1. List the four main important dates in the Earth-sun relationship, and tell where the subsolar point is on each date
2 Describe how daylength on the solstices changes with latitude, and name the range of latitudes where there is 24 hours of light or darkness on the solstices.
3 Tell why temperature varies with the time of year (2 main factors), and identify how the seasons correspond with the parahelion and aphelion.
4 Describe how temperature varies with latitude in the summer and winter in North America. Which season has the largest spatial gradient in temperature? Why?
5 Tell how the amount and wavelength of radiation emitted by an object depends on its temperature.
6 Describe three ways to change the Earths’ climate. Give examples of each.
7 Write the chemical equations for photosynthesis and respiration, and use those equations to show how a forest at equilibrium has little impact on oxygen content of the atmosphere.
8. Describe how deforestation and fossil fuel combustion impact Earth’s O2 and CO2 budgets, and what importance the changes have for life (O2) or the climate (CO2).
9. List two ways humans have affected the albedo of the Earth.
10. List the main greenhouse gases. Identify the most important anthropogenic GHG and the most important natural GHG.
. Describe the origin of gases in the atmosphere, including nitrogen gas, CO2, and oxygen.
11. Describe trends in CO2 over the 20th century, including both seasonal and long-term patterns and the processes that cause them.
12. Tell how human activities have altered the atmosphere and land cover in ways that have had both warming and cooling effects on the climate.
13. Rank the importance of each of the following in changing the Earth’s radiation budget: a. Changes in sun’s output b. Changes in albedo c. Changes in greenhouse gases.
14. Rank the following gases in terms of their abundance in the atmosphere: a) CO2 b) N2 c) O2.
15 List the four processes that keep water (and places near water, like the coasts) cooler than inland locations in the summer.
16. Tell why coastal areas are often warmer than inland locations during the winter.
. Tell how urbanization can affect air temperatures in a forested region and in a desert region.
17. Given a map showing different locations, identify which locations are likely to have the largest seasonal difference in temperature, and explain why.
18. Describe the role of ocean circulation in keeping England warmer than other land masses at the same latitude.
19 Given a map of the spatial distribution of temperature, identify the approximate month of the map (e.g. June, January, etc).
20 Tell why temperature changes with altitude or elevation.
21 Describe why the Sahara has a higher daytime temperature than the Congo rainforest, despite the fact that net radiation in the Congo is higher than in the Sahara.
22. Draw the vertical profile of temperature in the atmosphere, indicating where temperature decreases with altitude, where it increases with altitude, and the location of the troposphere, tropopause, and stratosphere.1. Name two processes that lift air and can generate precipitation.
2. Draw global wind patterns, both without and with the Coriolis effect.
3. Given the latitude of an island, draw the predominant wind direction, and guess where precipitation will be high and low.
4. Draw a mountain range and show the windward and leeward sides, rainshadow, and where you would expect orographic precipitation.
5. Describe where on Earth you expect to see two rainy seasons, and why.
6. Describe the relationship between Hadley Circulation and the locations of the world’s rainforests and deserts.
7. Tell how and why the ITCZ shifts with the time of year.
8. Given the latitude of a location between 23S and 23N, predict when the wet season(s) will occur.
