THE CHARACTERISTICS

AND COMPOSITION OF THE

ATMOSPHERE
 LEARNING PURPOSE:
• Describe the chemical composition of
the atmosphere.
• Explain the physical processes which
drive the circulation of the atmosphere.
VOCABULARY TERMS:

• Canvas
• Assignment: The Characteristics and
Composition of the Atmosphere
• Explore: How Do Scientists Describe the
Composition and Circulation of the
Atmosphere?
VOCABULARY TERMS: IN YOUR SCIENCE NOTEBOOK

1. Atmosphere
2. Outgassing 9. Thermal energy
3. Giant Impact 10. Radiation
Hypothesis
11. Conduction
4. Gas
12. Heat
5. Pressure
6. Surface area
13. Coriolis Effect
7. Gravitational force 14. Absorption
LAYERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE
 WE DO: EVOLUTION OF EARTH’S
ATMOSPHERE
• Read the article Evolution
of Earth’s Atmosphere and
answer the activity sheet.
• Write your answer in your
science notebook.
• Copy the Summary of the Earth’s Three Atmospheres
in your Science Notebook.
• Answer the activity Earth’s Three Atmospheres
UNEVEN HEATING OF EARTH’S SURFACE
 LEARNING PURPOSE:

• Explain the physical processes which

drive the circulation of the atmosphere.
WARM UP: RESEARCH AND ANSWER IN YOUR NOTEBOOK

1.What happens when air is heated?

2.Which heats up faster: land or water?
3.Which cools down faster: land or water?
4.What happens to the surrounding air when
warm air rises?
5.What causes wind?
COPY IN YOUR NOTEBOOK AND MEMORIZE:

1.Warm air rises.

2.Land heats up and cools down faster that water.
3.Surrounding air moves TOWARDS the direction
where the warm air is rising.
4.Wind is caused by the difference of air pressure.
COPY:

Reasons why Earth’s surface is heated unevenly:

1. the curvature of Earth’s surface
2. the distribution of land and water
3. differences in groundcover
4. atmospheric transparency
COPY:
REASON 1. THE CURVATURE OF EARTH’S
SURFACE

• A given portion of sunlight is concentrated in a

small surface area at the equator. – WARMER AT
THE EQUATOR
• However, that same amount of sunlight is spread
out over a much larger surface area at the poles. -
COOLER AT THE POLES
COPY:
REASON 2: THE DISTRIBUTION OF LAND AND WATER

 Land absorbs and releases thermal energy much more

rapidly than water does.
 Water absorbs heat more slowly and holds on to it
longer.
 Because land absorbs heat more quickly, surface layers
can become extremely hot.
 Land also transfers its heat more rapidly to the
atmosphere.
COPY:
REASON 3. DIFFERENCES IN GROUNDCOVER
REASON 4. ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPARENCY

• Areas that are covered by layers of cloud receive less solar

radiation.
• This is because the atmosphere is less transparent.
• The clouds reflect some of the solar radiation back into
space.
• Smoke from forest or grass fires, and dust from volcanic
eruptions can also reduce surface temperatures.
 FORMING WIND

• Go to the link :
https://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/weather-and-
climate/air-pressure-and-wind.htm
• Click the words in the key vocabulary and write the meaning in your
notebook.
• Watch the video.
• Take the test.
• Raise your hand if done for your grade of the test and the vocabulary.
Copy the correct steps in your notebook.
COPY: GLOBAL WIND SYSTEMS

Global winds are large-scale movements of air that help distribute

thermal energy over Earth’s surface.
- Caused by: differences in the absorption of solar energy
between Earth’s climate zones.
- The two main factors relating to global winds:
- are the uneven heating of Earth’s surface between the equator
and the poles, and
- the Coriolis effect.
EXPLAIN THE DETAILS IN PARAGRAPH FORM:
• Guide questions:
1.What is the title of the image?
2.Enumerate the latitude lines.
3.Describe each latitude with its
name.
4.Describe the direction of winds in
each latitude.
COPY: LOCAL WINDS

Local winds are winds that tend to

blow over a relatively small area.
Some examples of local
- They are often caused or winds:
affected by regional conditions, - land breezes,
such as: - sea breezes,
- mountains, - mountain breezes,
- large bodies of water, - valley breezes,
- local pressure differences, and - lake breezes, and
- other influences.
- monsoons.
SEA BREEZE AND LAND BREEZE

• Answer the activity: Air Tracing

based on what your learned from
the video.
MOUNTAIN BREEZE AND VALLEY BREEZE
KATABATIC WINDS IN ANTARCTICA
WRITE THE ANSWER IN YOUR SCIENCE NOTEBOOK.

Guide questions:
1. In what two ways is the air over
the interior Antarctic plateau
different from the surrounding
air?
2. Why do the Antarctic katabatic
winds blow downhill toward the
surrounding ocean?
3. How does the Coriolis effect
influence the Antarctic katabatic
winds?
• Copy the questions and the correct answer in your science
notebook.