Table of Contents
- 1 Why does the sun heat the Earth unevenly?
- 2 Why does the temperature of the Earth vary?
- 3 How does heat travel from the sun to the Earth?
- 4 Why does the earth heat up more evenly at the equator?
- 5 How does the balance of solar energy affect the earth’s temperature?
- 6 Why do some parts of Earth get more heat transferred than others?
Why does the sun heat the Earth unevenly?
The uneven heating of the Earth’s surface is caused by the sun. This occurs because the Earth is a tilted sphere and the sun does not heat all its surfaces equally and because the sun’s heat penetrates land and water at different rates.
Why does the temperature of the Earth vary?
This temperature difference occurs mainly because of the uneven i heating of different parts of the Earth’s surface by the sun. Thus, the air absorbs different amounts of = heat, making it warm in places and cool in others. As air gets warmer, its particles spread out. In other words, air expands on heating.
Why are some parts of the atmosphere warmer than others?
The uneven heating results in some of the atmosphere to be warmer than other parts and changes in volume and pressure which result in updrafts and can cause thunderstorms and other violent weather. The cause of this is the reflectiveness of the surface of the Earth at that point (the albedo) and the angle that the sun ‘s rays strike it at.
How does heating of the earth’s surface produce wind?
As air gets warmer, its particles spread out. In other words, air expands on heating. This makes the air lighter, or less dense, so it rises. As air cools, it becomes heavier, or more dense, and sinks. As warm air rises, air from cooler areas flows in to take the place of the rising air. This sets up a current of air and we call it wind.
Due to the different rates of heating of the Earth’s surfaces, which are covered by two completely different substances, the planet receives uneven heating. The land heats up faster than the sea. Heat from the sun reaches the Earth through radiation.
How does heat travel from the sun to the Earth?
The sun heats the earth through radiation. Since there is no medium (like the gas in our atmosphere) in space, radiation is the primary way that heat travels in space. When the heat reaches the earth it warms the molecules of the atmosphere, and they warm other molecules and so on.
Why does the earth heat up more evenly at the equator?
The Earth rotates on its tilted axis, meaning that at any given time, half the Earth is having day while the other half is having night. Because it is a sphere, the equator, where it is the widest, heats more evenly than it does at the poles.
Why does the land heat up faster than the sea?
Due to the different rates of heating of the Earth’s surfaces, which are covered by two completely different substances, the planet receives uneven heating. The land heats up faster than the sea.
What kind of energy does the Earth receive from sunlight?
The energy that Earth receives from sunlight is balanced by an equal amount of energy radiating into space. The energy escapes in the form of thermal infrared radiation: like the energy you feel radiating from a heat lamp. (NASA illustrations by Robert Simmon.)
How does the balance of solar energy affect the earth’s temperature?
When the flow of incoming solar energy is balanced by an equal flow of heat to space, Earth is in radiative equilibrium, and global temperature is relatively stable. Anything that increases or decreases the amount of incoming or outgoing energy disturbs Earth’s radiative equilibrium; global temperatures must rise or fall in response.
Why do some parts of Earth get more heat transferred than others?
There are two reasons why some parts of the Earth get more heat transferred than others. Air molecules scatter light. So it is easy to understand why longer distances of the atmosphere cause more light to scatter, reducing the amount of energy reaching the Earth. This the exact reason why sunsets are reddish.