Barrons AP Environmental Science

(Marvins-Underground-K-12) #1

  1. (A) Large-scale circulations develop in Earth’s atmosphere due to uneven
    heating of its surface by the sun’s rays. Daytime solar heating is greatest
    near Earth’s equator, where incoming sunlight is nearly perpendicular to the
    ground. The heated air near the equator expands and rises and creates low
    pressure at the equator. Air cools as it rises, causing water vapor to condense
    (rain) as the air cools with increasing altitude. As an air mass cools, it
    increases in density and descends back to the surface in the subtropics,
    creating high pressure.

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