Atmospheric Heat Convection, The Sun

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Atmospheric Heat Convection, The Sun Wind

• Objectives
• Can I recognize events caused by heat convection?
• How is the suns energy and wind connected?

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Atmosphere

• A mixture of gases that surrounds a planet or
  moon
• Majority of the suns energy is absorbed by the
  land and ocean when it enters the atmosphere.

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Atmospheric Heat Convection

• The method by which most thermal energy
  circulates in the atmosphere.

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Diagram

• Warm Air Rises
• Cold Air Sinks

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Ocean Side
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Density

• Warm air is less dense making warm air rise.
• Cold air is more dense making cold air sink.

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Air Pressure

• The measure of the force with which air molecules
  push on a surface.
• Scientists measure air pressure with a barometer.

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Barometer
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The Wind

• Moving air- caused by differences in air pressure
  when the atmosphere is warmed by the sun.
• The greater the pressure difference the faster
  the wind moves.

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Reality Check

• Can I recognize events caused by heat convection?
• How is the suns energy and wind connected?

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Warm air rises at the equator and sinks at the
poles because more solar energy is received at
the equator.

The suns energy creates pressures differences
in the Earths atmosphere. As high pressure areas
are created around the poles, cold polar air
(wind) will flow toward the equator causing the
wind.
H
L
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8. Types of Winds
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Heat transfer in our World!!!

• http//www1.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id
  159713

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Reality Check

• Can I recognize events caused by heat convection?
• How is the suns energy and wind connected?

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Review Questions
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1. What happens to majority of the suns energy
that reaches the Earths atmosphere?

• It is absorbed by the land and oceans
• It is reflected by the clouds and air
• It is absorbed by the ozone layer
• It is reflected by the Earths surface

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2.Which best describes the wind?

• Essential the water cycle
• Moving air
• Static air near the oceans surface
• A difference in air temperature

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3. Why does warm air rise and cold air sink?

1. Because warm air is less dense than cold air.
2. Because cold air is less dense than warm air
3. Because warm air is denser than cold air
4. Because warm air has less pressure than cold air

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4. Convection is the method by which most
_____energy circulates in the atmosphere.

• Thermal
• Nuclear
• Kinetic
• Potential

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5. Air is warmer and less dense around the
equator because the equator receives more _____.

• Air pressure
• Wind
• Solar energy
• Green house gas

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6. When the atmosphere is warmed by the sun,
changes in air pressure results in the ______.

• Wind
• Clouds
• Humidity
• Precipitation

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7.

• What causes the air rising from the land to be
  warm?
• Heat from the sun
• Heat from Electricity
• Heat from a hot spring
• Heat from decomposition

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8. The following happens the atmosphere

• Solar Energy---Warm air rises----air cools in
  upper atmosphere and sinks---air currents
• This process can be described as
• Wind formation (through heat convection)
• Cloud formation

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Heat Convection Lab

• http//www1.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id
  16655