Geography Quizzes 8 and 9

Select all of the following that are used to reconstruct past climates.

(All of the except Prehistoric written records) - ice cores - the work of palynologists - dendrochronology - fossil evidence

Select all of the following statements that are true about air masses.

- An air mass derives its characteristics from a source region. - An air mass is any large body of the lower atmosphere that has fairly uniform conditions of temperature and moisture. - Air masses are named by their temperature and humidity characteristics

Select all of the statements below that apply to weather:

- It is the state of the atmosphere at a specific place at a particular time. - "It might snow tonight" describes the weather. -It is concerned with the day-to-day changes in temperature and precipitation.

Which of the following statements are true about the effects of latitude and longitude on weather and climate?

- Latitude is the most important factor influencing climate. - Latitude affects radiation intensity and the length of day. - Longitude is the least significant factor affecting weather.

Which of the following are true about midlatitude cyclones? (Select all that apply.)

- Prior to the development of a midlatitude cyclone, the polar front is a stationary front. - Their formation is called cyclogenesis. - The mT air mass is most likely to be associated with the precipitation.

Select all of the following statements that are characteristics of tornadoes.

- The average duration of a tornado is about 15 minutes. - Tornadoes can be on the ground for hundreds of kilometers and last for several hours. - Tornadoes are measured on the Enhanced Fujita scale

Which of the following statements are true about tropical cyclones? (Select all that apply.)

- To be a tropical depression, a low-pressure system must have central sustained winds between 20 and 34 knots (23 to 39 mph). - A tropical low-pressure system with maximum sustained winds between 35 and 63 knots (39 to 73 mph) is called a tropical storm. - A tropical depression can strengthen into a tropical storm.

The moist extreme of the subarctic climates is

Dwd.

"Afternoon showers are common in Florida" is a statement about weather.

False

A cold front is a type of air mass.

False

In a mid-latitude cyclone, the winds blow clockwise around the center.

False

On a climograph, temperature is shown by bars and precipitation is shown by a line.

False

Palynologists study prehistoric climate change by dating tree rings, and paleoclimatologists study pollen.

False

The flow of carbon from one reservoir to another is called the global system.

False

The slope of a warm front is steeper than a cold front.

False

The small letter c in the name of an air mass designates that it is cold.

False

If an ice core yields a greater number of O-18 than expected, which of the following can be best inferred from that section of core?

It was warmer.

The center of Tornado Alley is

Oklahoma and Kansas.

What is the tilt obliquity in the Milankovitch theory?

The Earth's axial tilt changes.

What is the orbital eccentricity in the Milankovitch theory?

The Earth's revolution varies from circular to elliptical.

As hurricanes strengthen, their eyes typically become better defined.

True

Consistently high sun angles is ssociated with little variation in mean monthly temperatures..

True

Environmental changes caused by humans are termed anthropogenic.

True

Global warming is the notion that human-induced activity is causing the planet to warm.

True

In the eye of a hurricane the weather is clear and calm.

True

The passage of a warm front means the temperatures will rise.

True

Tornado warnings are frequently issued after the occurrence of the first tornado from a storm system.

True

The climate influence that is BEST associated with the intertropical convergence zone and midlatitude cyclones is:

air mass circulation

What is the average periodicity of the orbital precession in the Milankovitch theory?

around 23, 000 years

The coldest air masses are the

cA and cAA.

The air mass originating over land between 50° and 60° N will be the

cP.

A rectangular graph that shows the mean monthly temperatures and total monthly precipitation is a(n)

climograph.

A climograph with a midrange curve and predominantly very short or short bars is

cold midlatitude desert.

The interpretation method that enables extension of tree ring dates back in time is called

cross dating.

In a thunderstorm, the air is rising and condensing without precipitation in the stage called

cumulus.

The stage when the warm air is completely pinched off in the midlatitude cyclones is called the

dissolving stage.

As the center of a hurricane passes from the south to the north of a location in the Northern Hemisphere, the winds will usually shift from the

east to still to west.

A boundary where contrasting air masses meet is a(n)

front.

The repeated pull of ice crystals back into the upper part of a thunderstorm until they become too large to be supported produces

hail.

The climate associated with much of northern Africa, Saudi Arabia, and the outback of central Australia is

hot low-latitude desert.

The climate around Lake Superior and in Maine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Estonia is

humid continental mild-summer.

The climate that shows a somewhat flattened curve above freezing with possibly a few short bars but also some long bars is

marine west-coast.

Supercell thunderstorms can produce tornadoes due to large rotating updrafts called

mesocyclones.

The collision of two fronts that trap and lift warm air from the surface creates a(n)

occluded front.

If a city experiences prolonged cool temperatures and light precipitation for days, the weather is most likely influenced by a(n)

stationary front.

Which of the following describes climatology?

the study of the geographic distribution and character of the average weather elements and their extremes

Fronts are associated with clouds because

the warm air rises and cools adiabatically over the cooler air.

During the open stage of a midlatitude cyclone,

the warm and cold fronts are fully separated.

The climatic effect that influences precipitation and air flow locally is

topographic effects

The climate that has a greater daily temperature range than annual range is

tropical rainforest.