When air is heated it either increases in volume, increases in pressure or both, depending on the conditions. Air is composed of several different gases, most notably nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide, but the particular gas involved does not matter.

When the air inside the balloon is heated, the speed of movement of those air molecules increases and the pressure goes up. After a while the balloon is completely expanded and the flight is ready to take off.

What happens when air is heated or cooled? So air, like most other substances, expands when heated and contracts when cooled. Because there is more space between the molecules, the air is less dense than the surrounding matter and the hot air floats upward. This is the concept used in the hot air balloons.

Warm air is lighter than cold air, and so when air is heated it rises. Colder air then rushes in at ground level to take its place. On a small scale, this effect can be seen when the Sun heats up a field and the air above it rises in a thermal; you can often see birds like eagles soaring on these air currents.

Water reflects most solar radiation that reaches its surface back to the atmosphere. Since land absorbs more solar radiation the land surface retains more heat as do the vegetation for energy. Thus, land surfaces warm more quickly than water.

Solar heating of the Earth’s surface is uneven because land heats faster than water, and this causes air to warm, expand and rise over land while it cools and sinks over the cooler water surfaces.

Uneven heating between Poles and Equator Centre of the earth is called Equator and the two extreme positions are Poles. Poles are cooler than equator as highest intensity of the sun’s heat and light falls on the equator and it reduces as we go either side of equator towards the poles.

Define each one and give 2 examples of each. Unequal heating of Earth, atmospheric convection currents, rotation of the earth, Coriolis effect, earth’s orbit on a tilted axis, and the circulation of ocean waters at the surface and deep ocean.

Energy is transferred between the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere in a variety of ways, including radiation, conduction, and convection. Conduction is one of the three main ways that heat energy moves from place to place. The other two ways heat moves around are radiation and convection.

Heat can be transferred by three processes: conduction, convection, and radiation. Radiation is the least important mode of heat transport in the Earth. The process of heat exchange between the Sun and the Earth, through radiation, controls the temperatures at the Earth’s surface.

Dark matt surfaces

Light, shiny surfaces are poor absorbers and poor emitters of radiation. This is why it is best to wear bright white clothes on a hot day as they reflect the heat and reduce absorption of the heat energy.

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