Physical Geography 141
The largest scale on a map is the following
1:1000
On June 21, the noon sun is directly overhead at:
23.5°N
The freezing point on the Kelvin temperature scale is at _____ degrees.
273
The climatic normal is based on the most recent _______ averages.
30 year
The planetary albedo of the Earth is about _____ percent.
33
Hurricane Katrina reached a category ____ on the Saffir-Simpson Scale before landfall.
5
The highest category for hurricanes on the Saffir-Simpson Scale is a ____.
5
Below what altitude is half of the weight of the atmosphere found
5 km
If the sun's declination is 10 degrees, then the noon altitude of the sun at the equator would be ____degrees.
80
During the winter in the Northern Hemisphere, monsoon winds flow from ______.
Asia towards the surrounding ocean
A savanna climate is denoted in Köppen classification as:
Aw
The steppe or semi-arid grassland climate is denoted as ___ in the Köppen climate classification.
BS
In the Southern Hemisphere, Melbourne, Australia's longest daylight hours occurs on:
December 21
The Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic never warm above 10C, but remain above freezing. The Köppen classification for these islands is:
ET
The Coriolis force is caused by
Earth's rotation
Which of the following is a Great Circle?
Equator
The highest frequency of thunderstorm days in the US occurs in:
Florida
Which one of the following depicts two or more map layers superimposed or synthesized?
GIS
The zone where the northeasterly trades and the southeasterly trades converge is known as the:
Intertropical Convergence Zone (ICZ)
On which map projection does a straight line produce a true and constant compass direction?
Mercator projection
For A climates the coolest month must be
above 18°C
When the environmental lapse rate is greater than the dry adiabatic lapse rate, the atmosphere is considered:
absolutely unstable
The ozone layer is important to life on Earth because the ozone layer:
absorbs ultraviolet radiation
Which of the following is not considered a main type of uplift for precipitation?
advective
The amount of solar radiation reflected off a surface is called:
albedo
The location of the Earth's orbit where it is farthest from the sun is called the
aphelion
In the Northern Hemisphere subtropical highs, winds flowing south:
are deflected by the Coriolis force into northeasterly winds
High latitudes, like England and Scandinavia, receive the most insolation on which clear day?
at summer solstice
Atmospheric pressure is measured near the Earth's surface with a(n):
barometer
Besides water vapor, ___ is the most abundant of the variable gas in the atmosphere
carbon dioxide
Ozone is destroyed by CFCs when the ___ in CFCs combines with oxygen.
chlorine
The Montreal Protocol of 1987 was an international agreement to ban _____.
chlorofluorocarbons
A study involving 50 years of tornado data would probably be considered:
climatology
In the southern hemisphere, winds flow ________ around a cyclone.
clockwise and converging
Particles, such as fine-grained dust and aerosols, are important in the atmosphere since they play a role in:
cloud formation
The densest (heaviest) water has:
cold temperatures, low salinity
Heat is released to the environment when water vapor changes into cloud droplets. This process is called:
condensation
What is the name of the process when heat is released into the environment and water changes phases?
condensation
Without __________, rain clouds will not form.
condensation nuclei
When heat is transferred between molecules that are in contact with one another, it is termed:
conduction
Lines on a topographic map are called
contours
Which of the following has the shortest wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum?
cosmic rays and x-rays
Most rainfall occurs with ______ clouds.
cumulus
Deep ocean currents are driven by:
density differences
the rainshadow areas generally occur
downwind of mountain ranges
During El ñino events, the ______ equatorial Pacific Ocean are unusually warm.
eastern and central
Geostrophic wind
flows parallel to contour lines
When snow melts and refreezes on contact with a subfreezing surface it is called:
freezing rain
The N. Pacific gyre causes the California Current to flow _____.
from north to south
In the Northern Hemisphere summer, the length of daylight increases:
from the equator poleward
When two different air masses converge, they may produce _______ precipitation.
frontal
When pressure lines are closer together on a weather chart, the pressure gradient force is ___ and winds are ___.
greater, faster
The tropical tropopause is ______ than the polar tropopause.
higher
The lower 80 to 100 km region of the atmosphere that has a more or less constant chemical composition is called the _______.
homosphere
Most rain and snow occurring in the US and Canada occur through the ______ process.
ice-crystal
The strongest winds and largest cloud development in a hurricane occur:
in the eye wall
Greenhouse gases are most efficient at absorbing ________ wavelengths of energy.
infrared
The Earth's re-radiation of heat back towards space is mostly in the ____ wavelengths.
infrared
The amount of incoming solar radiation that reaches the Earth's surface is called
insolation
The Siberian High
is only found in the winter
When reading a surface weather chart, centers of highs and lows are represented by pressure lines called
isobars
contour lines on a map representing lines of equal temperatures are called
isotherms
The release of stored heat when water freezes is called
latent heat
When water freezes into ice, it releases stored energy called ______
latent heat
Which factor is the most important when explaining variations in global temperatures?
latitude
In B climates, actual evapotranspiration is generally ___ potential evapotranspiration.
less than
Along the International Dateline, moving east to west causes a traveler to:
lose one day
During the day, land heats faster than water, causing ____ pressure to form over land and ___ pressure over coastal water.
low, high
In winter, most rain and snow storms that reach the west coast of the U.S. are from ____ air masses.
maritime polar
During the summer, ______ air mass brings warm, humid weather to the eastern US.
maritime tropical
In the _____ stage of a thunderstorm, both strong updrafts and downdrafts dominate the system.
mature
Hail occurs in the ______ stage of a thunderstorm development and can grow as large as ____.
mature; softballs
The coldest part of the atmosphere is found at the:
mesopause
Upwelling and cold surface ocean currents occur generally along:
mid-latitude west coasts of continents
In mountain climates
more climate zones occur in the vertical than the horizontal
Freshest (low salinity) water would be found:
near glacier melt coastlines
Hurricanes never occur
near the equator
The difference between absorbed and emitted radiation at the Earth's surface is called _____.
net radiation
The two most abundant gases in the lower atmosphere are:
nitrogen and oxygen
The midnight sun, or 24-hour daylight, occurs on June 22nd
north of the Arctic Circle
The Gulf Stream causes isotherms to bend further ____ over the North Atlantic.
northward
The thermocline is a region
of rapid change from warm to cold water
Mediterranean or Cs Köppen climate is generally found:
on the west coast of continents near the subtropics
At the Equator, one degree of latitude equals:
one degree longitude
GOES weather satellites provide continuous weather images as they
orbit in a position above the same location on Earth
The seasonal shift that occurs in the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone is greatest:
over continents
A major sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide are
plants
The Köppen climate classification system is based on the grouping of _____.
plants
Global net radiation is:
positive in the tropics, negative in the polar regions
When snow melts and refreezes in cold air before reaching the Earth's surface, it is called
sleet
All map projections have this in common
some distortions
The Sahel of Africa is located:
south of Sahara
During winter in the Northern Hemisphere, isotherms bend _____over continents.
southward
A line of moving thunderstorms is called a:
squall
The ozone layer of the atmosphere is located in the:
stratosphere
The polar jet stream over North America is:
stronger and farther south in winter
During La ñina events, the equatorial trade winds are:
stronger than normal
The convergence zone between tropical and polar air masses and where traveling storms take place occur along _____.
sub-polar latitudes
For Am climates, most precipitation occurs in the ____.
summer
The monsoon portions of southern Asia, like India, receive most of their precipitation during the:
summer
In the high mountains where forests are restricted by the cold, the treeline generally persists at an altitude where
summer temperatures are 10C or below
In general, the daily highest relative humidity occurs at:
sunrise
Which of the following is not a form of remote sensing?
taking a temperature reading with a thermometer
The lower atmosphere is considered very stable when there is _____.
temperature inversion
Which of the following contains the most water vapor?
temperature of 80°F, relative humidity of 35%, dew point of 50°F
The Köppen climate classification is based on:
temperatures and precipitation
The ozone hole is located over __________.
the Antarctic in the stratosphere
The 0° longitude is also called
the Prime Meridian
Much of the Earth's heat escapes between the wavelengths of 8.5 and 13 micrometers, which is also called:
the atmospheric window
the urban heat island occurs when
the city center is warmer than the surrounding rural areas.
In mid-June, parts of Alaska receive more insolation at the top of the atmosphere than Miami, Florida. This is explained by:
the daylight hours are much longer in Alaska
The temperature at which air must be cooled to reach saturation is called:
the dew point
When an unsaturated air parcel rises in the atmosphere, it cools at a constant rate called:
the dry adiabatic lapse rate
During summer solstice, the highest amount of insolation is received at:
the north pole
Mid-latitude cyclones tend to follow:
the polar jet stream
One degree of longitude is the shortest distance at
the poles
Desertification is
the process of desert expansion into the steppes.
Over water surfaces, the potential evaporation is _____ the actual evaporation.
the same as
Tornado Alley is located in ________ of the United States
the south central states
Most damage and fatalities associated with hurricanes is due to ____.
the storm surge
The polar jet stream is maintained by:
the strong temperature gradient between tropics and polar latitudes
In a Hadley cell, sinking air takes place around:
the subtropics
Deep ocean circulation, that often resembles a conveyor belt, is called:
the thermohaline circulation
the seasons are caused by
the tilt of the Earth's axis
the solar constant is
the total solar energy reaching the top of the atmosphere.
The longest daylight period at the Equator is approximately:
12 hours
Deforestation of tropical rainforests is occurring in:
-Af -Am
If rainforest trees are removed by logging, _____.
-agriculture would be successful -soils would be rich in minerals -trees would grow back quickly NONE OF THESE
B climates can be found
-in the tropics -in the midlatitudes -in the subtropics
The rate of evaporation depends on:
-temperature -wind speed -humidity
In the eye of a hurricane
-the sky may be almost cloud-free -winds are light -subsidence occurs
Land (continents) heats and cools faster than water (ocean) because:
-the specific heat of water is greater than that of land -land heats by conduction while water heats by convection -water is transparent to sunlight while land is opaque to sunlight
During strong El ñino events:
-there are droughts in Australia, Malaysia -there are wet conditions in Peru -there are wet conditions in the southern US
Hurricanes tend to dissipate when:
-they cross land -they cross cooler water
To be in perfect equilibrium, the Earth's net radiation must be:
0% of the solar constant
The amount of water vapor in the atmosphere varies between:
0-4 percent
If it was not for the greenhouse effect, the Earth's average temperature would be about
0°F
B climates are found in all of these EXCEPT:
A. HIGH LATITUDES b. under subtropical high pressure cells c. in the interior of large landmasses d. on the leeward side of large mountains
In tropical monsoon Asia, where there is a strong seasonal change in rainfall amounts, the Köppen classification is
AM
The Icelandic Low in the North Atlantic and the ______ in the N) Pacific are regions of frequent storms during the winter season.
Aleutian Low
What is the connection between deforestation of rainforests and McDonalds?
As forests are cleared, cattle ranchers move in creating pasturelands.
Warm, dry wind flowing from the Great Basin toward the southern California coast in fall and winter is called:
Santa Ana wind
The peak of the North Atlantic hurricane season is in:
September
Thunderstorms and heavy rains are more common when a ______ passes in a mid-latitude cyclone.
a cold front
An occluded front is when:
a cold front overtakes and lifts the warm front
Surface air converges and rises in
a cyclone
During the night, cool, dry wind flowing downhill is called
a mountain breeze
The lower case f, as in Af, Cf and Df in the Köppen climate classification represents:
rainfall throughout the year
Along a warm front, warm air ________.
rises and cools
In B climates most of the net radiation is used in:
sensible heat
In a surface-based anticyclone, tropospheric air:
sinks and diverges at the surface
The _____ are the most consistent winds in the atmosphere.
trade winds
Global Positioning System (GPS) finds locations through the use of
triangulation of satellite network
When a tropical cyclone reaches wind velocity of 40 mph, it is termed a:
tropical storm
In the lowest layer of the atmosphere, temperatures stop decreasing with height at the ________.
tropopause
The layer of the atmosphere where most "weather" takes place is the:
troposphere
The Earth's rotation is fastest at the equator.
true
With ocean currents along California and Peru moving towards lower latitudes, Ekman transport causes ________along the coast.
upwelling
The Coriolis force would be greatest when the wind _______.
velocity is high, latitude is high
The most effective greenhouse gas at absorbing heat is:
water vapor
In normal years, the _____ region is the warmest portion of the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
western
Surface ocean currents are driven by:
winds
Perihelion occurs during the Northern Hemisphere's
winter
