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level: Week 2

Questions and Answers List

energy, space, sun, seasons

level questions: Week 2

QuestionAnswer
What and when is Perihelionwhen Earth is closest to the sun, January 3
What is AphelionWhen earth is furthest from the sun, July 4
What is Energy?the capacity of a physical system to do work
What is work?the product of force and displacement
How is Solar energy generated?through the nuclear fusion reaction process in which pairs of hydrogen nuclei are joined, forming helium and emitting a large amount of energy
What does radiant mean?it means that it is radiated, or transferred without an intervening medium
what are sunspots?they are caused by magnetic storms on the sun which can produce solar wind
What does the magnetosphere do?it deflects the solar wind towards both of Earth's poles (causing auroras)
Are smaller wave lengths hot or cold?hot
what is associated with High frequency?small wavelengths and high energy
does high energy associate with high or low temperature?high temperature
how does the Earth's energy budget work?Input: shortwave radiation (sun to earth); Output: longwave radiation (earth to space)
What is insolationsolar radiation that reaches a horizontal plane at the Earth
what is the thermopause?the outer boudnary of earth's energy system
What are the five reasons for seasons?revolution, rotation, tilt of earth's axis, axial parallelism, sphericity
at what degree is the Earth's axis tilted from the plane of ecliptic?23.5 degrees
how does sphericity cause seasonality?earth is a sphere, combined with the axis tilt, this causes uneven distribution of energy between the equator and the poles
Where is the subsolar point during the winter solstice?at the southern tropics
Where is the subsolar point during the spring equinox?at the Equator
Where is the subsolar point during the summer solstice?At the Northern tropics
Where is the subsolar point during the fall equinox?at the Equator
How does the sun drive seasonality?the tilt of the Earth causes part of the Earth to either be closer or further from the sun
Why are the rocky planets closer to the Sun?because they are made of heavier material which causes them to "fall" towards the sun