Deck 20: An Envelope of Gas: Earths Atmosphere and Climate

Question 1

Atmospheric convection of heat radiated from Earth's surface and the variety of phenomena we call weather occur within which layer of the atmosphere?

A)mesosphere
B)stratosphere
C)thermosphere
D)troposphere

Answer 1

D

Question 2

To an observer traveling outward from Earth's surface all the way out into space,the temperature of the atmosphere ____________.

A)uniformly decreases due to atmospheric thinning
B)uniformly increases due to increasing proximity to the Sun
C)remains relatively constant until the very edge of the atmosphere,where the observer would experience the very cold vacuum that is interplanetary space
D)decreases,stabilizes,increases,stabilizes,decreases,stabilizes,and,finally,increases until the edge of the atmosphere is reached

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Oxygen in Earth's atmosphere built up over time as a result of ____________.

A)volcanic outgassing
B)photosynthesis
C)limestone formation in the ocean
D)solar radiation splitting molecules of ozone in the stratosphere

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Most atmospheric ozone occurs in which layer of Earth's atmosphere?

A)mesosphere
B)stratosphere
C)thermosphere
D)troposphere

Question 5

As an air mass rises,it generally experiences ____________.

A)an increase in temperature due to adiabatic heating
B)a decrease in temperature due to adiabatic cooling
C)an increase in temperature due to increasing proximity to the Sun
D)no change in temperature

Question 6

The high-altitude jet stream in the northern hemisphere travels from ____________ due to the Coriolis effect on northbound air masses.

A)east to west
B)west to east

Question 7

Which layer of the atmosphere has the lowest density?

A)mesosphere
B)stratosphere
C)thermosphere
D)troposphere

Question 8

Laterally,at the surface,winds blow from regions of ____________ to regions of ____________.

A)high temperature;low temperature
B)low temperature;high temperature
C)high pressure;low pressure
D)low pressure;high pressure

Question 9

As an air mass rises,it generally experiences ____________.

A)an increase in pressure
B)a decrease in pressure
C)no change in pressure

Question 10

Starting from the equator and moving toward either pole,how many rows of global convection cells are present within the troposphere?

A)one
B)two
C)three
D)four

Question 11

Which layer of the atmosphere is chemically stratified,with the lightest molecules riding above heavier molecules?

A)mesosphere
B)stratosphere
C)thermosphere
D)troposphere

Question 12

In which layer of the atmosphere does temperature decrease with altitude because most of its heat is derived from the atmospheric layer immediately below it?

A)mesosphere
B)stratosphere
C)thermosphere
D)troposphere

Question 13

A warm air mass may hold more moisture (water vapor)than a cold air mass of the same volume,and yet may have lesser relative humidity.

Question 14

Which two gases are most important in producing the greenhouse effect on Earth?

A)nitrogen and oxygen
B)hydrogen and helium
C)carbon dioxide and methane
D)water vapor and sulfur dioxide

Question 15

Due to the Coriolis effect,air that is spread northward from the equator is deflected ____________.

A)directly back to the equator
B)to the east
C)to the west
D)upward,to the tropopause

Question 16

Which two gases are most abundantly emitted in volcanic outgassing?

A)nitrogen and oxygen
B)hydrogen and helium
C)carbon dioxide and methane
D)water vapor and sulfur dioxide

Question 17

Which pair of gases are most abundant within Earth's modern atmosphere?

A)nitrogen and oxygen
B)hydrogen and helium
C)carbon dioxide and methane
D)water vapor and sulfur dioxide

Question 18

The very first Earth atmosphere,forming with Earth itself,was probably dominated by the cosmically abundant gases ____________ and ____________.

A)nitrogen;oxygen
B)hydrogen;helium
C)carbon dioxide;methane
D)water vapor;sulfur dioxide

Question 19

Lines connecting points of equal atmospheric pressure on a map are termed ____________.

A)contour lines
B)isobars
C)isograds
D)isotherms

Question 20

According to geological evidence and computer models based upon that evidence,which statement about the concentration of oxygen in our atmosphere is correct?

A)No oxygen was present prior to the Cambrian;oxygen levels have uniformly risen since and today's atmosphere is more oxygen rich than at any time in Earth's history.
B)Oxygen levels were greatest during the Cambrian but have been steadily declining ever since;today's atmosphere is less oxygen rich than at any time in Earth's history since the Precambrian.
C)Oxygen levels have generally risen during the Phanerozoic but peaked during the Mesozoic ("age of dinosaurs")and declined sharply in the Early Cenozoic.
D)Oxygen levels have generally risen during the Phanerozoic but peaked during the Late Paleozoic ("age of coal swamp forests")and declined sharply in the Early Mesozoic.

Question 21

As compared to warm fronts,cold fronts move ____________.

A)more rapidly
B)more slowly
C)at the same rate,but always in opposite directions
D)at the same rate,and always in the same direction

Question 22

Clouds generally form when air ____________.

A)is heated
B)rises
C)sinks
D)is devoid of aerosols

Question 23

The development of cyclones and anticyclones about high- and low-pressure regions is a result of deflection of air currents by ____________.

A)solar wind
B)the stratosphere
C)the Coriolis effect
D)ion beams originating in the ionosphere

Question 24

Lightning can strike the surface of Earth but also travels from cloud to cloud.

Question 25

Cold fronts and warm fronts tend to deflect one another,so it is impossible for a warm front to become occluded (overtaken)by a cold front.

Question 26

Prior to the landfall of Hurricane Katrina in 2005,nobody knew how vulnerable New Orleans was with regard to hurricane storm-surge flooding.

Question 27

Contributing to the precarious geological situation in New Orleans is the fact that while sea level is rising,the surface of the land is sinking due to sediment compaction (wetlands drainage lowering water tables in sediment aquifers)and sediment starvation (flood control structures disallowing floodplain sediment deposition).

Question 28

In global convective circulation,air rises at the ____________ and the ____________.

A)equator;poles
B)equator;polar fronts
C)horse latitudes;poles
D)horse latitudes;polar fronts

Question 29

Where air sinks,as in the subtropical horse latitudes,the air usually ____________.

A)cools as it sinks
B)creates high pressure locally
C)creates low pressure locally
D)increases in relative humidity as it sinks

Question 30

The strongest winds in a hurricane are found within the central eye.

Question 31

Cold air pushes underneath warm air at cold fronts and warm air pushes underneath cold air at warm fronts.

Question 32

At high altitude within the troposphere,the global pattern of air flow is from the ____________.

A)equator to the horse latitudes
B)poles to the horse latitudes

Question 33

Lines connecting points of equal temperature on a map are termed ____________.

A)contour lines
B)isobars
C)isograds
D)isotherms

Question 34

The two main mechanisms of rain and snow formation within clouds are ____________ and ____________.

A)evaporation;precipitation
B)collision and coalescence;precipitation
C)collision and coalescence;the Bergeron process
D)phase change;the Bergeron process

Question 35

The boundary between two bodies of air with differing characteristics (such as temperature,pressure,relative humidity)is termed a ____________.

A)contact
B)front
C)unconformity
D)Gruber surface

Question 36

Hurricane Katrina became so powerful in part because it traveled over the Gulf of Mexico's Loop Current,which was unusually warm.

Question 37

In global convective circulation,air sinks at the ____________ and the ____________.

A)equator;poles
B)equator;polar fronts
C)horse latitudes;poles
D)horse latitudes;polar fronts

Question 38

In the northern hemisphere,air travels in a ____________ direction around areas of high pressure.

A)clockwise
B)counterclockwise

Question 39

At zones of divergence and convergence,such as the equator,poles,horse latitudes,and polar fronts,surface winds are generally ____________.

A)easterly
B)westerly
C)southerly in the southern hemisphere and northerly in the northern hemisphere
D)calm or weak

Question 40

During the Atlantic hurricane season of 2005,so many hurricanes and tropical storms formed that the National Weather Service ran completely through the list of traditional names and had to add names.