METR CH 1

on a weather map, sharp changes in temp, humidity, and wind direction are marked by

A) a front

warming in the stratosphere is mainly caused by

A) absorption of ultraviolet radiation by ozone

the earth's atmosphere is divided into layers based on changes in the vertical profiles of

A) air temperature

in the temperature inversion

A) air temperature increases with increasing height

The greenhouse gas that has been increasing in concentration, at least partly due to deforestation, is

A) carbon dioxide (CO2)

The combustion of methane (burning of natural gas) could be written in the form of a chemical equation as follows: CH4 + O2 r product gases. The product gases would most likely include which of the following?

A) carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O)

When chlorofluorocarbons are subjected to ultraviolet radiation, ozone-destroying ____ is released

A) chlorine

The number of air molecules in a given space or volume is called

A) density

which of the following is MOST likely associated with fair weather

A) high pressure area

Water Vapor

A) is invisible

The primary gases found in the homosphere

A) nitrogen and oxygen

In a volume of air near the Earth's surface, ____ occupies 78% and ____ nearly 21%

A) nitrogen, oxygen

clouds ofter form in the

A) rising air in the center if a low pressure area

about 97% of all ozone in the atmosphere is found in the

A) stratosphere

the wind direction is

A) the direction from which the wind is blowing

a relatively small, rotating funnel that extends downward from the vase of a thunderstorm is called

A) tornado

the atmospheric layer in which we live in is called the

A) troposphere

Which of the following is considered a variable gas in the Earth's atmosphere?

A) water vapor

knots are units of

A) wind speed

the first weather satellite, Tiros I, was launched in

C) 1960

much of Tibet lies at altitudes over 18,000 ft where the pressure is about 500 mb. At such altitudes, the Tibetans love above roughly

C) 50% of the air molecules in the atmosphere

Which of the following processes acts to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

C) Photosynthesis

the atmosphere, which is composed of mostly gases, has ____ mass

C) a lot of

based on the pressures shown in the figure below, 30% of the weight of the atmosphere lies (graph shown)

C) between points A and C (1000 mb and 700 mb lowest point to highest point)

A south wind

C) blows from the south

where cold surface air is replacing warm air, the boundary separating the different bodies of air is termed a

C) cold front

in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, surface winds tend to blow ____ and ____ around an area of surface low pressure

C) counterclockwise, inward

middle latitude storms are also known as

C) extratropical cyclones

a radiosonde

C) is carried aloft by balloon and measures weather conditions above the ground

The most abundant gases in the Earth's atmosphere by volume are

C) nitrogen and oxygen

What gas is produced naturally in the stratosphere and is also a primary component of photochemical smog in polluted air at the surface?

C) ozone

Which of the following weather elements ALWAYS decreases as we climb upward in the atmosphere?

C) pressure

the letters H and L on a surface weather map refer to high and low

C) pressure

the word "weather" is defined as

C) the condition of the atmosphere at a particular time and place

The so-called "ozone hole" is observed above

C) the continent of Antarctica

___ has a major effect on radio communications

C) the ionosphere

which of the following is found at the HIGHEST altitude

C) the top of the stratosphere

the hottest atmospheric layer is the

C) thermosphere

a towering cloud, or cluster of clouds, accompanied by thunder, lightening, and strong gusty winds

C) thunderstorm

The gas that shows the most variation in concentration from place to place and from time to time in the lower atmosphere

C) water vapor (H2O)

The most abundant greenhouse gas in the earth's atmosphere is

C) water vapor (H2O)

the horizontal movement of air is the weather element

C) wind

which of the following cities is in the middle latitudes

D) Chicago, Illinois

Since the turn of the century, CO2 in the atmosphere has

D) been increasing in concentration

Which of the following greenhouse gases is also capable of destroying ozone in the stratosphere?

D) chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

a tropical storm whose winds are in excess of 74 mi/hr is called a

D) hurricane

the electrified region of the upper atmosphere is called the

D) ionosphere

storms vary in size (diameter). which list below arranges storms from largest to smallest?

D) middle latitude cyclone, hurricane, thunderstorm, tornado

breathing nitrogen gas is ____ to your health

D) not harmful

Which of the following ingredients are needed for ozone formation in the stratosphere?

D) oxygen molecules (O2) and oxygen atoms (O)

About 97% of the ____ in the atmosphere is found in the stratosphere where it absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation.

D) ozone

the amount of force exerted over an area of surface is called

D) pressure

if you're looking for an ozone hole, your best bet would be to go to

D) the stratosphere

The concentration of this gas in the atmosphere can range from about 0% to 3 or 4%

D) water vapor (H2O)

which of the following best determines the weather

E) all of the above

areas of high atmospheric pressure are also known as

E) anticyclones

This green house gas is used as a refrigerant, a solvent, and during the manufacture of foam.

E) chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Typically, water vapor occupies about what percentage of the air's volume near the Earth's surface?

E) less than 4%

Which below is not considered a greenhouse gas?

E) oxygen (O2)

almost all of the earth's weather occurs in the

E) troposphere

Where warm surface air is replacing cold air, the boundary separating the different bodies of air is termed a

E) warm front

the most abundant gas emitted from volcanoes is

E) water vapor

carbon dioxide concentration have increased nearly 250% since the early 1800s

FALSE

on a cloudless day, the tropopause is easily visible with the naked eye

FALSE

the concentrations of nitrogen, oxygen, and water vapor show very little variation in concentration from place to place and from time to time in the lower atmosphere

FALSE

while carbon dioxide concentrations are increasing, the concentrations of other greenhouse gases such as methane are decreasing

FALSE

while the atmosphere absorbs dangerous ultraviolet radiation, it is too thin to protect surface inhabitants from meteors and other solid objects coming from space

FALSE

99% of the air in the atmosphere is found in a layer that is much THICKER than, much THINNER than, and about the SAME thickness as the diameter of the earth

THINNER

are the highest water vapor concentrations found in TROPICAL or POLAR regions

TROPICAL

air temperatures in the thermosphere are higher then at the ground because sunlight energy is absorbed and shared by relatively few atoms and molecules

TRUE

chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) play a role in stratospheric ozone destruction and are also greenhouse gases

TRUE

most of the water vapor in the atmosphere is thought to have come from the earth's hot interior

TRUE

sea-level pressure is determined by both the amount of air in the atmosphere and the strength of the earths gravity

TRUE

the atmospheres first oxygen is thought ti gave come from the splitting of water vapor molecules by solar radiation

TRUE

In the atmosphere, tiny solid or liquid particles of various composition are called

aerosols

Almost 99% of the Earth's atmosphere lies within ____ of the Earth's surface

B) 30 km

the ionosphere is an atmospheric layer that contains a high concentration of ions. An ion is

B) an atom or molecule that has lost or gained an electron

inches of mercury (Hg) are commonly used units of

B) atmospheric pressure

in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, surface winds tend to blow ____ and ____ around an area of surface high pressure

B) clockwise, outward

when we exhale, our breath ____ greenhouse gases

B) contains some

this holds a planet's atmosphere close to its surface

B) gravity

the altitude of the troposphere over Honolulu, Hawaii, is ____ the altitude of the troposphere over Fairbanks, Alaska

B) higher than

The earth's first atmosphere was comprised primarily of

B) hydrogen and helium

in the stratosphere, the air temperature normally

B) increases with increasing height

during the late 1500s Galileo

B) invented a crude thermometer

the temperature of the tropopause

B) is much colder than the temp at the earth's surface

The concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is relatively low compared to some of the other constituents. CO2 is important none the less because of

B) it is a greenhouse gas

the rate at which temperature decreases with increasing altitude is known as the

B) lapse rate

at jet aircraft cruising altitude (33, 000 ft. or about 10 km) you are

B) near the top of the troposphere

the most abundant gas in the STRATOSPHERE is

B) nitrogen (N2)

the outpouring of gases from the earth's hot interior is called

B) outgassing

extratropical cyclones are found ____

B) outside the tropics

which of the following would remain constant if you travelled up through the troposphere?

B) percentage oxygen concentration

the primary source of the oxygen in the earth's the primary source of oxygen in the earth's atmosphere during the past half billion years ago or so appears to be

B) photosynthesis

the instrument that measures temp, pressure, and humidity in the vertical is the

B) radiosonde

which of the following statements is true?

B) the earth's first atmosphere is thought to have escaped into space

the flat top of a thunderstorm about 30,000 or 10 km high would mark the top of the

B) troposphere

The only substance near Earth's surface that is found naturally in the atmosphere as a solid, liquid, and gas:

B) water

Which of the following gases could be found in the atmosphere with a concentration greater than 1%?

B) water vapor (H2O)

the ozone hole is found in this atmospheric layer

C. stratosphere