Unit 4.1 Earth Spheres & Atmosphere

The sun’s energy influences climate in different ways. For example, the latitudes at the equator receive more energy from the sun and therefore have warmer temperatures. How does the sun’s energy most directly influence precipitation in a climate?

• The sun’s energy drives the water cycle, which determines precipitation.

• The sun’s energy creates wind patterns that bring precipitation to different areas.

• The sun’s energy controls the amount of condensation and therefore precipitation.

• The sun’s energy starts the water cycle by causing percolation, which leads to precipitation.

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When conducting an experiment, a scientist writes down in detail every step of the procedure. Why is it important for the scientist to record this information?

• It will force the scientist to prove the hypothesis.

• It will allow the scientist to change more than one variable during each trial.

• It will keep other scientists from doing the exact same experiment in the future.

• It will allow other scientists to perform the same experiment to obtain similar results.

Jemma was asked to describe why the mesosphere was an important layer of the atmosphere. Jemma said that the mesosphere gives Earth the weather. Her classmate said that she was incorrect in her thinking. Why was Jemma’s answer NOT correct?

• The troposphere is where the weather happens and the mesosphere is where meteors break apart.

• The thermosphere is where weather happens and the mesosphere is where meteors break apart.

• The troposphere is where weather happens and the mesosphere is where ozone is found.

• The thermosphere is where weather happens and the mesosphere is where ozone is found.

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How does the chemical composition of the middle layers of the atmosphere work to protect life on Earth?

• The gases in the middle layers of the atmosphere absorb some of the harmful rays from the Sun.

• The middle layers of the atmosphere produce oxygen from carbon dioxide, keeping the gases most important for life in balance.

• The chemicals in the atmosphere create clouds that keep the harmful gases in the upper atmosphere away from the living organisms at the surface.

• The chemicals in the middle layers of the atmosphere repel oxygen and carbon dioxide so that the gases most important to living organisms are kept at the surface.

The rainforest is hot, humid, and has frequent rainfall. In what way does the interaction between the atmosphere and the hydrosphere assist in maintaining this type of climate?

• The Sun’s rays are trapped by the atmosphere, keeping temperatures and humidity high for most of the year.

• The hydrosphere sends water to the clouds through the process of transpiration, fueling the water cycle.

• The Sun supplies energy for the evaporation and transpiration of water, causing frequent rainfall and hot, humid temperatures.

• The rainforest is in close proximity to the equator, allowing the hydrosphere to release frequent rainfall, fueling the water cycle.

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List the layers of the atmosphere in the correct order from the Earth's surface to the edge of the atmosphere.

• Exosphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Troposphere, Thermosphere

• Thermosphere, Mesosphere, Stratosphere, Troposphere, Exosphere

• Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere

• Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere, Troposphere

Jerrica is telling their friends a story about ice wedging (a form of physical weathering), where water seeps into cracks in rock and freezes, which expands the cracks in the rock. What spheres are interacting in ice wedging?

• geosphere, atmosphere, biosphere

• geosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere

• biosphere, cryosphere, hydrosphere

• hydrosphere, geosphere, atmosphere

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Earth is divided into five different spheres. Which statement is true about the interaction between two of these spheres?

• Weather is an interaction between the hydrosphere and the geosphere.

• The formation of the Grand Canyon is an example of an interaction between the geosphere and the atmosphere.

• An ice cap providing shelter for an arctic animal is an interaction between the biosphere and the hydrosphere.

• A plant receiving water from precipitation is an interaction between the biosphere and the hydrosphere.

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Ships encounter surface currents and waves as they travel across the ocean. Surface currents and waves form when energy from the sun causes two of Earth's spheres to interact. Which two spheres interact to produce these waves and currents?

• The geosphere and biosphere

• The biosphere and hydrosphere

• The cryosphere and atmosphere

• The atmosphere and hydrosphere

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When a warm air mass and cold air mass come together, like a warm front and cold front, a typical outcome is rain. What best explains why rain forms in this situation?

• The cold air causes the moisture in the warm air of the atmosphere to condense and precipitate as rain in the hydrosphere.

• The cold air is moving faster than the warm air in the atmosphere, which causes rain as part of the hydrosphere.

• Because the cold air in the atmosphere is denser, it causes rain in the hydrosphere.

• The two air masses in the atmosphere neutralize each other, which results in clouds that produce rain in the hydrosphere.

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