Deck 16: The Atmosphere: Composition,structure,and Temperature

Question 1

Latent heat that is the energy source for many storms can be transported by ________.

A)water vapor
B)carbon dioxide
C)ozone
D)dust
E)aerosols

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Ozone filters out most of the ________ radiation in sunlight.

A)infrared
B)gamma
C)ultraviolet
D)microwave

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The normal lapse rate in the troposphere is about ________ per kilometer.

A)3)5°C
B)6)5°C
C)1)5°C
D)9)5°C

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Ozone is important to humans because it ________.

A)absorbs infrared radiation which is harmful to humans
B)absorbs ultraviolet radiation with is harmful to humans
C)is a pollutant that is harmful to humans
D)reflects solar rays that would cause global warming
E)passes solar rays that would maintain our present climate range

Question 5

As you go up in elevation,the atmospheric pressure ________.

A)decreases
B)increases
C)stays constant
D)none of the above

Question 6

The main difference between weather and climate is that ________.

A)climate is the daily variations that actually occur at a location and weather is the general pattern of climate over time
B)weather is the daily variations that actually occur at a location and climate is the general pattern of weather over time
C)climate is the regional pattern based on latitude and humidity while weather is the daily pattern based on season.
D)weather is the regional pattern based on latitude and humidity while climate is the daily pattern based on season.
E)climate is a political opinion while weather is reality.

Question 7

Which of the following is not an element that influences weather?

A)humidity
B)clouds
C)wind
D)longitude
E)temperature

Question 8

Where is the top of the atmosphere?

A)21 km above sea level
B)32 km above sea level
C)100 km above sea level
D)There is no defined upper limit to the atmosphere.

Question 9

As you go up in elevation,the temperature ________.

A)decreases
B)increases
C)stays constant
D)It depends on what atmospheric layer you are in.
E)none of the above

Question 10

One half of the atmosphere is below ________.

A)1 km (0.6 miles)
B)3)5 km (2.1 miles)
C)5)6 km (3.5 miles)
D)7)2 km (4.3 miles)
E)10 km (6 miles)

Question 11

Which of the following gases is an efficient absorber of the earth's emitted energy?

A)oxygen
B)carbon dioxide
C)argon
D)nitrogen
E)none of the above

Question 12

The major risk to humans from the depletion of ozone is the increase in ________.

A)deaths due to skin cancer
B)chlorine in the atmosphere,which is poisonous to most humans
C)deaths due to lung cancer
D)CO2 from plant production
E)cataracts and damage to the immune systems

Question 13

Why is ozone concentrated in a particular range of levels in the atmosphere?

A)It requires a unique temperature and light level which occur at that range in the atmosphere.
B)It is formed from air pollution that reaches that level in sufficient quantities to form ozone.
C)It requires a catalyst,an isolated oxygen atom,and an oxygen molecule,all of which occur in sufficient quantities at that range of levels.
D)It reflects light back into space at that level,and the energy from that reaction fuels the formation of ozone.

Question 14

The Montreal Protocol is a UN agreement that is intended to ________.

A)reduce ozone in the atmosphere
B)reduce CFCs in the atmosphere
C)reduce CO2 in the atmosphere
D)make everyone feel good about the environment without really fixing anything
E)reduce air pollution globally

Question 15

The lowest layer of the atmosphere is the ________.

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

Question 16

Which one of the following are the three most abundant gases in the dry atmosphere?

A)oxygen,argon,carbon dioxide
B)argon,carbon dioxide,nitrogen
C)carbon dioxide,nitrogen,oxygen
D)nitrogen,oxygen,argon

Question 17

Air may best be described as ________.

A)an element
B)a compound
C)a mixture
D)none of these

Question 18

Important weather phenomena typically occurs in the ________.

A)stratosphere
B)troposphere
C)thermosphere
D)mesosphere
E)all of the above

Question 19

The United States spans ________.

A)from the tropics to temperate zones
B)from the tropics to the arctic
C)from the temperate zone to the arctic
D)the middle latitudes
E)the entire range of the Northern Hemisphere

Question 20

Ozone is concentrated in the ________.

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

Question 21

Heat flows ________.

A)from hot to cold
B)from cold to hot
C)in both directions
D)in neither direction

Question 22

The heat transfer mechanism that requires the movement of material is ________.

A)radiation
B)convection
C)conduction
D)contraction

Question 23

Solar rays will strike the Tropic of Capricorn at an angle of 90 degrees on ________.

A)June 21
B)March 21
C)September 21
D)December 21

Question 24

The 90° angle solar rays are striking the Tropic of Cancer on ________.

A)June 21
B)March 21
C)September 21
D)December 21

Question 25

The tropopause is the boundary between ________.

A)the troposphere and stratosphere
B)tropical and polar air masses
C)the troposphere and mesosphere
D)two layers of high ozone concentration

Question 26

The differences in summer and winter temperatures are greatest for locations ________.

A)near the equator
B)near the tropic of Cancer or Capricorn
C)near 60 degrees north or south latitude
D)near the Poles
E)The location does not affect the range of temperatures.

Question 27

The north end of Earth's axis is tilted 23.5 degrees toward the Sun on ________.

A)December 21 or 22
B)March 21 or 22
C)June 21 or 22
D)September 22 or 23
E)none of the above

Question 28

Which of the following is not a mechanism for heat transfer?

A)conduction
B)contraction
C)radiation
D)convection
E)They are all mechanisms for heat transfer.

Question 29

The fall equinox in the Southern Hemisphere occurs on this date.

A)June 21
B)March 21
C)September 21
D)December 21

Question 30

The North Pole has a higher noon Sun angle than New York City on this date.

A)June 21
B)March 21
C)September 21
D)none of these

Question 31

On the AVERAGE,for every 1 km increase in altitude in the troposphere,the air temperature ________.

A)drops about 6.5°C
B)rises about 6.5°C
C)remains constant
D)rises only during the day

Question 32

Which one of the following statements is true about the equinoxes?

A)They occur in June and December.
B)The Sun's vertical rays are striking either the Tropic of Cancer or the Tropic of Capricorn.
C)Days and nights are equal in length everywhere.
D)The length of daylight at the Arctic and Antarctic Circles is 24 hours.

Question 33

How is the earth's rotation axis oriented relative to the revolution orbit?

A)It changes with time so that it is perpendicular in June and December.
B)It is fixed and always points toward the North Star regardless of season.
C)It varies somewhat randomly over small angles,less than 23.5 degrees.
D)We don't really know how much it varies because we have not been able to make observations from space for more than about 60 years.

Question 34

On this date the length of daylight gets progressively longer going south from the equator.

A)June 21
B)March 21
C)September 21
D)December 21

Question 35

The least significant form of heat transfer in the atmosphere is ________.

A)contraction
B)convection
C)radiation
D)conduction

Question 36

In the outer most layer of the atmosphere,gas molecules can have a temperature of 1000°C because ________.

A)that is the temperature of an object that is entering the earth's atmosphere at a high speed
B)that is the temperature of the solar radiation
C)that is the speed of the individual molecules
D)there is no filter to keep the sun from heating the outer atmosphere
E)none of the above

Question 37

The angle of the noon sun varies by ________ degrees each year.

A)15
B)23.5
C)47
D)73.5
E)It is different in different places.

Question 38

What causes ocean currents?

A)density differences in the oceans
B)temperature differences in the oceans
C)unequal heating of the earth
D)winds
E)none of the above

Question 39

What causes seasons?

A)the elliptical orbit of the earth
B)the changing tilt angle of the earth
C)differences in the amount of daylight
D)seasonal changes in the angle of the sun above the horizon
E)none of the above

Question 40

Which mechanism for heat transfer can operate in a vacuum?

A)contraction
B)conduction
C)radiation
D)convection

Question 41

The variations in temperature are less extreme in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere because ________.

A)all of the cold air in the Southern Hemisphere is concentrated over Antarctica,but there is not a large land mass at the north pole
B)there is more land in the Southern Hemisphere
C)there is more water in the Southern Hemisphere
D)the hole in the ozone allows more solar radiation to warm the Southern Hemisphere
E)the Northern Hemisphere is more mountainous

Question 42

Diffused light is caused by ________.

A)solar radiation striking surface water at a low angle
B)scattering of solar radiation by dust particles and gas molecules
C)scattering of solar radiation by water molecules
D)solar radiation striking an irregular surface and being partially absorbed
E)none of the above

Question 43

Earth receives energy from the Sun in this way.

A)conduction
B)convection
C)radiation
D)all of these

Question 44

Land heats and cools more than water because ________.

A)water gives off its heat in the form of warm water vapor with less efficiency than land
B)land is opaque so only the surface is heated
C)it takes more energy to heat land than to heat water but land retains the heat better
D)there is more water surfaces than land so the heat is spread out more efficiently in water bodies

Question 45

Isotherms,lines of equal temperature,are commonly used to ________.

A)compare temperatures in different regions
B)compare temperature variations in different regions
C)compare temperatures over a large area
D)compare temperature variations over a large area
E)show how temperature changes with time

Question 46

Two cities are located at the same latitude (40°).City A is in the Southern Hemisphere and City B is in the Northern Hemisphere.Assume the two cities reflect the general characteristics of the hemispheres where they are located.Which city should have the warmest winter temperatures?

A)City A
B)City B
C)Both cities should have nearly identical winter temperatures.
D)More information is required to answer the question.

Question 47

The wavelength or the distance from peak to peak of energy waves is a characteristic of ________.

A)conduction
B)convection
C)contraction
D)radiation

Question 48

Clouds can decrease the range of daily temperatures because ________.

A)the clouds reflect solar radiation back into space during the day
B)the clouds diffuse the solar radiation so it is spread out over a larger area
C)the water vapor absorbs the heat from the earth and sends reflects it back to the ground maintaining a uniform ground temperature during the day
D)the clouds store heat and that helps to maintain a uniform temperature at night and during the day

Question 49

Looking at a world map of temperatures,you would see that isotherms deflected toward the poles over seas are an indication of ________.

A)warm currents
B)cold currents
C)horizontal currents
D)diving currents
E)none of the above

Question 50

Two cities are located at the same latitude (40°).City A is in the Southern Hemisphere and City B is in the Northern Hemisphere.Assume the two cities reflect the general characteristics of the hemispheres where they are located.Which city should have the largest annual temperature range?

A)City A
B)City B
C)Both cities should have nearly identical temperatures.
D)More information is required to answer the question.

Question 51

Which of the following is not something that happens to incoming radiation?

A)heated
B)reflected
C)absorbed
D)transmitted

Question 52

On the average,how much of the Sun's energy that is intercepted by Earth is reflected back to space?

A)10%
B)20%
C)30%
D)40%

Question 53

A place located along a windward coast will probably have ________.

A)warmer summer temperatures than an inland location at the same latitude
B)cooler summer temperatures than an inland location at the same latitude
C)summer temperatures that are very similar to an inland location at the same latitude
D)none of these

Question 54

The daily mean temperature is determined by ________.

A)summing the temperature measured every hour and dividing by 24
B)measuring the temperature at noon
C)summing the maximum and minimum temperatures daily and dividing by 2
D)summing the digital samples of temperature in several places at different times of day and averaging those samples
E)none of the above

Question 55

The longest wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum are ________.

A)gamma
B)ultraviolet
C)radio
D)infrared

Question 56

Which of the following is the poorest absorber of solar radiation?

A)oxygen
B)water vapor
C)nitrogen
D)ozone

Question 57

If the maximum temperature for a particular day is 26°C and the minimum temperature is 14°C,the daily mean would be ________.

A)40°C
B)20°C
C)12°C
D)13°C

Question 58

One reason the temperature decreases with increasing altitude in the troposphere is ________.

A)molecular spacing increases with increasing altitude
B)the water vapor in the troposphere is heated by terrestrial radiation
C)the solar radiation is absorbed by ozone in the stratosphere
D)the chemical reaction that forms ozone gives off heat and ozone increases in concentration toward the upper troposphere

Question 59

The major absorber of terrestrial radiation is ________.

A)oxygen
B)ozone
C)water vapor
D)carbon Dioxide
E)none of the above

Question 60

The atmosphere acquires most of its energy from ________.

A)solar radiation
B)the Earth's surface
C)water vapor
D)wind

Question 61

Albedo is a constant 30 percent everywhere on Earth.

Question 62

All objects,regardless of temperature,radiate energy.

Question 63

The earth is continuously receiving heat from the atmosphere as well as from the Sun.

Question 64

conduction scattering convection radiation

Question 65

The atmosphere is an efficient absorber of the longer wavelengths of terrestrial radiation.

Question 66

Tiny solid and liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere are collectively called aerosols.

Question 67

Weather and climate are synonymous terms.

Question 68

Tropic of Cancer Equator Arctic Circle Tropic of Capricorn

Question 69

Distance variations between Earth and the Sun are very important in understanding seasonal temperature variations.

Question 70

Considering the albedo of various surfaces,compare daily temperature ranges and means for an urban area to a more rural setting of crops and forests.Also,are there any other factors other than albedo that might affect these temperature variations?

Question 71

List three mechanisms of heat transfer.

Question 72

Located adjacent to red on the electromagnetic spectrum,and having a longer wavelength,is ________ radiation,which we cannot see but which we can detect as heat.

Question 73

The closest invisible wavelengths to violet on the electromagnetic spectrum are called ________ and are responsible for sunburns.

Question 74

Objects that are good absorbers of radiation are not good emitters of radiation.

Question 75

The fraction of the total radiation encountered that is reflected by a surface is called its ________.

Question 76

The line separating the dark half of Earth from the lighted half is called the ________.

Question 77

The movement of Earth in its orbit around the Sun is referred to as ________.

Question 78

Radiant energy is very different depending on its wavelength.

Question 79

Isotherms are more irregular in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere.

Question 80

oxygen nitrogen hydrogen argon