT

1. Introduction: Scientists are not the most intelligent people on earth. They know how to formulate questions, use available tools/instruments to collect data and process it. The most common questions formulated by the scientists are: What did happen and why? What is happening and why? What will happen and why?

Meteorologists are atmospheric scientists who measure and study the state of the atmosphere by using many kinds of instruments such as: a balloon-carried instrument called a rawinsonde, radar wind profiler, Doppler radar, satellites, jet aircraft, space-craft launching, sailing ships, weather stations, computers and etc. All data gathered by different sources is collected at the National Weather Center to be processed immediately. Commercial or non-commercial institutions and individuals may access this data for their own use.

In this activity, we will assume that you were an atmospheric scientist working for the National Weather Center. You are given the following data in the Table 1 and asked to interpret it. Data Table 1 represents the average (mean) vertical temperature (^oC) of the atmosphere up to 120 km altitude.

2.                                                      TABLE 1: Average (Mean) Vertical Temperature (^oC) of the Atmosphere

STATION	ALTITUDE (km)	Temperature (oC)
1	0 (sea level)	15.6
2	2	+10
3	5	0
4	10	-20
5	12	-60
6	25	-60
7	40	-55
8	50	-13
9	56	-13
10	66	-25
11	70	-50
12	82	-90
13	92	-90
14	105	-76
15	120	-40

9. The table 2 below shows the concentration of ozone, in ozone units, in Earth’s atmosphere at different altitudes. One ozone unit is equal to 10¹² molecules per cm³.

                  Data Table 2

Week #4: Wednesday to Friday only (make up for Hurricane Sandy)

List of Regents for youto practice.... http://earthscience-portal.blogspot.com
Extra Credit #1 - June 2009
                    #2 - June 2010 version DUE!

************************** Wed***********************
How did you do on the Test?
HW#5 Test #7 correction

Checking what we have learned worksheet... the sun's path and location (seasons)

*************************Thurs************************

Science Dictionary

albedo (āl-bē'dō)   Pronunciation Key The fraction of the total light striking a surface that gets reflected from that surface. An object that has a high albedo (near 1) is very bright; an object that has a low albedo (near 0) is dark. The Earth's albedo is about 0.37. The Moon's is about 0.12.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Example sentences

Reflectivity is described in terms of albedo , which is the percentage of light

 that's reflected.

There is significant climate engineering which can be done by adjusting the

 human controlled part of albedo.

And as far as reflectivity index or albedo  goes, you don't need an atmosphere

 to have light reflected.

They can enhance the greenhouse effect and they can also increase albedo  since

 they reflect incoming solar radiation.

Albedo  is a measure of how much light an object reflects.

The reflectivity of an asteroid is called its albedo .

The power of heat input during the day depends on local albedo  and the sine of the angle of the incident solar irradiance.

Cosmic rays could in principle trigger cloud formation and thereby alter the albedo , which is an interesting idea.

The type of clouds formed by coal pollution, and the albedo  of these clouds are another variable to the greenhouse gas equation.

High- albedo  roof coatings can reduce building air-conditioning energy use.

 

Black Body Radiation
Astronomy  Main

---

.
  INTRODUCTION
.   A black body is a theoretical object that absorbs 100% of the radiation that hits it. Therefore it reflects no radiation and appears perfectly black. In practice no material has been found to absorb all incoming radiation, but carbon in its graphite form absorbs all but about 3%. It is also a perfect emitter of radiation. At a particular temperature the black body would emit the maximum amount of energy possible for that temperature. This value is known as the black body radiation. It would emit at every wavelength of light as it must be able to absorb every wavelength to be sure of absorbing all incoming radiation. The maximum wavelength emitted by a black body radiator is infinite. It also emits a definite amount of energy at each wavelength for a particular temperature, so standard black body radiation curves can be drawn for each temperature, showing the energy radiated at each wavelength. All objects emit radiation above absolute zero.

***************************Fri ************************
GreenHouse effect: http://www.eoearth.org/article/Greenhouse_effect?topic=54099

Week#3: Wrap up on Sun's Path.... Test this week

2/11/13: Last worksheet to check for understanding on the Sun's Path and Shadow...
             (1st Period: Finish lab)
2/12/13: Intro Seasons and Insolation       (worksheet 1 of 2)                                  http://solarinsolation.org/

The langley (Ly) is a unit of energy distribution over area. It is used to measure solar radiation (or insolation). The unit was named after Samuel Pierpont Langley (1834-1906) in 1947.

Solar insolation, what is it?
Solar insolation is a measure of solar radiation energy received on a given surface area in a given time. It is commonly expressed as average irradiance in watts per square meter (W/m2) or kilowatt-hours per square meter per day (kW•h/(m2•day)) (or hours/day). In the case of photovoltaics it is commonly measured as kWh/(kWp•y) (kilowatt hours per year per kilowatt peak rating).
The object or surface that solar radiation strikes may be a planet, a terrestrial object inside the atmosphere of a planet, or any object exposed to solar rays outside of an atmosphere, includingspacecraft. Some of the solar radiation will be absorbed, while the remainder will be reflected. Usually the absorbed solar radiation is converted to thermal energy, causing an increasing in the object’s temperature. Some systems, however, may store or convert a portion of the solar energy into another form of energy, as in the case of photovoltaics or plants.
The amount of insolation received at the surface of the Earth is controlled by the angle of the sun, the state of the atmosphere, altitude, and geographic location.

The insolation into a surface is largest when the surface directly faces the Sun. As the angle increases between the direction at a right angle to the surface and the direction of the rays of sunlight, the insolation is reduced in proportion to the cosine of the angle.

This ‘projection effect’ is the main reason why the polar regions are much colder than equatorial regions on Earth. On an annual average the poles receive less insolation than does the equator, because at the poles the Earth’s surface are angled away from the Sun.

2/13/13: Finish Solar Insolation worksheet 2 ( Extra Credit #1 June 2009 ES Regents due)

Figure 6i-1: Effect of angle on the area that intercepts an incoming beam of radiation.

      
Notice its hotter at the equator....

2/14/13: Review for the Test (8th Period - Test!)
the Sun changes its position in the sky over the course of a year.

Solar Radiation and the Seasons - Download as PowerPoint

2/15/13: Test (1st period only) 7th period Regent Practice....

Mid- Marking Period: How are you doing so far?
1 Test
1 Lab
4 HW
7 Worksheets
What did you learn? will you still remember by June Regent?

This week's extra credit is: June 2010 ES Regent Due next week Wed.

Week 2: Garvity and Lab

Wrap up on the topic of Gravity.

Keplers Second Law Interactive (220.0K)
Johannes Kepler didn’t know why the planets behaved as they did, but he was a keen observer. In what became his 2nd law, he noted that planets move in a way that their orbits sweep out equal areas in equal time increments, even when those orbits are clearly elliptical. Use this Interactive to verify Kepler’s observation for yourself. Watch one of the planets or a comet move with the proper eccentricity in its orbit, or create a strange new orbit by moving the eccentricity slider. Make the time interval short or long. The graph will leave no doubt that the area swept out in each time interval always equals that of the one before.

2/4/2013: Monday Finish the 1 of 2 worksheet on Gravity, with Interpolation Graph.
2/5/2013: 2nd worksheet of Gravity with the spinning stopper and weights demo.
2/6/2013: Summary of Gravity, Centrifugal Forces and Orbital speed.
2/7/2013:Sun's Path post lab and shadow...

2/8/2013: Catch up day.... worksheet and HW
HW#4
Read then answer

Pg 265 to 267 #40 to 45,
#3,4,6,7,8,11,12 to 18
pg 268 to 271 #19 to 22,
23 to 29,
31 to 35
then 42 to 45
Due Monday

goto Regent Prep Review Yourself before taking the practice exam.... http://regentsprep.org/Regents/core/questions/topics.cfm?Course=ESCI
look for the 2009 June Earth science Regent http://www.nysedregents.org/EarthScience/Archive/20090617exam.pdf, do all the problems to get Extra Credit.
Only on time answers will be honored... Remember it YOU alone taking the Regent, so no copying to try and get credits...

Lab#8: Sun’s Path across the Celestial sphere for various Latitude during different seasons

Seasons Interactive (128.0K)
That our seasons come from the tilt of Earth’s axis relative to its orbit of the Sun is easy to grasp, once you have used this Interactive. It shows the flow of seasons as the planet orbits the Sun, the angle of the Sun’s rays for a given location on Earth, how temperature varies at that location, and how the Sun’s path varies in the sky by season. Choose from 3 planets to see how their seasons reflect their unique tilts, or customize the tilt. What would “winter” be like if Earth had no tilt? This Interactive will show you.

Popular Astronomy Misconceptions

As basic as it all sounds many people, many smart people, really don't understand the motion of the Earth, Sun and Moon and how it affects how we experience our world. They believe they understand simple facts about celestial motion but instead they often subscribe to a number of very common or popular misconceptions. Take, for example, the following questions and answers about two basics of celestial motion:

Question #1: What causes the seasons? Answer: The seasons are caused by the Earth's changing distance from the Sun. When the Earth is closer to the Sun it grows warmer so we have summer. When the Earth is farther from the Sun it is less warm so we have winter.

Get the answers by going to this website http://people.bu.edu/sscruggs/index.html

for the lab you may read http://people.bu.edu/sscruggs/earthandsunhome.html

Conclusion questions:

1.      

1. On which day does the sun have its highest altitude at noon for the Northern Hemisphere? Do you expect cooler or warmer air temperature in this day? State the relationship between the tilt of the earth’s axis at the North Pole and the sun’s rays; whether the North Pole is tilted toward the Sun, away from the sun or perpendicular to the Sun's rays. Use the diagrams in the introduction to explain why this is possible.

2.       On which day does the sun have its lowest altitude at noon for the Northern Hemisphere? Do you expect cooler or warmer air temperature in this day? State the relationship between the tilt of the earth’s axis at the North Pole and the sun’s rays; whether the North Pole is tilted toward the Sun, away from the sun or perpendicular to the Sun's rays. Use the diagrams in the introduction to explain why this is possible.

3.       On which day does the earth receive the greatest amount of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere? State the relationship between the tilt of the earth’s axis at the North Pole and the sun’s rays; whether the North Pole is tilted toward the Sun, away from the sun or perpendicular to the Sun's rays.? Do you expect cooler or warmer air temperature in this day? Use the diagrams in the introduction to explain why this is possible.

4.  On which day does the earth receive the least amount of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere? State the relationship between the tilt of the earth’s axis at the North Pole and the sun’s rays; whether the North Pole is tilted toward the Sun, away from the sun or perpendicular to the Sun's rays. Do you expect cooler or warmer air temperature in this day? Use the diagrams in the introduction to explain why this is possible.

5.       What is the relationship between the tilt of the earth’s rotational axis, the altitude of the sun at noon and the amount of daylight hours the Earth receives and expected air temperature (cooler or warmer)?

6.       How many days in New York is the Sun directly overhead (at the observer’s zenith)?

7.       Which latitude receives the Sun directly overhead (at the observer’s zenith) two times per year?

8.       What is the relationship between the lengths of Sun’s paths (day time hours) for the same dates in Northern and Southern Hemispheres?