Ch 4- 6 reading quiz review

The most common cooling mechanism for cloud formation is ________.

rising and expanding air

Which type of cloud is best described as a flat, thick, low cloud that rains all day?

nimbostratus

Which cloud type forms in an unstable environment?

cumulonimbus

What type of fog occurs when warm air is blown over cold, snow-covered ground?

advection fog

The Bergeron process occurs in _____________.

cold (below freezing) clouds

What type of fog occurs on clear, calm nights when the air near the ground cools faster than the air higher above the ground?

radiation fog

The collision-coalescence process involves ________.

multiple collisions of tiny droplets that stick together

Which precipitation type is caused by a cloud with temperatures below freezing from the ground all the way to the top of the cloud?

snow

Which precipitation type forms when snowflakes melt partially and then re-freeze before hitting the ground?

sleet

What type of weather modification involves the use of large fans to mix surface air with air aloft?

frost prevention and fog disperstion

Which rain gauge would be least accurate for measuring heavy rainfall?

tipping-bucket gauge

Which term is defined as an elongated area of low pressure?

trough

Which of the following locations would typically have the highest station air pressure?

New Orleans, LA (elevation: 6 meters below sea level) because the lower we are below sea level, the higher air pressure gets

If you increase the average temperature of a column of air, then the 500-mb pressure surface will be _______.

at a higher altitude

If you increase the moisture content of a column of air, then the 500-mb pressure surface will be ________.

at a higher altitude

Which of the following statements about the pressure gradient force is true?

The pressure gradient force is stronger when isobars are closer together.

The Coriolis force ________.

changes the apparent direction that an object is moving

Which two forces are balanced when the wind is in geostrophic balance?

Coriolis force and pressure gradient force

Which of the following statements is true about winds at the surface?

Winds at the surface cross the isobars at an angle toward the lower pressure.

Which of the following is true about low pressure at the surface in the Northern Hemisphere?

It is associated with counterclockwise, converging winds.

Upper-level convergence causes ________.

high pressure at the surface

A southeast wind blows from _____.

southeast to northwest

_____ provides a way to represent winds by indicating the percentage of time the wind blows from various directions.

A wind rose

If an air parcel starts with a temperature of 20 °C and is lifted 1 km upwards, the air parcel is stable if ______.

the air parcel is unsaturated, and the temperature of the surrounding environment at 1 km is 11 °C

Which of the following will enhance stability in the atmosphere?

snow on the ground

Most of the water on Earth is stored ___.

in the ocean as salt water

Which of the following phase changes would release heat to the surrounding environment?

deposition

Cloud formation is an example of _____ and _____ the air.

condensation, warms

Vapor pressure is defined as _________.

the part of the total atmospheric pressure exerted by water vapor

When temperature increases, _____.

the saturation vapor pressure increases

Which of the following measurements describes the actual amount of water vapor in the air?

vapor pressure, dew-point temperature, and mixing ratio

Which of the following statements about dew-point temperature is true?

The dew-point temperature is equal to air temperature in a cloud.

Conditional instability is a situation in which _______.

he atmosphere is stable with respect to an unsaturated air parcel and unstable with respect to a saturated air parcel

The lifting condensation level is the location of the _______.

first place where the air parcel becomes saturated

Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana would experience clouds caused by all of the lifting mechanisms, except _____.

orographic lifting

You are driving through the country and you notice isolated cumulus clouds in the sky. Which lifting mechanism is most likely responsible for these cumulus clouds?

localized convective lifting

If an air parcel is warmer than the surrounding environment, then it will _____.

rise