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