Optional Assignment #3
(this assignment is due at the beginning of class next Tuesday)

1.
Is Point A in the figure below in a RIDGE or a TROUGH?  Would the winds at Point B blow toward the  NORTHEAST SOUTHEAST  SOUTHWEST  or  NORTHWEST?  Would you expect to find relatively  WARM  or  COLD  air below Point C?


2.
Based on the directions and amounts of air movement at the surface and at upper levels, would you expect the surface pressure to  INCREASE,  remain the SAME,  or DECREASE?

3.
The rate at which energy is transported through an object by conduction depends on the thermal conductivity of the material and on the temperature gradient.  Do you think energy would be transported more rapidly through   OBJECT A  or  OBJECT B  in the figure below?  (A has high thermal conductivity, B has low conductivity; the temperature gradients are the same)
Do you think energy would be transported more rapidly through  OBJECT C  or  OBJECT D  below. (Both materials have the same thermal conductivities, the temperature gradients are different)

4.
A cold southward flowing ocean current (the California current) is found on the west coast of the United States, a warm northward current (the Gulf Stream) is found off the east coast.  Both currents transport energy from the tropics to the polar regions.  Oceans currents like these illustrate energy transport by
a. conduction              b. convection              c. electromagnetic radiation           d. latent heat

5.
Would a  positive charge placed at the x in the figure below, exactly half way between the + and - charges, move to the  RIGHT,  move to the   LEFT,  or  NOT MOVE  at all?

6.
Are Points A and B in the figure below exactly 1/4   1/2   3/4  or 1 wavelength apart?

7.
What was Isaac Newton able to demonstrate by shining white light through a glass prism?

8.
Is    UV-A     UV-B     or    UV-C    the most energetic form of electromagnetic radiation?  Does    VISIBLE light       MICROWAVE radiation       or       INFRARED light      have the shortest wavelength?

9.
Which of the following is not a form of electromagnetic radiation?
a. gamma rays          b. radio waves          c. sound waves          d. x-rays

10.
Does filter absorption  CURVE A  or  CURVE B  correctly depict the behavior of the red filter shown below at left?


11.
The temperature of the tungsten filament in a bulb is about 3000 K.  What is the wavelength of peak emission?  What kind of light is that, can you see it?

12.
About half (49%) of the light emitted by the sun is    UV     VIS     IR     light.

13.
How many total units of energy is being absorbed by the atmosphere?  How many units of energy is being absorbed by the ground?  How many units of energy must the atmosphere emit to be in radiative equilibrium?  How many units of energy must the ground receive from the atmosphere to be in radiative equilibrium?

14.
There is an atmospheric greenhouse effect on the earth because
a. oxygen and ozone absorb UV light
b. condensation of water vapor releases energy into the air
c. carbon dioxide and water vapor absorb IR light
d. water has a higher specific heat than soil

15.
Based on the information given (neither figure is in radiative equilibrium) would the temperature of the ground in Figure A below be  WARMER  COLDER  or the  SAME  as the ground in Figure B?