Atmospheric Science 101: Weather
Winter 2004

Review topics for Midterm Exam 1

This is a list of topics with which you should make sure to be familiar for the first midterm exam. We're not expecting you to memorize numbers, but to understand the ideas. Good luck!
  1. History of the atmosphere
  2. Heat and temperature
  3. Specific heat capacity and latent heat.
  4. Types of energy and energy transfer
  5. Electromagnetic spectrum.
  6. Properties of blackbodies
  7. Energy budget of the Earth system (the need for balance).
  8. Greenhouse effect.
  9. Vertical structure of the atmosphere:
    How is each layer heated?
  10. Temperature cycles: seasonal and diurnal.
    Land/sea contrasts.
image from NOAA photo lib: http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/index.html
Tornado (Cordell, Oklahoma. May 22, 1981)

 

Image from NOAA photo library