Table of Contents
Why does the temperature decrease at higher elevations?
The basic answer is that the farther away you get from the earth, the thinner the atmosphere gets. The total heat content of a system is directly related to the amount of matter present, so it is cooler at higher elevations.
At what rate does temperature decrease as altitude increases?
Near the Earth’s surface, air gets cooler the higher you climb. As you climb a mountain, you can expect the air temperature to decrease by 6.5 degrees C for every 1000 meters you gain. This is called the standard (average) lapse rate.
Why does the temperature increase and decrease in the atmosphere?
Different temperature gradients create different layers within the atmosphere. The troposphere is heated from the ground, so temperature decreases with altitude. Because warm air rises and cool air sinks, the troposphere is unstable. In the stratosphere, temperature increases with altitude.
Why does temperature decrease with higher altitude quizlet?
The temperature decreases with increasing altitude in the troposphere because these air molecules are heated by the radiation and conduction of energy from Earth’s surface and therefore air molecules closer to the surface have higher temperatures than molecules further from the surface.
What is the relationship between elevation and climate?
Usually, as elevation increases, the weather gets colder and the climate becomes harsher (more intense weathering: windier and colder). There is also less air as elevation increases. As elevation decreases on land that most live on, the climate gets warmer as well as more humid.
What happens to air temperature as altitude increases?
As altitude increases the air temperature of the air becomes cooler and cooler . As altitude decreases the temperature of the air becomes warmer and warmer. There is no life outside of the troposphere because the troposphere is the only layer that contains the correct gases and in the correct amounts to support life.
Why does temperature decrease with height?
Temperature decreases with height in troposphere (as pressure of the gas decreases with increasing altitude so the temperature), makes air to rise vertically. As air rises vertically, it cools adiabatically. When air rises to higher elevation it expands as the pressure is lower at higher elevation and the expanding air cools.
Does temperature increase with altitude?
Temperature remains constant between 10 and 20 km and then increases with increasing altitude between 20 and 50 km. These two sections form the stratosphere. The stratosphere is a very stable air layer. Increasing temperature with increasing altitude is called an inversion .