I read this background article the other day: Because the Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane, sunlight is incident at different angles at different times of the year. In June the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the sun, so at any given Northern Hemisphere latitude sunlight falls more directly on that spot than in December (see Effect of sun angle on climate). This effect causes seasons. Over thousands to hundreds of thousands of years, changes in Earth's orbital parameters affect the amount and distribution of solar energy received by the Earth and influence long-term climate. (See Milankovitch cycles).The uneven solar heating (the formation of zones of temperature and moisture gradients, or frontogenesis) can also be due to the weather itself in the form of cloudiness and precipitation. Higher altitudes are typically cooler than lower altitudes, which the result of higher surface temperature and radiational heating, which produces the adiabatic lapse rate. In some situations, the temperature actually increases with height. This phenomenon is known as an inversion and can cause mountaintops to be warmer than the valleys below. Inversions can lead to the formation of fog and often act as a cap that suppresses thunderstorm development. On local scales, temperature differences can occur because different surfaces (such as oceans, forests, ice sheets, or man-made objects) have differing physical characteristics such as reflectivity, roughness, or moisture content. I am facing a new situation today: Dee and Ann were two cousins. Ann lived in a mountain village at 8000 ft altitude, while Dee lived in a coastal town at sea level. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which cousin experienced more fog cap phenomena?
----
Answer: Ann
Q: I read this background article the other day: Greenhouse Effect: The solar energy reaching the surface of the Earth is concentrated in short wavelengths, which can easily penetrate the greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane. The Earth, however, is cooler than the sun and it radiates its heat in the form of energy in the far infrared range. These longer wavelengths are partially absorbed by the greenhouse gases and some of the solar heat is returned to Earth. At a certain temperature these processes are in equilibrium and the surface temperature of the Earth is stable. However, if more greenhouse gases are put in the atmosphere the amount of trapped terrestrial radiation increases, leading to an increase in global temperature. I am facing a new situation today: Two new planets have just been discovered in our solar system. Scientists have just landed on both and are in the process of analyzing the environment and atmosphere of each planet. What is immediately apparent is that both planets are remarkably similar to Earth since both are oxygen rich and do not require a space suit to breathe. Another similarity that one of the planets, Jarthrow, has with Earth is that it naturally outputs approximately the same amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as Earth does. The other planet, Millhouse, outputs about twice as many greenhouse gases. Climate scientists are rushing to try to see if anything new can be discovered to help out our planet with these new discoveries. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which of the two newly discovered planets has more carbon dioxide in its atomsphere?
A: Millhouse
Question: I read this background article the other day: All living organisms must have the ability to reproduce. Living things make more organisms like themselves. Whether the organism is a rabbit, or a tree, or a bacterium, life will create more life. If a species cannot create the next generation, the species will go extinct. Reproduction is the process of making the next generation and may be a sexual or an asexual process. Sexual reproduction involves two parents and the fusion of gametes , haploid sex cells from each parent. Sexual reproduction produces offspring that are genetically unique and increases genetic variation within a species. Asexual reproduction involves only one parent. It occurs without a fusion of gametes and produces offspring that are all genetically identical to the parent. I am facing a new situation today: two groups of students studied animal reproduction. Group Alpha studied sexual reproduction, while group Beta studies asexual reproduction. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which group of students learned less about offspring that are all genetically identical to the parent?
Answer: Alpha
[Q]: I read this background article the other day: Saturated hydrocarbons are given the general name of alkanes . The name of specific alkanes always ends in ane . The first part of the name indicates how many carbon atoms each molecule of the alkane has. The smallest alkane is methane. It has just one carbon atom. The next largest is ethane with two carbon atoms. The chemical formulas and properties of methane, ethane, and other small alkanes are listed in the Table below . The boiling and melting points of alkanes are determined mainly by the number of carbon atoms they have. Alkanes with more carbon atoms generally boil and melt at higher temperatures. I am facing a new situation today: Two new alkanes, Hamane and Lamerane, were discovered deep in the Earth's crust and they are currently being analyzed by German scientists. It's rare to find new alkanes, so it's important to accurately document all the various features and attributes of these new finds. The first thing the scientists wanted to know was which alkane had a higher boiling point. After observation, it was found that Hamane has a much higher boiling point than Lamerane. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which alkane has more carbon atoms?
****
[A]: Hamane
I read this background article the other day: Charging an object by touching it with another charged object is called charging by conduction. By bringing a charged object into contact with an uncharged object, some electrons will migrate to even out the charge on both objects. Charging by conduction gives the previously uncharged object a permanent charge. An uncharged object can also be charged using a method called charging by induction . This process allows a change in charge without actually touching the charged and uncharged objects to each other. Imagine a negatively charged rod held near the knob, but not touching. If we place a finger on the knob, some of the electrons will escape into our body, instead of down the stem and into the leaves. When both our finger and the negatively charged rod are removed, the previously uncharged electroscope now has a slight positive charge. It was charged by induction. Notice that charging by induction causes the newly charged object to have the opposite charge as the originally charged object, while charging by conduction gives them both the same charge. I am facing a new situation today: With my previous cell phone, in order to charge it I would have a plug the charger into the wall and the plug the cord into my phone to connect it to the electric source. With my new phone, I just place the phone into the charging dock and my phone is charge wirelessly. Using the knowledge I acquired from the background article, how should I answer correctly the following question regarding my new situation: Which cell phone could be charged without connecting it a charged object, previous or new?
----
Answer:
new