Demonstrate understanding of processes in the atmosphere system
AS 91414 is a 4-credit external exam (sat in November) where you show you understand how Earth's atmosphere works — what it's made of, how heat and matter move through it, and how it drives weather and climate patterns. The exam has three questions and you must answer all of them, applying your knowledge to specific real-world scenarios the examiner gives you.
You can identify and explain individual processes — for example, naming types of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by different atmospheric layers, explaining that meteors burn up in the mesosphere due to friction, stating that evaporation absorbs heat, and explaining that convection carries heat upward. You show basic understanding but may not fully link causes to effects.
You explain processes in detail using physical principles such as density, absorption, latent heat, and friction. For example, you can explain why temperature increases with altitude in the stratosphere (ozone absorbing UV) but decreases in the mesosphere, explain latent heat in terms of breaking molecular bonds, and describe how volcanic sulfur dioxide aerosols cool the surface. You link one process clearly to another.
You discuss the full complexity of the atmosphere system — causes, effects, and interactions across multiple layers or processes. For example, you can discuss how aerosols stay in the stratosphere much longer than the troposphere and why, how different electromagnetic wavelengths interact with specific gases and what that means for each layer's temperature profile, and how latent heat in evaporation links to convection and broader circulation. You apply core concepts like the Coriolis effect to specific contexts given in the question.
Standards typically taken alongside or after this one. Same subject, grouped by level.