WJEC A-Level Geography 601-8455-3
Coastal Landscapes
Glaciated Landscapes
Tectonic Hazards
Changing Places
Water and Carbon Cycles
Global Migration
Global Governance of the Oceans
EcosystemsContemporary theme
Economic Growth and Challenge: IndiaContemporary theme
Economic Growth and Challenge: ChinaContemporary theme
Development in an African ContextContemporary theme
Energy Challenges and DilemmasContemporary theme
Weather and ClimateContemporary theme
Fieldwork and Geographical Skills
Weather and Climate
Structure of the atmosphere and the heat budget
- 3 things to know
- A2 Unit 4
Overview
How temperature changes with height in the troposphere, role of the ozone layer in making the surface habitable and atmospheric heat budget.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
In which layer does almost all weather occur, and why?
Why does temperature rise with height in the stratosphere?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Name the four main layers of the atmosphere in order from the surface.
Model answer
The troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere and the thermosphere.
- 2
In which layer does almost all weather occur, and why?
Model answer
The troposphere, because it holds most of the atmosphere's water vapour and is heated from below, so it convects.
- 3
Describe how temperature changes with height in the troposphere.
Model answer
It falls with height, at an average environmental lapse rate of about 6.5°C per kilometre.
- 4
Why does temperature rise with height in the stratosphere?
Model answer
Ozone there absorbs ultraviolet radiation, warming the layer from above rather than from the surface below.
- 5
What is the tropopause?
Model answer
The tropopause is the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere, where the fall of temperature with height ceases.
- 6
Explain the role of the ozone layer in making the surface habitable.
Model answer
It absorbs most incoming ultraviolet radiation, which would otherwise damage living tissue at the surface.
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