How does the greenhouse effect help to maintain life on Earth and how does human activity enhance this effect?
How is the atmosphere as a system modelled to quantify the Earth–atmosphere energy balance?
What relevance do simple harmonic motion and resonance have to climate change?
How do different methods of electricity production affect the energy balance of the atmosphere?
How are developments in science and technology affected by climate change?
What limitations are there in using a resonance model to explain the greenhouse effect?
the conservation of energy
emissivity as the ratio of the power radiated per unit area by a surface compared to that of an ideal black surface at the same temperature
albedo as a measure of the average energy reflected off a macroscopic system as given by: albedo = total scattered power/total incident power
that Earth’s albedo varies daily and is dependent on cloud formations and latitude
the solar constant S
that the incoming radiative power is dependent on the projected surface of a planet along the direction of the path of the rays, resulting in a mean value of the incoming intensity being S/4
that methane, water vapour, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide, are the main greenhouse gases and each of these has origins that are both natural and created by human activity
the absorption of infrared radiation by the main greenhouse gases in terms of the molecular energy levels and the subsequent emission of radiation in all directions
that the greenhouse effect can be explained in terms of both a resonance model and molecular energy levels
that the augmentation of the greenhouse effect due to human activities is known as the enhanced greenhouse effect.
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