Hydrology

Exercise No.
Question Answer
[1] Give a detailed explanation of why The difference in air densities causes the
warm air rises. warm air molecules to rise. When the air
is subjected to heat, the air molecules
spread apart due to its gain in energy,
which is converted into kinetic energy.
Once the air molecules spread out, they
take up more space then, the volume of
the air increases causing the decrease to
its density. Density is a measure of mass
per volume, which means that the
density is inversely proportional to the
volume. As the volume increases the
density decreases. Hence, the cold air
becomes denser than the warm air
resulting in the rising of the warm air
and sinking of the cold air. This process
of fluid motion due to changes in fluid’s
density is called convection.
[2] Why doesn’t air temperature The air temperature doesn’t change
change uniformly with altitude? uniformly with altitude because the
Give examples. atmosphere is layered. The temperature
increases or decreases with altitude in
some layers of the atmosphere. Thus,
the temperature gradient of each layer
is different. For example, starting at the
Earth’s surface, temperature decreases
up to the tropopause while in the
stratosphere the temperature increases
then in the thermosphere, the
temperature increases again.
[3] Describe how the ground acts as The ground is a major heat source for
the heat source for the the troposphere as it radiates the sun
troposphere. What is the source of light it absorbed as heat into the
energy and what happens to that atmosphere. Sun as the source of
energy? energy, produce thermal heat causing
the rising and sinking of air in the
troposphere where the weather takes
place.
[4] How stable is an inversion and Normally, air temperature decreases

why? How does an inversion form? with height in the troposphere. When
this is inverted, it is a temperature
inversion. Warm air is less dense than
cold air. This gives warm air buoyancy
when cold air lies above, leading to
rising thermals. Temperature inversion
acts as a cap on that buoyancy,
preventing atmospheric mixing. This is
why inversion are very stable. Inversions
are form when air in contact with the
colder Earth’s surface cools more than
the air above which often happens at
night when heat radiates away from the
ground and it cools quickly. They also
form near the coast. Because the cold
air is denser, it slides beneath the
warmer air as it moves in land.
[5] Phoenix, Arizona, is a city in the The lower levels, near the surface, will
Southwestern desert. Summers are cool more than higher up especially in
extremely hot. Winter days are clear, calm conditions, thus creating the
often fairly warm but winter nights inversion. This can have the effect of
can be quite chilly. In December, trapping things such as smog or other
inversions are quite common. How pollutants near the surface, until the
does an inversion form under these inversion is broken by heating and wind.
conditions and what are the
consequences of an inversion to
this sprawling, car-dependent city?
[6] Why can’t air from the troposphere Air from the troposphere and
and the stratosphere mix freely? stratosphere cannot mix freely because
of the tropopause wherein temperature
does not change with height. In this
case, the air from the troposphere is
prevented from rising farther to the
stratosphere. This means that the
warmer air sits over cooler air. Due to
this, it is rare for the air from both
layers to mix.
[7] What is the heat source for the The Sun is the direct heat source for the
stratosphere? How is that heat stratosphere. The heat is absorbed by
absorbed? the ozone layer which the stratosphere
contains. The ozone layer absorbs the
sun’s ultraviolet radiation in which most
of these are very harmful to every life
on Earth. The solar energy creates ozone
in the stratosphere.
[8] Describe ozone creation and loss in High energy UV radiation breaks the
the ozone layer. Does one occur ozone molecule apart into an oxygen
more than the other? molecule and an oxygen atom. But the
ozone is formed again from the
recombination of oxygen atom and
molecule in the mid-stratosphere where
there is less UV light. Ozone loss is not
only cause by the solar radiation but also
by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which are
man-made gases or chemicals. Due to
the present of human intervention, the
natural cycle of ozone formation and loss
is affected. Therefore, ozone can be
destroyed more quickly than it is
naturally created.
[9] How and where are “shooting Shooting stars are created in the
stars” created? mesosphere. They are actually meteors
made up of small piece of rock or dust
that enter Earth’s atmosphere at a very
high speed. Meteors burn in the
mesosphere due to the friction they
created against the air particles. These
burning meteors are what we called the
“shooting stars.”
[10] Why would an unprotected An unprotected traveler’s blood would

traveler’s blood boil in the boil at normal body temperature
mesosphere? because the air pressure in the
mesosphere is very low. This is due to
the extremely low density of gas
molecules in this layer of the
atmosphere. There also would be almost
no oxygen for breathing. Severe burns
should be expected to experience
because mesosphere do not contain layer
of ozone molecules thus, the body will
be subjected to heavy ultraviolet
exposure. Exposure to high-energy UV
light kills the cells and damages DNA.

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Exercise No.

[4] How stable is an inversion and Normally, air temperature decreases

[10] Why would an unprotected An unprotected traveler’s blood would

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