Meteorology Quizzes and Exams review

What gas composes the largest amount of the atmosphere?

Nitrogen

(True/False) - The average surface temperature of the Earth would be greater if there were no atmosphere

False

What is the name of the lowest layer in the Earth’s Atmosphere?

Troposphere

(True/False) - Ozone is the most beneficial when it is near the surface of the Earth.

False

Which of the following is considered to be a greenhous gas?

Carbon Dioxide

What is one way that the Earth’s atmosphere is different than Venus’ Atmosphere?

Venus has a more dense atmosphere than Earth

Comparing air at a 10km with air at 20km, which of the following statements is true?

Pressure and Density are both less at 20km

Why does the temperature of the stratosphere increase as you go further from the earth’s surface?

Ozone absorbs UV

What is a sink for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?

Photosynthesis

The Surface atmospheric pressure is 975 mb. What is the pressure in inches of mercury? (1013.25 mb = 29.92 in. Hg). (29.92 in. Hg/1013.25 mb x 975 mb)

28.8 in. Hg

What does the 1st Law of Thermodynamics say about energy?

Heat cannot just disappear

(True/False) - An example of latent heating is the melting of ice by adding heat.

True

Which of the following would require the least amount of heat to raise its temperature 1”C if you had 1 kg of the material?

Granite

The phase change of an object going from vapor to solid is called?

Deposition

Describe how conduction transfers heat from one object to another.

Molecules bump into other molecules

Energy due to a change in altitude or height is called?

Potential

You place your hand in the sunlight and your hand feels warm. Your hand is gaining heat primarily through the mechanism of?

Radiation

Convert 98”F into Celcius (T^F = 9/5 T^C + 32)

36.6”C

Climate Zone ‘B’ is located where

West Coast of the US and Northern Africa

Climate Zone ‘E’ is located where?

Antarctica

(True/False) - Condensation nuclei which are hydrophobic allow water to condense in them at a relative humidity below 100%

False

Fog forming over a cold surface after a clear calm night is called?

Radiation Fog

When looking at dry haze against a light background it will appear to be?

Yellow

Air Mass #1 has a temperature of 15 °C and a mixing ratio of 9.0g/kg. Air mass #2 has a temperature of -15 °C and a mixing ratio of 1.0g/kg. Answer each of the following questions using the Saturation mixing ratio table

• Is air mass #1 foggy or Clear before mixing with air mass #2

Clear

Air Mass #1 has a temperature of 15”C and a mixing ratio of 9.0g/kg. Air mass #2 has a temperature of -15”C and a mixing ratio of 1.0g/kg. Answer each of the following questions using the Saturation mixing ratio table

• If air mass #1 and air mass #2 have equal masses, what is the mixing ratio after they mix together?

9+1 divided by 2 = 5

Write out the name of the cloud type which goes by the abbreviation St.

Stratus

Which of the following clouds extend vertically through the atmosphere?

Cumulonimbus

Which Latin word means “heap”?

Cumulus

If the curve of the dune was going to the South, which direction would you say the wind is blowing?

The wind is blowing from the South to the North

(True/False) - The predominant winds in Ohio are northeasterly winds.

False

The frictional force becomes insignificant beyond _ km above the Earth’s surface

1 km

What physical scale corresponds to a low pressure system?

Synoptic Scale

In a warm column of air which of the following is the most accurate to represent the pressure this air exerts at the surface and aloft (at the top of the troposphere)

Low pressure at the surface and high pressure aloft

(True/False) - Valley breezes form during the day as the mountain side warms up

True

Daytime heating of a body of water and its adjacent land results in which of the following?

Formation of a surface low over the land giving a sea breeze

(True/False) - Clouds form over the sinking column of air in the thermal circulation

False

What time of day are the gusty winds more likely to occur>

4PM

The doldrums correspond to which feature?

Rising portion of the Hadley Cell

(True/False) - The Siberian High is strongest during the Northern Hemisphere summer

False

In general which is descriptive of the horse latitudes?

Surface high pressure with clear skies

Where is most likely location you will find the polar front?

60 degrees latitude

What is the description of an air mass with a designation of cP?

Cold and Dry

(True/False) - Clouds form over the sinking column of air in a thermal circulation

False

With which circulation cell are the trade winds associated?

Hadley Cell

Where do Doldrums form?

Over the Equator

Where would the High pressure system persist year round?

Between 30 degrees North and 60 degrees North over the atlantic ocean.

The time that goes by between seeing a lightning strike and hearing the thunder is 15 seconds. How far away did the lightning strike?

5 Km

(True/False) - If there is no visible funnel between the cloud and the ground, the tornado is not doing damage on the ground.

False

Which stage of the thunderstorm is characterized by a combination of an updraft and a downdraft?

The Mature Stage

What is the highest possible rating for a tornado on the fajita scale?

F5 or EF5

What causes the cooling that generates the downdraft?

Entrainment

(True/False) - In lightning the return stroke has a higher current than the stepped ladder.

True

When a horizontal vortex tube is pushed upward by an updraft, it introduces rotation into the storm. What is the name of this rotating structure within the storm? (From this structure, tornadoes can form.)

Mesocyclone

(True/False) - Tornado warnings are issued more often then tornado watches

False

What must happen in order for hail to form in a thunderstorm?

Water freezes and then thaws and refreezes repeatedly with the mixing temperatures from the storm.

How is a tornado detected with a radar system? What feature/s are you looking for?

A) All of the above

(True/False) - The ozone hole over Antarctica persists year round.

False

(True/False) - As ice melts, it give off heat to its surroundings.

False

(True/False) - Air is a good conductor of heat.

False

(True/False) - Air pressure decreases as you increase your distance from the earth’s surface.

True

(True/False) - Most of the earth’s albedo is due to presence of clouds.

True

(True/False) - Red light has a shorter wavelength than the purple light

False

(True/False) - Saturation vapor pressure decreases as the air temperature increases

False

(True/False) - Nitrogen is a highly reactive gas

False

(True/False) - The second law of thermodynamics states that heat does not spontaneously flow from colder to hotter objects

True

(True/False) - The atmosphere helps to moderate extreme temperatures at the earth’s surface.

True

(True/False) - Humid air is more dense than dry air at the same temperature.

False

At what time of the day would you expect to see the coolest surface temperatures?

Sunrise

What is the name given to the process of a solid becoming a vapor?

Sublimation

Name the mechanisms of the heat transfer.

Conduction, Convection, Radiation

Raising the temperature increases the number of clouds which in turn decreases the temperature. What kind of feedback is this describing?

Negative

Name the region of the atmosphere that extends from the Earth’s surface to about 11 km.

Troposphere

What is the name of the visible phenomenon that results from the solar wind interacting with the earth’s magnetic field?

Aurora Borealis

Name a primary constituent of Venus’ atmosphere.

Carbon Dioxide

Name a source for Carbon Dioxide.

Combustion

Name one of the major factors used to determine climate change.

Precipitation

What constituent gas of the atmosphere is primarily responsible for the high temperatures in the stratosphere?

Ozone

List a feature of the earth that makes it unique for the existence of life.

Our proximity to the sun

What time of day would you expect the relative humidity to be the lowest?

Afternoon

Which of the following is the best example of climate?

The predominant wind direction for the midlatitudes is from the west

Which of the following conditions most likely matches the temperature profile illustrated to the right?

Windy Night

Which is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere?

Nitrogen (N2)

Which of the following is true for snow?

A good infrared absorber and a poor visible light absorber

Which value is closest to the earth’s overall albedo?

30%

Which latitude would you expect to receive the most solar energy at the earth’s surface on Dec. 21

40 Degrees South

Which of the following has the least amount of energy per photon?

Infrared Light

Most of the energy leaving the earth’s surface is by which mechanism?

Longwave Radiation

Which of the following is not an example of latent heat effects?

Air gets warmer

Averaged over the year which of the following is true about the North Pole?

Energy loss from longwave emission is greater than energy gain by shortwave absorption

Which of the following measurement devices determines temperature through the measurement of infrared radiation emitted?

Radiometer

Which of the following is not a contributing factor to the small amount of heating at the earth’s surface at the north pole during summer solstice?

The earth is closest to the sun at this time of year

Which form of energy is due to the height that something is above the ground?

Potential

Which of the following is closest to the Earth’s radiative equilibrium temperature if there were no atmosphere?

255K

Climate category B is what?

Dry and Arid

Climate category C is what?

Wet, w/ Mild winters

Climate category E is what?

Polar/ Tundra/ Ice caps

What does the atmospheric effect do?

Keeps the surface of Earth warmer.

What problem set does 1) Subtraction, 2) And then addition of temperatures?

HDD = E(65”F - T^D)

(True/False) - Air becomes more stable when there is strong surface heating by the sun.

False

(True/False) - Hydrophobic cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) form water droplets at relative humidities below < 100%

False