Deck 2: Weather, Climate, and Climate Change

Question 1

Which of the following is true of the summer solstice?

A) The Northern Hemisphere points away from the sun.
B) Winter begins in the Northern Hemisphere; summer begins in the Southern Hemisphere.
C) The equator faces the sun directly.
D) Neither pole tilts toward the sun.
E) The Northern Hemisphere points towards the sun

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Which of the is not one of the major ways in which energy exchanges occur?

A) radiation
B) conduction
C) convection
D) glaciation
E) latent heat transfer

Answer 2

D

Question 3

When water goes from solid to liquid to gas, ________.

A) it decreases in volume by 21 percent
B) it increases in volume by 21 percent
C) heat is removed
D) heat is added
E) nothing changes

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Gases in the atmosphere vary in their ability to absorb shortwave and longwave radiation. Which of the following contributes the most to heating of a clear (cloud free) sky?

A) water vapor
B) ozone
C) carbon dioxide
D) oxygen
E) hydrogen

Question 5

When temperature decreases but actual water vapor content remains the same, what happens to relative humidity?

A) Relative humidity decreases as well
B) Relative humidity increases
C) Relative humidity disappears
D) Relative humidity decreases for a while, then increases suddenly
E) It is difficult to tell without knowing the actual humidity content

Question 6

The deflection of wind and any other object moving above Earth's rotating surface is called the ________.

A) Bergeron process
B) Hadley process
C) Adiabatic effect
D) Coriolis effect
E) Counter clockwise process

Question 7

________ is movement in a fluid, caused when part of the fluid (whether gas or liquid) is heated. The heated portion expands and becomes less dense, rising up through the cooler portion.

A) Conduction
B) Convection
C) Advection
D) Radiation
E) Convention

Question 8

________ is "in storage" in water and water vapor and describes the heat that controls the state of water.

A) Latent heat
B) Sensible heat
C) Radiation
D) Convection
E) Advection

Question 9

________ affect the behavior of energy when it strikes matter: some are reflected, and some are absorbed.

A) Wavelengths
B) Sound waves
C) Adiabatic processes
D) Frequencies

Question 10

Sublimation is the process of:

A) converting gas into liquid water
B) converting solid water into liquid water
C) converting liquid water into gas
D) converting solid water into gas
E) converting liquid water into solid water

Question 11

Daily and seasonal differences in intensity are caused by variations in the ________.

A) angle of incidence
B) longitudinal location
C) distance from major industries
D) number of days of the summer solstice
E) none of these answer choices are correct

Question 12

Which of the following is not true of the vernal equinox?

A) It occurs in March in the Northern Hemisphere
B) It occurs in September in the Southern Hemisphere
C) All locations on Earth experience 12 hours of daylight
D) Locations above the Arctic Circle experience 24 hours of daylight
E) Both Tropics experience the same intensity of the Sun's rays

Question 13

________, which tells us how wet air is, is the actual water content of the air compared to how much water the air could potentially hold, expressed as a percentage.

A) Absolute humidity
B) Relative humidity
C) Specific humidity
D) Latent heat
E) Specific heat

Question 14

Which of the following is true of the Trade Winds?

A) They are converging winds around the Sub-tropical High out of the sinking air.
B) They are diverging winds in the vicinity of the equator replacing sinking air.
C) They are converging winds in the vicinity of the equator at the surface, replacing the rising air.
D) They are converging winds as a result of the coming together of the two westerlies.
E) They are variable winds that move west to east in the midlatitudes.

Question 15

Energy transmitted by electromagnetic waves, including radio, television, light, and heat, is ________.

A) angle of incidence
B) advection
C) radiation
D) convection
E) scattering

Question 16

If a 90°F sample of air contains half the water vapor that it could hold at that temperature, its relative humidity is:

A) )5 grams
B) 50 percent
C) 5 grams/kilogram
D) 5 grams/cubic feet
E) none of these answer choices are correct.

Question 17

The change in temperature that results from expansion or contraction of rising or sinking air is part of the ________ process

A) albedo
B) adiabatic
C) donvection
D) inverse lapse
E) advection

Question 18

This process transfers tremendous amounts of energy from Earth's surface to the atmosphere, from low latitudes to high ones, and it is also the mechanism most influential in causing precipitation.

A) Angle of incidence
B) Latent heat exchange
C) Albedo
D) Absorption
E) Relative humidity

Question 19

In these zones, high solar elevation angles occur throughout the year, and this makes ________ consistently warm.

A) the tropics
B) the prime meridian
C) windward sides of mountains
D) midlatitudes
E) the jet stream

Question 20

On average, the highest temperatures on Earth are found ________.

A) at the poles
B) in the eastern hemisphere
C) in the southern hemisphere
D) in low latitudes
E) in high latitudes

Question 21

Which of the following is not true of dry climates?

A) Dry climates are generally located in bands immediately to the north and south of the low-latitude humid climates.
B) Many dry regions are associated with the subtropical high pressure zone.
C) Some deserts are caused mainly by mountain ranges that isolate land from ocean sources of moisture.
D) Arid climates have severe moisture shortages year round, while most semiarid climates have a rainy season in which sufficient moisture is available for abundant, if brief, vegetation growth.
E) Both arid and semiarid regions lack sufficient moisture and heat to make any plants grow for more than a month each year.

Question 22

These winds are found on the poleward sides of the subtropical high, circulation is toward the poles.

A) The Trade Winds
B) The Hadley Cell
C) The Jet Stream
D) The Westerlies
E) The Anti-trade Winds

Question 23

The vernal equinox occurs in March in the Northern Hemisphere.

Question 24

The ________ because it is a shifting zone between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn where surface winds converge.

A) The Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone
B) The Tropical zone
C) The Multi-Tropical Turbulence Region
D) The Tropical Hadley Cell
E) The Adiabtic Convergence.

Question 25

Which of the following features are the two important characteristics of High-latitude climates (Polar and sub-Polar)?

A) low temperatures and sub 25 degrees heat in the summer
B) extreme seasonal variability and polar snow storms dumping over 17 inches of snow every month
C) low average temperatures and extreme seasonal variability.
D) few daylight hours both in the summer and winter
E) summer rain and winter dry periods

Question 26

In tropical climates, where strong insolation makes temperatures high, all that is needed for intense daily convectional storms is:

A) a source of humidity
B) the formation of cumulus clouds
C) temperature inversion
D) the arrival of the trade winds
E) intense land breeze

Question 27

These are intense, rotating convectional systems that develop over warm ocean areas in the tropics and subtropics, primarily during the warm season.

A) Tropical cyclones
B) Tropical anticyclones
C) Midlatitude Cyclones
D) Midlatitude anticyclones
E) Bergeron storms

Question 28

Which of the following is not true of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)?

A) In its 2007 assessment, the IPCC identified a number of ways in which climate is changing.
B) The IPCC's assessment included statements reflecting the confidence of the participating scientists that the current climate changes began in the twentieth century.
C) The IPCC stated that warming is caused at least in part by humans.
D) The IPCC stated that warming will occur in the twenty-first century.
E) The IPCC stated that changes in human behavior will not reduce warming in the future.

Question 29

________ occurs when the horizontal winds move air against mountain ranges, forcing air to rise as it passes over the mountains.

A) Adiabatic rainfall
B) Cyclonic rainfall
C) Convectional rainfall
D) Orographic rainfall
E) Convergence rainfall

Question 30

There are four types of conditions that cause air to rise. Which of the following is not one of them?

A) convection
B) orographic uplift
C) convergence
D) fronts
E) advection

Question 31

Two ranges of wavelengths, shortwave energy and longwave energy are most important for understanding how solar energy affects the atmosphere.

Question 32

Which of the following is not true of the area of the Polar High?

A) In the polar regions, the intense cold caused by low insolation creates dense air and high pressure
B) In the polar high-pressure zones, the air is so cold, it contains very little moisture.
C) In polar high zones, there is very little moisture, with limited convection and precipitation.
D) There is a polar high zone in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
E) The differential temperature between the rising air as a result of the warm anti-trade winds and the jet stream leads to turbulent winds and rain

Question 33

________, a prominent feature of ocean currents, are wind-driven circular oceanic flows that mirror the movement of prevailing winds.

A) Bergeron process
B) Gyres
C) Gulf Stream
D) Waves
E) Sea breeze

Question 34

Which of the following is not true of tropical storms?

A) Tropical storms move with the general circulation.
B) Tropical storms move over the subtropical Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, from east to west.
C) Tropical Storms thrive on warm, moist air, and are most intense over oceans in the warm season.
D) The rough ocean surface favors development of calm winds which are essential for storm formation.
E) Tropical storms lose intensity over land because they lose their source of energy.

Question 35

We now know that the warming of the Earth in the last 200 years is largely due to humans and their effects on:

A) environmental pollutants like arsenic
B) atmospheric carbon dioxide
C) organochlorides
D) biomagnified mercury
E) none of the answer choices are correct.

Question 36

________ is a circulation change in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean that occurs every few years.

A) La Niña
B) El Niño
C) Intertropical Convergence
D) The Hadley Cell
E) Gyres

Question 37

The past 2 million years, which includes our present time, is known to geologists as the:

A) Cambrian Period
B) Quaternary Period
C) Cenozoic Era
D) Mesozoic Era
E) Precambrian Period

Question 38

The Earth orbits the sun, and through the seasons of the year the tilt of the axis relative to the sun remains the same which helps to affecting both day length and the angle between the sun and Earth's surface.

Question 39

________ events are linked to flooding in the U.S. Southwest, droughts in Australia, and reduced rainfall in India.

A) Deforestation
B) El Niño
C) La Niña
D) Global warming
E) Gyres

Question 40

The angle at which solar radiation strikes a particular place at any point in time is referred to as solar day.

Question 41

In a midlatitude cyclone, air is drawn toward the center of low pressure from both the warm and the cold sides of the polar front.

Question 42

Generally, cooler air temperatures can hold more moisture than warmer air.

Question 43

On average, the highest temperatures are found in high latitudes, because the Sun is highest in the sky in these areas, and therefore the intensity of solar radiation is highest.

Question 44

Weather is the summary of climatic conditions over several decades or more; a place's climate pattern over time.

Question 45

In polar high-pressure zones, the air is cold, contains very little moisture, and convection and precipitation are limited.

Question 46

Energy absorbed at ground level is transferred back to the atmosphere and then to space via longwave radiation, convection, and latent heat exchange.

Question 47

High-latitude climates are characterized by two important features: low average temperatures and extreme seasonal variability

Question 48

The difference between summer and winter temperatures is smallest on land areas, and especially toward the western parts of continents in low latitudes.

Question 49

Water plays a central role in Earth's energy budget, through a process called latent heat exchange.

Question 50

About half of the solar radiation that reaches Earth is absorbed by the surface; the rest is either absorbed in the atmosphere or reflected back to space.

Question 51

Hurricanes' greatest threat to humans is in tropical and subtropical coastal areas, on the eastern margins of the continents and in southern Asia.

Question 52

Because air pressure under a column of rising air is higher than places nearby, it is depicted on a map as a center of high pressure.

Question 53

The Southern Hemisphere, where it is summer in January, generally has low pressure over the oceans and high pressure over land.

Question 54

The typical El Niño circulation causes deep ocean water to rise to the surface off the coast of Peru, delivering nutrients that support fish populations.

Question 55

The trade winds are generally found in the midlatitudes as a result of the convergence of winds from the anti-trade winds.

Question 56

A front is a boundary between two air masses.

Question 57

When it rises, air has more weight above it, and the higher pressure allows the air to expand.

Question 58

Poleward of the subtropical high, are midlatitude lows which experiences convergence of warm air blowing from subtropical latitudes and cold air blowing from polar regions.

Question 59

The Gulf Stream is a warm ocean current that flows from southwest to northeast across the Atlantic.

Question 60

An air mass is a large region of air, typically hundreds or thousands of square kilometers, with relatively uniform characteristics of temperature and humidity.

Question 61

What causes convection and what role does it play in the adiabatic process?

Question 62

Discuss the importance of latent heat in the atmosphere

Question 63

In recent years, concern has grown that with ongoing climate change, certain parts of the Earth atmosphere system may be reaching tipping points, or conditions in which the pace of change may increase rapidly and irreversibly.

Question 64

Recent studies based on satellite observations of the Sun are beginning to suggest that variations in solar output could be responsible for some of the climatic variations observed in the past few hundred years, but the effects are probably small in comparison to other factors.

Question 65

Discuss some of the uncertainties around global warming.

Question 66

The amount of carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere is controlled mainly by our use of fossil fuels and by land use and land management, such as forest harvesting and planting.

Question 67

What are some of the temperature variations on Earth?

Question 68

Discuss the role of humans on global warming.

Question 69

What are tropical cyclones and what conditions are needed for their development?

Question 70

What are midlatitude cyclones?

Question 71

What are the types of uplifts that can cause precipitation?

Question 72

The dry-summer Mediterranean climate envelops the Mediterranean region of Europe and parts of northern Africa, lending this climate type its familiar name.

Question 73

What is El Niño?

Question 74

Climate has changed dramatically over the last few million years and continues to change today.

Question 75

Processes such as changes in orbital geometry or volcanic eruptions have clearly affected climate in the past, and these explain the dramatic warming of the last 200 years.

Question 76

What is radiation and what role does it play in the transfer of energy in the atmosphere?