ESS 111 EXAM QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS 2025/2026
GRADED A+
Radiosonde - an instrument that is attached to a balloon and transmits data by radio as
it ascends through the atmosphere; used to measure the actual environmental lapse
rate as well as gather information about vertical changes in air pressure, wind, and
humidity
Stratosphere - layer above the troposphere; temperature at first remains nearly constant
to a height of about 20 kilometers; is encountered at a height of about 50 kilometers;
ozone layer is located here
Mesosphere - the third layer in the atmosphere, temperatures decrease with height until
about 80 kilometers, leads to abundant vertical mixing
Mesopause - the top of the mesosphere, at a height of about 80 kilometers
Thermosphere - fourth layer of the atmosphere; contains only a tiny fraction of the
atmosphere's mass; temperatures increase with elevation
Temperature - defined in terms of the average speed at which molecules moves - the
higher the speed, the higher this is
Ionosphere - located between 80 and 400 kilometers; coinciding with the lower portion
of the thermosphere; an electrically charged layer; site of the auroras
Ionization - a process in which the affected molecule or atom loses one or more
electrons and becomes a positively charged ion
Auroras - a bright and ever-changing display of light caused by solar radiation
interacting with the upper atmosphere in the region of the poles
Temperature inversion - a layer in the atmosphere of limited depth where the
temperature increases rather than decreases with height
Stratopause - The boundary between the stratosphere and the mesosphere
Tropopause - The boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere.
Particulates - mixture of gases and tiny suspended particles that make up the
atmosphere
Hydroscopic - can absorb water/moisture
Homosphere - uniform mixture of the principal gases (troposphere, stratosphere,
mesosphere)
, Heterosphere - heterogenous layering by molecular weights (thermosphere)
Chloroflourocarbons (cfcs) - synthetic organic compounds first created in the 1950s and
used primarily as refrigerants and as propellants. The role of CFCs in the destruction of
the ozone layer led to the signing of an international agreement (the Montreal
Agreement)
Halons - Compounds similar to CFCs, in which bromine or fluorine atoms replace some
or all of the chlorine atoms; used in fire extinguishers
Montreal Protocol - phase out of ozone depleting substances.
Main points of scientific method - make observation, obtain facts about observation,
share results
Literature search - search for background information that's already known
Rotation - The spinning of Earth on its axis
Orbit - the elliptical path that Earth travels around the Sun once each year
Perihelion - the point in the orbit of a planet closest to the Sun
Aphelion - the point in the orbit of a planet that is farthest from the Sun
Tropic of Cancer - the parallel of latitude, 23.5 degrees north latitude, marking the
northern limit of the Sun's vertical rays
Tropic of Capricorn - the parallel of latitude, 23.5 degrees south latitude, marking the
southern limit of the Sun's vertical rays
Fall Equinox - occurs of September 22 or 23; in the northern hemisphere; daylight hours
and darkness are equal
Spring Equinox - occurs on March 21 or 22; in the northern hemisphere; daylight hours
and darkness are equal
Circle of Illumination - boundary separating the light part of the planet and the dark part
of the planet
Arctic Circle - 66.5 degrees north latitude; experiences the midnight sun, a natural
phenomenon in which the Sun is visible at midnight
Antarctic Circle - 66.5 degrees south latitude; experiences total darkness on June 21
GRADED A+
Radiosonde - an instrument that is attached to a balloon and transmits data by radio as
it ascends through the atmosphere; used to measure the actual environmental lapse
rate as well as gather information about vertical changes in air pressure, wind, and
humidity
Stratosphere - layer above the troposphere; temperature at first remains nearly constant
to a height of about 20 kilometers; is encountered at a height of about 50 kilometers;
ozone layer is located here
Mesosphere - the third layer in the atmosphere, temperatures decrease with height until
about 80 kilometers, leads to abundant vertical mixing
Mesopause - the top of the mesosphere, at a height of about 80 kilometers
Thermosphere - fourth layer of the atmosphere; contains only a tiny fraction of the
atmosphere's mass; temperatures increase with elevation
Temperature - defined in terms of the average speed at which molecules moves - the
higher the speed, the higher this is
Ionosphere - located between 80 and 400 kilometers; coinciding with the lower portion
of the thermosphere; an electrically charged layer; site of the auroras
Ionization - a process in which the affected molecule or atom loses one or more
electrons and becomes a positively charged ion
Auroras - a bright and ever-changing display of light caused by solar radiation
interacting with the upper atmosphere in the region of the poles
Temperature inversion - a layer in the atmosphere of limited depth where the
temperature increases rather than decreases with height
Stratopause - The boundary between the stratosphere and the mesosphere
Tropopause - The boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere.
Particulates - mixture of gases and tiny suspended particles that make up the
atmosphere
Hydroscopic - can absorb water/moisture
Homosphere - uniform mixture of the principal gases (troposphere, stratosphere,
mesosphere)
, Heterosphere - heterogenous layering by molecular weights (thermosphere)
Chloroflourocarbons (cfcs) - synthetic organic compounds first created in the 1950s and
used primarily as refrigerants and as propellants. The role of CFCs in the destruction of
the ozone layer led to the signing of an international agreement (the Montreal
Agreement)
Halons - Compounds similar to CFCs, in which bromine or fluorine atoms replace some
or all of the chlorine atoms; used in fire extinguishers
Montreal Protocol - phase out of ozone depleting substances.
Main points of scientific method - make observation, obtain facts about observation,
share results
Literature search - search for background information that's already known
Rotation - The spinning of Earth on its axis
Orbit - the elliptical path that Earth travels around the Sun once each year
Perihelion - the point in the orbit of a planet closest to the Sun
Aphelion - the point in the orbit of a planet that is farthest from the Sun
Tropic of Cancer - the parallel of latitude, 23.5 degrees north latitude, marking the
northern limit of the Sun's vertical rays
Tropic of Capricorn - the parallel of latitude, 23.5 degrees south latitude, marking the
southern limit of the Sun's vertical rays
Fall Equinox - occurs of September 22 or 23; in the northern hemisphere; daylight hours
and darkness are equal
Spring Equinox - occurs on March 21 or 22; in the northern hemisphere; daylight hours
and darkness are equal
Circle of Illumination - boundary separating the light part of the planet and the dark part
of the planet
Arctic Circle - 66.5 degrees north latitude; experiences the midnight sun, a natural
phenomenon in which the Sun is visible at midnight
Antarctic Circle - 66.5 degrees south latitude; experiences total darkness on June 21
