My little girl wants to know if a mountain top is closer to the sun how come it is much colder?

Answer 1

The Earth doesn't get heat from the Sun, mostly. The Earth gets light from the Sun. The light strikes the ground and is radiated back as infra-red, or heat. So the closer you are to the ground, the warmer you will be.

In addition, the atmosphere acts as an insulater. The higher you go, the thinner the air, hence the worse it does at insulating.

And think about this. It is 93 million miles to the Sun. From the ground to the top of Mt. Everest is only 5 miles. The difference in distance is like the difference between your daughter's height and the thickness of her fingernail. Moving that little distance would not change the temperature if everything else stayed the same.

Answer 2

Space is nearly absolute zero, and yet it surrounds the sun.

Heat is a function of the activity of atoms and molecules. Way up there, there's less air to BE warm- and so it's cold.
Now, if you go up high enough, thermometers will show a steep rise in temp... although you would still think it was very cold... because the thermometer would be measuring the energetic air molecules present- though they are few and far between- as the solar flares hit the top of the atmosphere.

Also, the warmth of lower altitudes has a fair amount to do with the blanket of atmosphere holding the heat to the planet... atop a mountain there's less of that too.

Answer 3

The atmosphere of the Earth acts like an insulating blanket around it. Atmospheric pressure at Sea Level is about 14 Pounds per square inch. As you go up in elevation (climb up a mountain) the air becomes thinner and thinner (less pounds per square inch) . That is why some high altitude mountain climbers must wear oxygen masks to breathe.

In the thinner atmosphere of high altitudes there are fewer molecules of air, and therefore it is easier for the available heat to escape out into empty space. Looking at it the other way, there are fewer molecules of gas for the Sun's rays to heat up and create warmth.

Explain to your daughter that a balloon filled loosely at Sea Level would expand and expand as you climbed higher and higher up a mountain because the outside air pressure becomes lesser and lesser as you go up. The balloon would eventually burst because the air got so thin. Indeed, launching high altitude balloons looks really crazy because they only squirt in a small buble of helium gas. However, as the balloon ascends to high altitudes, the buble expands and fully inflates the balloon into a huge tightly stretched sphere. The gas has expanded that much due to low high altitude pressures.

Cheers,
Zah

Answer 4

when you are higher in elevation, the air is thinner. there is less of the atmosphere to hold the heat in. This is even more apparent if you enter outer space. there is no atmosphere there and it is very very cold even if you are closer to the sun. but as the atmosphere thins, the light energy that you recieve is much more direct and can heat objects up more so that it can on earths surface

Answer 5

It has nothing to do with that. The Earth is so bloody far from the sun that regardless of where you are you cannot feel any warmer or colder. It has something to do with exposure. The caribbean has more exposure to the sun and hence the plants and animals and weather is different. As to standing on a mountain, it has to do with the air being thinner and less able to withhold heat and also being far from the core of Earth, which is lava-like, which is where a good deal of heat has its source.

Answer 6

because sunlight heat the ocean and land. furthermore, this heat is radiated again into the atmosphere. a mountain top that located far away from land at the sea level will receive a very minimum portion of this "heat that radiated again"; that's why it is much colder.

Answer 7

It's just a bit closer to the sun(totally insignificant), but it's exposed, air is thinner, winds are stronger, and heat can't accumulate.
Hope this helps.
Best Regards

Answer 8

the gap to the sunlight is notably great that quite a few kilometers tall of a mountain would not make a distinction. intense altitude areas are chilly as a results of fact of adiabatic growth of the air from decrease altitudes. that's somewhat like in case you have a bowl of marbles, some rapid and a few sluggish, and human beings that are rapid will upward push, yet as quickly as RISEN, would be sluggish. Similarily, warm air hundreds tend to upward push, yet as quickly as risen, some thermal power is switched over into gravitational skill power, and the air mass adiabatically reduces in temperature, and surrounds the mountains with chilly air. ------------- ok people who disagree with me: why is "skinny air" unavoidably "chillier"? The moon is almost airless, and it reaches temperatures of close to a hundred and twenty Celsius during its "daylight hours". that's rattling warm for a skinny air envirnoment.

Answer 9

Because of gravity and weight of air molecules, the air thins at higher elevations : less molecules...sun's energy strikes molecules causes them to move and bump each each...this causes heat ...less molecules less heat.. it dissipates into the air....also the darker ground...trees oceans grass etc absorbs more sun energy thus because warm ...warm air rises then dissipate into air

Answer 10

the reason why temprature is lower the higher we go is because of the reflection of Earth & to heat coming from Sun thru sun rays.

Earth absorbs the heat from sun rays & reflects it immediatly on the surface.

Temp. then gets lower the higher you go because there will be less reflection of heat from earth.

cheers,