Deck 8: Circulation of the Atmosphere

Question 1

Where are the more complex atmospheric cells located?

A) The equator
B) The northern pole
C) The mid-latitudes
D) The southern pole

Answer 1

C

Question 2

What occurs when air is subjected to less pressure?

A) The air becomes compressed.
B) The air expands
C) The air rises in temperature.
D) The water vapor is able to condense.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What causes the solar heating of Earth to have seasonal variations?

A) The length of the Earth's rotation
B) The tilt of the Earth's axis from the sun
C) The Coriolis Effect
D) The shape of the Earth's rotation around the sun

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What is true of the intertropical convergence zone?

A) It coincides with the geographical equator.
B) It is the result of the convergence of a Hadley cell and Ferrel cell.
C) It is subject to seasonal variations.
D) It coincides with areas of strong winds.

Question 5

What caused the greatest loss of life and property during Hurricane Katrina?

A) Winds
B) Storm surge
C) Rainfall
D) The high pressure

Question 6

Which is not an example of a tropical cyclone?

A) Hurricane
B) Nor'easter
C) Willi-willi
D) Typhoon

Question 7

How many atmospheric cells are present in each hemisphere?

A) 3
B) 4
C) 6
D) 8

Question 8

What moves the water evaporated from the ocean's surface?

A) Precipitation
B) Weather
C) Climate
D) Wind

Question 9

How do seasons affect the surface winds?

A) During the northern summer, the surface winds shift to the south.
B) During the northern winter, the surface winds shift to the south.
C) During the northern winter, the surface winds shift to the north.
D) Surface winds are not affected by seasons

Question 10

What occurs at the boundaries of circulation cells?

A) Winds move eastward due to the Coriolis Effect
B) Winds moves towards the poles
C) Winds move horizontally and at high speeds
D) Winds move vertically where the boundaries meet

Question 11

If a ship is trying to sail from the eastern United States to Europe, what route would be the most efficient to take?

A) A southern route to take advantage of the easterlies
B) A southern route to take advantage of the westerlies
C) A northern route to take advantage of the easterlies
D) A northern route to take advantage of the westerlies

Question 12

Where do the most intense summer monsoons occur?

A) Asia
B) Africa
C) South America
D) Gulf of Mexico

Question 13

Extratropical cyclones form between which two types of atmospheric cells?

A) Two Hadley cells
B) A Hadley cell and a Ferrel cell
C) A polar cell and a Hadley cell
D) A polar cell and a Ferrel cell

Question 14

Which are the most persistent surface winds?

A) Doldrums
B) Westerlies
C) Easterlies
D) Trades

Question 15

What is a cause of atmospheric circulation?

A) The temperature of Earth's surface
B) Conduction currents
C) The amount of reflection of solar radiation
D) The Coriolis Effect

Question 16

Why is air never completely dry?

A) Water vapor makes up as much as 4% of the atmosphere
B) Clouds and fog are actually liquid droplets of water
C) Water's very presence in the atmosphere accounts for dew, rain, and snow
D) All of these choices

Question 17

Why does the heat budget vary with latitude?

A) The angle of the sun at varying latitudes
B) The proximity to magnetic poles
C) Atmospheric circulation currents disperse solar radiation
D) The axis of the Earth

Question 18

Why are east-west variation patterns more pronounced in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere?

A) There is a wide range of temperatures that occur in the Northern Hemisphere.
B) There is an almost equal ration of land and water in the Northern Hemisphere.
C) There is a high pressure system that always forms over land in the Northern Hemisphere.
D) The Coriolis Effect influences the wind pattern more in these regions.

Question 19

Where do tropical cyclones come from?

A) High pressure systems
B) Between air masses
C) Within a single warm and humid air mass
D) Within a single cool and dry air mass

Question 20

What causes most of the differences in winds in comparison to normal surface wind directions?

A) Geographical distribution of landmasses
B) The different responses of land and ocean to solar heating
C) Chaotic flow
D) All of these choices

Question 21

What determines the availability of energy in a tropical cyclone?

A) Evaporation rates
B) The storm needs to stay over warm waters
C) Condensation
D) Latent heat of vaporization

Question 22

The lower atmosphere is a homogeneous mixture of gasses with nitrogen and oxygen being the most abundant.

Question 23

Horse latitudes at sea correspond to ____ on land.

A) tropical rainforests
B) great deserts
C) glaciers
D) mountain ranges

Question 24

Climate is the state of the atmosphere at a particular time while weather is more a statistical view of an area.

Question 25

What is the tendency of pausing air masses over land?

A) They become low pressure systems when they pause.
B) They become high pressure systems when they pause.
C) They take on the characteristics of the land below them.
D) They finally become uniform in temperature, humidity, and density.

Question 26

What is the residence time of water vapor in the lower atmosphere?

A) 2 days
B) 5 days
C) 10 days
D) 20 days

Question 27

Humid air is more dense than dry air at the same temperature.

Question 28

The weak Coriolis effect at the equator does not allow tropical cyclones to form.

Question 29

What made the 2005 hurricane season so unusual?

A) Hurricanes peaked early in their life cycle
B) Hurricanes were able to retain energy for longer periods of time
C) The season was the most active with 28 tropical storms formed
D) All of these choices

Question 30

Cyclones are rotating high pressure systems in which winds converge and ascend.

Question 31

The intensity and location of monsoon activity is dependent upon the proximity to the geographical equator.

Question 32

Why are there multiple atmospheric cells as air moves from the equator to the poles instead of one single cell?

A) There are variations in the solar radiation.
B) There are intermediate precipitation events which break up the air into circulation cells.
C) There are variations in the speed of wind.
D) The Coriolis effect breaks the air mass into atmospheric cells.

Question 33

Higher than normal sea-surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico in 2005 led NOAA meteorologists to forecast high storm activity in the Atlantic.

Question 34

What is the name given by sailors to the area where Hadley cells converge?

A) Horse latitudes
B) Intertropical convergence zone
C) Doldrums
D) Trade winds

Question 35

The Coriolis effect causes the wind directions of circulation cells.

Question 36

Polar latitude heating is heavily impacted by seasonal variations of solar radiation.

Question 37

What is a storm surge?

A) Severe flooding due to rapid rainfall
B) Higher than normal tides
C) Movement of water due to the low atmospheric pressure creates a dome of water
D) Movement of water due to the high atmospheric pressure creates a dome of water

Question 38

What is not a factor in the amount of light penetrating the ocean?

A) The angle at which the light approaches the Earth
B) The surface turbulence of the ocean
C) The amount of light absorbed by clouds
D) The presence of ice or foam on the surface

Question 39

The prevailing westerlies are more consistent than the easterlies.

Question 40

What is the term for a pattern of wind circulation that changes with season?

A) Land breeze
B) Monsoon
C) Doldrums
D) Atmospheric cell

Question 41

What is the Coriolis effect? What impact does it have on global circulation? Be specific.

Question 42

What are the characteristics of tropical cyclones and extratropical cyclones? Compare and contrast these two kinds of large storms.

Question 43

Do tropical cyclones seemingly follow wind patterns associated with the Coriolis effect? How does the Coriolis effect influence tropical cyclones? Why are there no cyclones found at the equator?

Question 44

Why is there a difference in the heat budget at various latitudes despite the Earth as a whole having a balanced heat budget? What happens at polar and tropical latitudes?

Question 45

Low pressure systems form over heated landmasses in the summer while high pressure systems form over the ocean.

Question 46

Most of mid-latitude weather is generated from an unstable zone between Ferrel and polar cells.

Question 47

In tropical cyclones, condensation energy is able to produce more heat.

Question 48

Extratropical cyclones move eastward because they are rooted in the westerly winds.

Question 49

The intertropical convergence zone coincides with Earth's meteorological equator which is different than the 0 ° latitude line.

Question 50

What kind of surface wind patterns occur due to the interaction of atmospheric cells. What are some of the effects on climate where these occur?