Key Idea: Processes that take place on the surface of the earth influence the composition and the temperature of the atmosphere.
Students are expected to know that:
- The gases that make up the air around us (i.e., the atmosphere) are mostly a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen. A very small percentage of the atmosphere consists of water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases.
- The air also contains small solid and liquid particles.
- Processes that take place on the surface of the earth (e.g., evaporation, photosynthesis, respiration by living organisms, weathering of rocks, burning of fuels) add and remove gasses and particles from the air.
- Air can maintain its properties such as temperature and humidity as it moves, but the temperature and the humidity of air are affected by the surface that the air is moving over, such that the surface of the earth can cause the temperature and the humidity of air to gradually increase or decrease.
- Air can become warmer by moving over any place on the surface of the earth that is warmer than the air, and air can become cooler by moving over any place on the surface of the earth that is cooler than the air.
- The humidity of air (amount of water vapor in the air) can increase when air is above any place on the surface of the earth where there is abundant liquid water.
Boundaries:
- For this idea, students will not be assessed on their knowledge of any gasses or types of particles that are not specifically noted.
- Students are not expected to know how much of each gas is in the atmosphere.
| Item ID Number |
Knowledge Being Assessed | Grades 6–8 |
Grades 9–12 |
Select This Item for My Item Bank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
73% |
70% |
|
||
61% |
69% |
|
||
54% |
60% |
|
||
55% |
51% |
|
||
50% |
54% |
|
||
The amount of water vapor in the air can increase and it can decrease. | 50% |
50% |
|
|
Air temperature and humidity can be different in different places. | 50% |
46% |
|
|
43% |
51% |
|
||
42% |
49% |
|
||
38% |
45% |
|
||
35% |
49% |
|
||
The temperature of cool air can increase if it moves over warm land or over warm water. | 39% |
42% |
|
|
The temperature of air can increase by moving over land that is warmer than the air. | 37% |
44% |
|
|
36% |
40% |
|
||
28% |
30% |
|
Misconception |
Student Misconception |
Grades |
Grades |
|---|---|---|---|
The humidity of air is the same everywhere on earth (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 36% |
39% | |
The temperature of air is the same everywhere on earth (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 35% |
39% | |
Humidity is a measure of the temperature of air (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 37% |
32% | |
35% |
31% | ||
28% |
22% | ||
25% |
23% | ||
23% |
24% | ||
The direction air is moving cannot be measured (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 25% |
19% | |
The speed of moving air cannot be measured (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 24% |
19% | |
21% |
19% | ||
16% |
16% | ||
15% |
13% | ||
The amount of water vapor in the air cannot change (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 14% |
15% | |
12% |
11% | ||
The humidity of air cannot change (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 10% |
10% | |
The temperature of the air cannot change (AAAS Project 2061, n.d.). | 4% |
3% |
Frequency of selecting a misconception was calculated by dividing the total number of times a misconception was chosen by the number of times it could have been chosen, averaged over the number of students answering the questions within this particular idea.
Code |
Statement |
|---|---|
Energy is spontaneously transferred out of hotter regions or objects and into colder ones. |
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