1 SPU 25 Energy and Climate: Vision for the Future, Spring 2018 Homework Set #1 Climate Basics, DUE Monday 2/12 (1:00 pm in lecture) Name: _____________________________________ Section: __________ TF: _____________________ Score: ______/_______ Collaborators: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Earth’s climate is a complex reflection of the distribution and movement of energy around the planet. The primary source of Earth’s energy is radiation from the Sun. In this problem set, you will see how this energy is received, lost, and stored, and the role of greenhouse gases in altering the climate. You will also understand how the distribution of energy influences climate and get some practice with basic quantitative problems and unit conversions. (40 points total) You will only receive credit if you show all your work and write legibly. I. Earth’s Energy Balance Planet Earth (including the solid earth, oceans, and atmosphere) is best described as an isolated system: energy, but not mass, can pass from Earth to space and vice versa. In this type of system, the energy balance may be described by: Energy gained = Energy lost – change in storage. 1. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere prevent the radiation of energy to space, so they impact which term in the above equation? (1 point) 2. Changing surface and ocean temperatures reflect which term in the above equation? (1 point) II. Energy from the Sun 3. True or False: Summer is warmer than winter because the Earth is closer to the Sun. (1 point) 4. Currently, the energy from the Sun arriving at Earth’s orbital position amounts to 1,379 W m-2, measured perpendicular to the direction of the sunlight (see figure below). a. Given that the Earth is a circular target for this energy and has a radius of 6.38 x 103 km, calculate the total rate at which solar energy is intercepted by the Earth. Report your answer in Watts. Recall that the area of a circle is πr2. (2 points) Figure 1. The shadow formed by an illuminated sphere has a circular shape with a radius R equal to the radius of the sphere. 2 b. Assuming that the energy from the Sun is eventually distributed equally over the entire surface area of the Earth, use your answer from part (a) to calculate the current average rate of incoming solar radiation. Express your answer in Watts per meter squared. Recall that the surface area of a sphere is 4πr2. (3 points) III. The fate of energy from the Sun 5. Based on your answers from the previous problem and assuming a global average albedo of 0.3, how much of the incoming solar radiation is reflected back into space? How much is absorbed? Express your answers in Watts per meter squared. (2 points) 6. Much of the energy absorbed at the Earth’s surface is used for evaporation. The energy involved in changing the phase of water is c ...

1. 1
SPU 25 Energy and Climate: Vision for the Future, Spring 2018
Homework Set #1 Climate Basics, DUE Monday 2/12 (1:00 pm
in lecture)
Name: _____________________________________ Section:
__________ TF: _____________________ Score:
______/_______
Collaborators:
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________
Earth’s climate is a complex reflection of the distribution and
movement of energy around the planet. The
primary source of Earth’s energy is radiation from the Sun. In
this problem set, you will see how this energy is
received, lost, and stored, and the role of greenhouse gases in
altering the climate. You will also understand
how the distribution of energy influences climate and get some
practice with basic quantitative problems and
unit conversions. (40 points total)

2. You will only receive credit if you show all your work and
write legibly.
I. Earth’s Energy Balance
Planet Earth (including the solid earth, oceans, and atmosphere)
is best described as an isolated system:
energy, but not mass, can pass from Earth to space and vice
versa. In this type of system, the energy balance
may be described by: Energy gained = Energy lost – change in
storage.
1. Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere prevent the radiation of
energy to space, so they impact which
term in the above equation? (1 point)
2. Changing surface and ocean temperatures reflect which term
in the above equation? (1 point)
II. Energy from the Sun
3. True or False: Summer is warmer than winter because the
Earth is closer to the Sun. (1 point)
4. Currently, the energy from the Sun arriving at Earth’s orbital

3. position amounts to 1,379 W m-2,
measured perpendicular to the direction of the sunlight (see
figure below).
a. Given that the Earth is a circular target for this energy and
has a radius of 6.38 x 103 km,
calculate the total rate at which solar energy is intercepted by
the Earth. Report your answer in
Watts. Recall that the area of a circle is πr2. (2 points)
Figure 1. The shadow formed by an
illuminated sphere has a circular
shape with a radius R equal to the
radius of the sphere.
2

4. b. Assuming that the energy from the Sun is eventually
distributed equally over the entire surface
area of the Earth, use your answer from part (a) to calculate the
current average rate of
incoming solar radiation. Express your answer in Watts per
meter squared. Recall that the
surface area of a sphere is 4πr2. (3 points)
III. The fate of energy from the Sun
5. Based on your answers from the previous problem and
assuming a global average albedo of 0.3, how
much of the incoming solar radiation is reflected back into
space? How much is absorbed? Express
your answers in Watts per meter squared. (2 points)

5. 6. Much of the energy absorbed at the Earth’s surface is used
for evaporation. The energy involved in
changing the phase of water is called latent heat. For water, the
latent heat of evaporation (i.e. the
energy required to evaporate water) is 2.3 x106 Joules per kg
water. Evaporation removes
approximately 1.2 m (depth) of water from the global oceans
each year, which is later precipitated
over the continents and oceans. The oceans cover a total surface
area of 3.6132 x 108 square
kilometers. Assume the density of the water is 1000kg/m3.
a. Calculate the total mass of water (in kg) evaporated from the
oceans each year. (2 points)
b. Using your results from part a, calculate the total energy
required to fuel the evaporation from
the oceans each year. Report your answer in Joules. (2 points)

6. c. Using your results from part b, calculate the energy absorbed
by the oceans in Joules per
square meter. (2 points)
3
d. Assuming that energy absorption takes place at a constant
rate over the course of a year,
calculate the rate at which energy is used for evaporation from
the oceans. Report your answer
in Watts per square meter. (2 points)
e. Compare your answer in part d to the global energy balance
figure below. How does the latent
heat transfer term, averaged for the whole planet, on the figure
compare to the energy

7. associated with ocean water evaporation you calculated? What
does this tell you about the
energy required by evaporation over land versus the oceans? (2
points)
IV. Distributing Energy around the Planet
7. Which of the following statements regarding the global
energy gradient is not true? (1 point)
a. Incoming solar radiation is more spread out at the poles and
more concentrated at the equator.
b. The equator is warmer primarily because it is closer to the
Sun than the poles.
c. The radiation imbalance results in more energy at the equator
compared to the poles.
d. The radiation imbalance results in an energy gradient that
moves energy from the equator toward
the poles.
Figure 3. Annual global energy

8. balance. Units are Watts per
meter squared. Source: IPCC
4
8. Due to the Coriolis Effect, an air parcel in the northern
hemisphere will appear to be deflected to the
________________ of its original direction. An air parcel in the
southern hemisphere will appear to be
deflected to the ______________ of its original direction. (1
point)
V. The role of greenhouse gases in Energy Balance
9. Circle One: Energy reaching the Earth from the Sun is
primarily shortwave (visible)/longwave
(infrared) radiation. (1 point)
10. Greenhouse gases are transparent to ________________
radiation, but trap ______________ radiation,
increasing temperatures. (1 point)
a. Ultraviolet, gamma
b. Longwave, shortwave

9. c. Shortwave, longwave
d. Outgoing, incoming
11. Which of the following are not greenhouse gases? (1 point)
CO2 N2O H2O N2 O3 O2 CH4 CFCs
VI. Climate Change
12. True or False. Although greenhouse gas emissions have
been increasing rapidly since the Industrial
Revolution, global average surface temperatures have not
increased because all of the emitted CO2 has
been absorbed by the oceans. (1 point)
13. On human time scales, what are the three major fates of
anthropogenic carbon dioxide emitted to the
atmosphere? (describe with a few words) (3 points)
a.
b.
c.

10. 14. The figure below shows radiative forcing from different
sources from the 2013 IPCC report. Take time
to study this figure carefully, and then answer the following
questions.
a. What is the IPCC? What do they do?
(https://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization.shtml)
(2 points)
b. What is radiative forcing? (1 point)
https://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization.shtml
5
c. How does total anthropogenic forcing compare to total
natural forcing? (1 point)
d. What drivers and emissions generally have a cooling effect
on climate? (1 point)

11. e. What is the effect of deforestation of albedo? Would this be a
positive (warming) or negative
(cooling) radiative forcing? Explain your answer. (2 points)
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https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-
report/ar5/wg1/WG1AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf
https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-
report/ar5/wg1/WG1AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf
6
15. Navigate to
https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/history.html and

15. watch the “CO2 Movie.”
Answer the following questions:
a. Why are the seasonal variations in CO2 larger in the northern
hemisphere than in the southern
hemisphere? (1 point)
b. How do scientists know what atmospheric CO2
concentrations were thousands of years ago?
(1 point)
c. The atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases are now
higher than they have been in at
least the last _________________ years. (1 point)
16. On the same website, click on the “CO2 Emissions” tab.
Read the description and watch the animation,
paying attention to how winds cause atmospheric mixing. Note
that the animation is showing ONLY
the emissions accumulated over a two year period from fossil

16. fuel combustion.
a. Which three regions are the major sources of CO2 from
combustion? (1 point)
https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/ccgg/trends/history.html
2 full pages 11pt Times New Roman font with 1 inch margins
and 1.5 spacing. All citations AMA style.
Cost of Hospitalization
Most markets compete on the basis of perceived value and
price. Increased production volumes and technology lead to
lower prices. This has not been the case with hospitals which
are the largest component of total health care costs. Recent
studies indicate the rising costs of hospitalization contributes as
much as 40% to the overall rise in health care costs.
In this assignment address the following questions:
· Past: How have hospitals competed with each other over the
past decade for patients?
· Future: How do you see hospitals competing for patients ten
years from now?
· Change: What is a change that could lower hospital costs?
Make sure to support your claims for each question by
referencing reputable examples and resources.
Articles for Reference:
· Pauly, Mark V. "The trade-off among quality, quantity, and
cost: How to make it-If we must." Health Affairs 30.4 (2011):
574-580. https://www.healthaffairs.org/toc/hlthaff/30/4
· Walmart Expands Its Center of Excellence Program:
https://thedoctorweighsin.com/walmart-expands-its-center-of-
excellence-program/
· Birkmeyer, John D., et al. "Understanding of regional
variation in the use of surgery." The Lancet 382.9898 (2013):
1121-1129.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4211114/

17. · Mehrotra, Ateev, et al. "Evaluation of a centers of excellence
program for knee and hip replacement." Medical care 51.1
(2013): 28.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3531915/
Rubric
Past
Identifies ways hospitals competed for patients over the past
decade and supports claims with reputable evidence
Future
Identifies appropriate ways hospitals may compete for patients
in the future and supports claims with reputable evidence
Change
Proposes appropriate changes that could lower hospital costs
and supports claims with reputable evidence
Writing Mechanics
Paper is organized, professional, and contains no grammatical
errors