level: Week 2
Questions and Answers List
energy, space, sun, seasons
level questions: Week 2
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What and when is Perihelion | when Earth is closest to the sun, January 3 |
| What is Aphelion | When 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 insolation | solar 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 |