Question

Air can be heated in many different ways. At night, if air moves up one side of a mountain range such as the Sierra Nevada, raining or snowing on the way, and then down the other side, the air is hotter after moving over than it was before. What is the main reason, as discussed in the class materials?

Answer 1

Answer: Condensation of water vapor to form clouds and rain releases heat that was stored when the water evaporated.

Explanation: Condensation mostly occurs in the atmosphere when warm air rises, cools and looses its capacity to hold water vapor. The gaseous water molecules release energy into the cooler air around them and move closer together. The spaces between the molecules decrease until they are close enough to change form from a gas to a liquid. Therefore, forming the cloud and rain would release the heat that was stored when the water evaporated.

Answer 2

Answer:

Condensation of water vapor to form clouds and rain releases heat that was stored when the water evaporated.

Explanation:

A lot of the energy from the sun is usually stored via evaporating water, which is then later felt as heat when evaporation is reversed by condensation. Pressure differences drive winds, which curves as a response to the rotation of the Earth, and also heat is generated from friction, however standing outside would not make you hot because of frictional heating, given that it is negligible.