ATMO 336 Exam 2 Study Guide

In this document, I jotted down some notes while putting together the reading material. These notes point out some of the reading content to pay particular attention to. The notes are divided into section headings based on the reading material. This is not meant to be a complete list of everything that you need to know from the reading Water in Atmosphere You should know what is meant by phases of water and phase changes of water. Water vapor is extremely important in the atmosphere for many reasons. A few of those reasons include Water vapor transforms into both liquid and solid cloud particles that grow and fall to Earth as precipitation. When water vapor condenses in the formation of clouds, large amounts of heat - calledlatent heatis released into the atmosphere. Latent heat is an important source of energy in the development of thunderstorms and hurricanes. Water vapor strongly absorbs HYPERLINK http//www.atmo.arizona.edu/courses/fall14/atmo336s2/lectures/glossary.html l infrared infrared radiation, making it an important gas in the Earths heat-energy balance. In fact water vapor is the largest contributor to the greenhouse effect on Earth. You should know what latent energy is. You should know the energy exchange between water and the surrounding environment as water changes phase, especially evaporation and condensation. Latent Heat Heat energy is stored in one of three states- ice, water, or water vapor. The energy is absorbed or released in each phase change from one state to another. Heat energy is absorbed as the latent heat of melting, vaporization, or evaporation. Heat energy is released as the latent heat of condensation and freezing. During the processes of melting, evaporation, and sublimation, water absorbs energy. The energy absorbed causes the water molecules to change their bonding pattern and transform to a higher energy state. In the Earth system, this energy must be supplied by the surrounding environment. Thus, these phase changes result in