Earth’s Energy Vocabulary

• 1. Relative Humidity: The % of water vapor the air is holding compared to how much it can hold.

• 2. Water Vapor: Water that is held in the air in a gaseous state.

• 3. Dew Point: The temperature that water in the air condenses and becomes liquid.

4. Solar Radiation: Energy that is put off by the sun in the form of the Electromagnetic Spectrum.

5. Radioactive Decay: The elements in Earth’s core are decaying and thus release heat.

6. Greenhouse Effect: Certain gasses like CO2 trap heat. This is why Venus is hotter than Mercury.

7. Fossil Fuel: Gasoline, Oil, & Natural Gas. We burn these for energy. They come from prehistoric organisms. (Animals & Plants)

• 8. Convection: The transfer of heat by the fluid movement of air or water.

• 9. Radiation: The transfer of heat by waves.

• 10. Conduction: The transfer of heat by direct contact.

11. Atmospheric Absorption: Smaller molecules (oxygen & Nitrogen) absorb short wavelengths of solar radiation. Larger molecules (water vapor & carbon dioxide) absorb longer wavelengths.

• 12. Photosynthesis: Plants convert CO2 +

H2O into Oxygen. 6CO2 + 6 H2O = C6H12O6

(Sugar) + 6O2 (Oxygen)

•13. Weather: The condition of the atmosphere at the present time.

•14. Climate: The 30 year average of weather for a specific place on Earth.

• 15. ENSO (El’ Nino Southern Oscillation): El Niño is a disruption of the ocean-atmosphere system in the tropical Pacific having important consequences for weather around the globe.

• 16. Ozone: A gas made of 3 oxygen atoms. In the Stratosphere, it absorbs Ultraviolet Radiation. In the Troposphere, it is pollution.

O3 = Ozone

• 17. Temperature Inversion: The air near the ground is usually warmer. If the air above us warms(inversion), it can trap pollutants and cause bad air days.