Deck 19: Air Pollution

Question 1

In which of the following directions could you see a sundog?

A)about 22 degrees to the right or left of the moon
B)about 22 degrees to the right or left of the sun
C)about 22 degrees below the sun
D)about 22 degrees above the sun

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The figure below represents the scattering of sunlight by an air molecule. The group of rays labelled B is scattered light. Which of the following groups of rays is the most intense beam of light?

A)group A
B)group B
C)group C

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which path does the light ray follow when it travels from a less dense substance into one that is denser?

A)It does not bend.
B)It is reflected back into the low density material.
C)It bends toward the normal.
D)It bends away from the normal.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following terms refers to the nerve endings in the human eye that are responsible for the perception of colour?

A)pupil
B)rod
C)cone
D)iris

Question 5

Which of the following describes sun halos?

A)They are most common during clear skies.
B)They require a layer of ice crystals.
C)They are caused by reflection of light.
D)They are usually found near the horizon.

Question 6

Which of the following is an optical phenomenon that forms in a similar manner as the halo?

A)corona
B)tangent arc
C)sun pillar
D)rainbow

Question 7

Which of the following terms refers to an atmospheric phenomenon that causes objects to appear inverted?

A)dispersion
B)scintillation
C)an inferior mirage
D)a superior mirage

Question 8

Referring to the figure below, at which point is there a red-coloured band of light in the secondary rainbow?

A)point A
B)point B
C)point C
D)point D

Question 9

Which of the following gives the name for a coloured ring that appears around the shadow of an aircraft?

A)glory
B)Heiligenshein
C)brocken bow
D)corona

Question 10

Which of the following processes must occur in a raindrop to produce a rainbow?

A)refraction, reflection, and dispersion of sunlight
B)refraction, reflection, and scattering of sunlight
C)transmission, reflection, and dispersion of sunlight
D)reflection, scattering, and dispersion of sunlight

Question 11

Which of the following is an accurate statement about sundogs?

A)They are caused by reflection and scattering.
B)They are composed of three colours.
C)They always occur in pairs.
D)They require ice crystals with a specific spatial orientation.

Question 12

In which of the following directions does a rainbow appear at sunset in the middle latitudes?

A)toward the south
B)toward the east
C)toward the west
D)toward the north

Question 13

Which of the following situations is likely if the setting sun appears red?

A)You will not be able to see the moon that night.
B)The sun's surface temperature has cooled somewhat at the end of the day.
C)Only the longest waves of visible light are striking your eye.
D)The next day's weather will be stormy.

Question 14

Which of the following describes how the sky would appear during the day, if the Earth did not have an atmosphere?

A)black
B)red
C)blue
D)white

Question 15

Which of the following gives the name for a faint ring of light that surrounds the shadow of an observer's head on a dew-covered lawn?

A)tangent arc
B)Heiligenshein
C)corona
D)glory

Question 16

Which of the following phenomena can sometimes be seen near the upper rim of a setting or rising sun?

A)corona
B)green flash
C)sun pillar
D)glory

Question 17

Which of the following phenomena result from the bending of light through ice crystals?

A)sundogs and sun pillars
B)halos and sundogs
C)rainbows and halos
D)halos and the green flash

Question 18

In which of the following directions could you see a sundog at sunrise?

A)east
B)north
C)west
D)south

Question 19

Which of the following explains why clouds appear white when the sun is shining?

A)They contain white pigments.
B)They refract white light.
C)Light of all colours is scattered many times within the clouds.
D)They cannot absorb the specific frequency of white light.

Question 20

In which of the following conditions are sun pillars most commonly seen?

A)very wet conditions
B)very dry conditions
C)very hot conditions
D)very cold conditions

Question 21

Which of the following is the name for beams of light that shine downward through breaks or holes in clouds?

A)glories
B)inferior mirage
C)crepuscular rays
D)corona

Question 22

Which of the following statements explains why stars are not visible during the day?

A)The light from the sun is too bright
B)The light from the stars is absorbed and scattered by the atmosphere and does not reach the ground.
C)The brightness of scattered light from the sky prevents the visibility of weaker light from the stars.
D)The Earth is pointed away from the centre of the galaxy.

Question 23

Which of the following explains the blue colour of the sky?

A)transmission of visible light through the ozone layer in the Earth's stratosphere
B)filtering effect of water vapour in the Earth's atmosphere
C)selective scattering of visible light by air molecules
D)reflection of sunlight off the Earth's oceans

Question 24

Which of the following terms relates to a wet-looking road surface on a clear, hot, dry day?

A)inferior mirage
B)superior mirage
C)diffraction
D)scintillation

Question 25

Suppose you take a colour photograph of clouds at night, with your camera adjusted so that the shutter stays open long enough for the same amount of light to enter the camera as during a daytime photograph. Which of the following describes the appearance of the clouds on the resulting photograph?

A)black and white
B)dark coloured
C)similar to those in the daytime photograph
D)light coloured

Question 26

Which of the following atmospheric phenomena is produced by the diffraction of light around small water droplets?

A)inferior mirage
B)Heiligenshein
C)corona
D)halo

Question 27

Which of the following phenomena is caused by the diffraction of light?

A)glory
B)halo
C)tangent arc
D)sun pillar

Question 28

What colour would the sky be if air molecules selectively scattered only the longest wavelengths of visible light?

A)blue
B)black
C)red
D)white

Question 29

Two people are looking at a rain shower. Which person will see a rainbow?

A)person A
B)person B

Question 30

Which of the following statements describes the atmospheric condition when the sky begins to turn milky white?

A)Small particles such as dust and salt become suspended in the air.
B)The daytime temperature is oppressively hot.
C)The relative humidity decreases below about 10 percent.
D)The concentration of ozone begins to reach dangerous levels.

Question 31

The figure below shows a ray of white light striking a glass prism and dispersing into its component colours. Which of the rays has the shortest wavelength? ​

A)ray B
B)ray C
C)ray D
D)ray E

Question 32

Which of the following is an accurate statement about a superior mirage?

A)It requires a temperature inversion near the surface.
B)It causes objects to appear upside down.
C)It occurs only on a very hot day.
D)It is caused by images being refracted through ice crystals.

Question 33

Which of the following terms refers to the bending of light that occurs when it enters and passes through a substance of different density?

A)scattering
B)diffraction
C)reflection
D)refraction

Question 34

The figure below depicts the angle of rays of sunlight. Which of the following describes where the observer needs to look to see the blue light scattered by the atmosphere?

A)up and to the left
B)up and to the right

Question 35

On average, which of the following occurs as a cloud grows thicker (taller)?

A)Less sunlight is reflected from the cloud.
B)More sunlight is transmitted through the cloud.
C)Less light is scattered by the cloud.
D)More sunlight is absorbed by the cloud.

Question 36

Which of the following phenomena is most likely associated with a tangent arc?

A)glory
B)sundog
C)halo
D)rainbow

Question 37

Which of the following cloud types is most associated with halos and sundogs?

A)nimbostratus
B)cirrostratus
C)cumulus
D)altostratus

Question 38

In which of the following conditions do secondary rainbows occur?

A)when light refracts through a cloud of large raindrops
B)when two internal reflections of light occur in raindrops
C)when light refracts through ice crystals
D)when a single internal reflection of light occurs in raindrops

Question 39

Which of the following statements describes where to look for a rainbow?

A)To see a rainbow at sunrise, look toward the east.
B)To see a rainbow at sunrise, look toward the west.
C)To see a rainbow at sunset, look toward the north
D)To see a rainbow at sunset, look toward the south.

Question 40

Which of the following is mainly responsible for red sunsets, blue moons, and milky white skies?

A)reflection of light
B)dispersion of light
C)refraction of light
D)scattering of light

Question 41

Which of the following describes the scattering effect of oxygen and nitrogen on light?

A)Oxygen and nitrogen scatter entirely different wavelengths.
B)They are selective scatterers.
C)They scatter all wavelengths of light equally.
D)Unlike other atmospheric gases, they don't scatter any wavelengths of light.

Question 42

Which of the following phenomena can be seen only when the sun is behind you and it is raining in front of you?

A)sundog
B)sun pillar
C)halo
D)rainbow

Question 43

Which of the diagrams below correctly depicts the bending of light in an inferior mirage?

A)diagram A
B)diagram B
C)diagram C
D)diagram D

Question 44

Which of the following terms refers to the process that produces crepuscular rays in the atmosphere?

A)diffraction
B)scintillation
C)dispersion
D)scattering

Question 45

Considering light that passes through ice crystals, which of the following describes the colour of the wavelength that bends the least, and where this colour appears in halos or sundogs?

A)Blue wavelengths bend the least, and blue appears on the inside of halos or sundogs.
B)Red wavelengths bend the least, and red appears on the outside of halos or sundogs.
C)Red wavelengths bend the least, and red appears on the inside of halos or sundogs.
D)Blue wavelengths bend the least, and blue appears on the outside of halos or sundogs.

Question 46

Which of the following processes is the main cause of cloud iridescence?

A)diffraction of light
B)dispersion of light
C)reflection of light
D)refraction of light

Question 47

Which of the following phenomena are exemplified by the "smoke" of the Great Smoky Mountains and the "blue" of the Blue Ridge Mountains?

A)sundogs
B)haze
C)halos
D)glories

Question 48

Which of the following statements describes how air molecules make the sky blue?

A)They selectively absorb blue light.
B)They selectively disperse blue light.
C)They selectively scatter blue light.
D)They selectively diffract blue light.

Question 49

Which of the following statements explains why air molecules selectively scatter visible light?

A)Air molecules are much larger than the wavelength of visible light.
B)Air molecules are smaller than the wavelength of visible light.
C)The electrons that orbit around the nucleus of atoms have a blue colour.
D)Air molecules are the same size as the wavelength of visible light.

Question 50

Due to atmospheric refraction, which of the following explains the appearance of a star seen near the Earth's horizon?

A)It is actually much farther away than it appears.
B)It is actually much dimmer than it appears.
C)It is actually slightly lower than it appears.
D)It is actually slightly higher than it appears.

Question 51

Which of the following phenomena would most likely be observed over snow-covered ground in the winter?

A)crespuscular rays
B)shimmering
C)sun pillars
D)superior mirage

Question 52

Which of the following processes is exemplified by the green flash?

A)reflection of light by the Earth's atmosphere
B)diffraction of light by the Earth's atmosphere
C)refraction of light by the Earth's atmosphere
D)absorption of light by the Earth's atmosphere

Question 53

In the figure below, two people are looking at the same point in the sky. Which of the following types of light does person A see?

A)unscattered light
B)scattered light

Question 54

On a summer evening at middle latitudes, twilight adds about how much time to the length of daylight?

A)2 minutes
B)5 minutes
C)30 minutes
D)2 hours

Question 55

Suppose a piece of paper is illuminated with white light and appears red. Which of the following statements explains why the paper appears red?

A)The paper reflects red and absorbs other visible wavelengths.
B)The paper emits red light.
C)The paper disperses white light.
D)The paper absorbs red and reflects other visible wavelengths.

Question 56

When a beam of white light passes through a glass prism, it is separated into its component colours. Which of the following terms refers to this process?

A)iridescence
B)dispersion
C)diffraction
D)selective scattering

Question 57

Which of the following describes the cause of a mirage?

A)thin layer of moist air near the ground
B)reflection of light from a hot surface
C)bending of light by air of different densities
D)scattering of light by air molecules

Question 58

Suppose the temperature is constant in the lowest 1000 metres of the atmosphere. How good would the conditions be for viewing a mirage?

A)poor
B)average
C)good
D)excellent

Question 59

Which of the following phenomena appears as a ring of light encircling the sun or moon?

A)either a halo or a sundog
B)either a halo or a corona
C)either a rainbow or a halo
D)either a sundog or a crepuscular ray

Question 60

Which of the following processes results in halos?

A)diffraction of light by cloud droplets
B)refraction of light passing through ice crystals
C)scattering of light by ice crystals
D)refraction of light passing through raindrops

Question 61

With a sketch, show why the setting sun often appears red to an observer on the ground. Why does the sun appear white at noon and red at sunrise and sunset?

Question 62

Sketch a rainbow. Show the correct positions of the primary and secondary bow and the proper order of colours in each. Where is the sun in your picture?

Question 63

Which of the following processes mainly explains the blue colour of distant mountains?

A)scattering of light
B)emission of light
C)diffraction of light
D)refraction of light

Question 64

Which of the following describes the Fata Morgana?

A)sundog
B)ice-crystal cloud
C)rainbow
D)mirage

Question 65

Why do distant mountains appear blue?

Question 66

Illustrate with a sketch the refraction and dispersion of light as it passes through a glass prism.

Question 67

How can you demonstrate the phenomenon of light scattering using a glass tank filled with water, a flashlight, and some milk?

Question 68

With which of the following is it very easy to produce an artificial rainbow?

A)a swimming pool
B)a garden hose
C)an artificial pond
D)an air spray

Question 69

Which of the following results from sunlight reflecting off ice crystals?

A)halos
B)sun pillars
C)crepuscular rays
D)sun dogs

Question 70

When driving on a foggy night, it is often difficult to see the road when the high beam lights are on. Which of the following processes explains why this happens?

A)transmission of light by the fog
B)absorption of light by the fog
C)refraction of light by the fog
D)scattering of light by the fog

Question 71

Distinguish between the formation of a halo and the formation of a corona.

Question 72

Which of the following is a name for diffuse light?

A)scattered light
B)refracted light
C)dispersion of light
D)transmitted light

Question 73

Clouds in the tropics tend to move from east to west. Consequently, which of the following rhymes best describes a rainbow seen in the tropics?

A)Rainbow at dawn means rain is gone.
B)Rainbow at break of day means rain is on its way.
C)Rainbow with setting sun means sailors can have some fun.
D)Rainbow in the morning means sailors take warning.

Question 74

Sketch the path that a ray of light follows as it passes through a raindrop and forms a primary rainbow. How is the path of a ray forming the secondary rainbow different?

Question 75

What produces a sundog? Where and at what time of day might you try to see a sundog?

Question 76

Which of the following describes the electromagnetic radiation that constitutes white light?

A)mixture of all types of electromagnetic radiation
B)mixture of all visible wavelengths
C)single short wavelength
D)single long wavelength

Question 77

Why does adding particles to the atmosphere affect visibility?

Question 78

Describe the changes in appearance of a late-afternoon rainbow as the sun sinks toward the horizon.

Question 79

Which of the following describes when the twinkling of a star would be most pronounced?

A)when the wind is calm
B)when the relative humidity is high
C)when the star is directly overhead
D)when the night is very cold

Question 80

What phenomena cause a road surface to appear wet on a hot, clear, dry day? Why does the road appear wet? How would the road appear if it really was wet?