Meteorology Chapter 1-4 Quizzes
Chicago, IL records the following: High temperature: 40 °F Low temperature: 32 °F On this day, _____ cooling degree days and _____ heating degree days were accumulated
0; 29 - Correct Answer HINT: Cooling degree days are not accumulated because the daily mean temperature is below 65 °F. Heating degree days is the difference between 65 °F and the mean daily temperature (36 °F), so 29.
The environmental lapse rate is greater than the dry adiabatic rate.
Absolute instability
The environmental lapse rate is less than the wet adiabatic rate.
Absolute stability
Moist air has an environmental lapse rate between the dry and wet adiabatic rates.
Conditional instability
On which of the following days does daylight get progressively longer going southward from the equator towards the South Pole?
December 21 - Correct Answer
Why is the solar radiation arriving at Earth's surface less intense where the angle of the Sun is low?
Energy is spread over a larger area. - Correct Answer
Which of the following is a reason for land and water heating differences?
Evaporation from water bodies is greater than evaporation from land surfaces. Water is highly mobile. Land surfaces are opaque. The specific heat of water is more than three times greater than that of land. All of these statements are correct. - Correct Answer
As an object cools, the wavelengths of its maximum emissions shorten.
False
As the temperature of the air decreases, the water vapor capacity of the air increases.
False
As water boils in a pot on the stove, the metal handle becomes hot. This is an example of convection.
False
Averaged over the entire year, a zone around Earth that lies within 50° north and 50° south of the equator receives more solar radiation than is lost to space.
False
Rainshadow deserts are typically found on the windward side of mountains.
False
The Gulf Stream is an example of a cold ocean current.
False
The environmental lapse rate is the change in the humidity of a parcel of air as it rises up through the atmosphere.
False
The time of highest temperatures during the day generally coincides with the time of maximum incoming solar radiation.
False
The vertical rays of the Sun strike the equator all year long.
False
Variations in the distance between Earth and the Sun are extremely important in understanding seasonal temperature variations.
False
Why does the Northern Hemisphere have warm summers? Choose all that apply.
The Sun's energy is more concentrated. Yes The Sun's rays hit the ground at a more perpendicular angle. Yes Days are longer. Yes Earth is closer to the Sun in June. No The north pole is tilted toward the Sun. Yes
The dry adiabatic rate is _________.
a cooling of 10°C for every 1000 meters of ascent - Correct Answer
How is temperature defined?
a measure of the average kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules in a substance - Correct Answer
Greenhouse gases _____
absorb and emit longwave radiation - Correct Answer
What is the name for the point in Earth's orbit that is farthest from the Sun?
aphelion - Correct Answer
Cloud formation is an example of _____ and _____ the air.
condensation; warms - correct answer
You are boiling a pot of water on an electric stove. The pot sits directly on the heating coil and is primarily heated by _____.
conduction - Correct Answer
You remove the pot of boiling hot water and set it on a cooler part of the stove. Which heat transfer mechanism is responsible for cooling the pot of water?
convection radiation latent heat conduction All of the listed mechanisms cool the pot. - Correct Answer
The process of ________ involves the movement of a substance.
convection - Correct Answer
How will the daily temperature range change if you moved from a desert to a rainforest at the same latitude?
decrease - Correct Answer
If you move from Los Angeles, CA (at sea level) to Denver, CO (a mile above sea level), the average summer temperature will ______ and the average winter temperature will ______.
decrease; decrease - Correct Answer Hint: Both summer and winter average temperatures would decrease as you go up in elevation.
Average temperatures in the lower few miles of the atmosphere ________ with increasing altitude, because the atmosphere is heated ________.
decrease; from the bottom up by longwave radiation - Correct Answer
Which of the following phase changes would release heat to the surrounding environment?
deposition - correct answer
What is the term for the temperature to which a parcel of air needs to be cooled to reach saturation?
dew point - Correct Answer
What is the most important cause for variations in temperature across Earth's surface?
differences in the receipt of solar radiation - Correct Answer
Which of the following exerts a strong influence on how temperatures vary from place to place and from time to time?
differential heating of land and water - Correct Answer
All of the following are lifting mechanisms that cause air to rise EXCEPT _______.
divergence - Correct Answer
Heating degree-day
each degree of temperature below 65 degrees Fahrenheit
The infiltration of surrounding air into a column of vertically moving air is ________.
entrainment - Correct Answer
The lifting condensation level is the location of the _______.
first place where the air parcel becomes saturated - Correct Answer
The lifting of air that results when cool air acts as a barrier over which warmer, less dense air will rise is called ________.
frontal lifting - Correct Answer
Condensation is a phase change from _______ to _______, which _______ the surrounding air.
gas; liquid; warms - Correct Answer
Which of the following is used by farmers to determine when a crop is ready to harvest?
growing degree days - Correct Answer
The number of degrees separating the ice point (freezing) and the steam point (boiling) is ________.
identical for both Kelvin and Celsius scales - Correct Answer
As temperatures drop from the late afternoon into the evening on a clear day, the relative humidity tends to ________.
increase - Correct Answer
During a typical daily temperature cycle, the coldest time of the day is early morning, and the warmest is mid-afternoon. Which of the following will cause the greatest reduction in daily temperature range?
increased latitude - Correct Answer
A line that connects points on a weather map that have the same temperature is referred to as an blank_____________ .
isotherm - Correct Answer
The altitude where a rising parcel of air has reached saturation and cloud formation begins is the ________ condensation level.
lifting - Correct Answer
You are driving through the country and you notice isolated cumulus clouds in the sky. Which lifting mechanism is most likely responsible for these cumulus clouds?
localized convective lifting - Correct Answer
The Sun is very hot, so it radiates _______ energy than Earth, and the energy has a _______ wavelength than energy emitted from Earth.
more; shorter - Correct Answer
Which of the following gases is a relatively poor absorber of incoming solar radiation?
nitrogen - Correct Answer
Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana would experience clouds caused by all of the lifting mechanisms, except _____.
orographic lifting - Correct Answer
Which of these is a good characteristic of an instrument shelter where you would want to put a thermometer?
painted white - Correct Answer HINT: The instrument shelter should be painted white to reflect incoming solar radiation. Other colors absorb incoming radiation and will warm the inside of the shelter.
An instrument used to measure relative humidity is called a _________.
psychrometer - Correct Answer
Which of the following has/have the longest wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum?
radio waves - Correct Answer
When water vapor condenses, heat is ________.
released by the water vapor - Correct Answer
If an air parcel is warmer than the surrounding environment, then it will _____.
rise - Correct Answer
A ________ is a proposed (or untested) explanation for how or why something happens in the manner observed.
scientific hypothesis - Correct Answer
What is the fundamental energy balance for Earth?
shortwave radiation in = infrared radiation out - Correct Answer
The process by which water changes state from a solid to a gas is _______.
sublimation - Correct Answer
What is the term for the general downward motion of air?
subsidence - Correct Answer
Cooling degree-day
subtract 65 from the daily mean temperature
June 21st in the Northern Hemisphere is known as the _________.
summer solstice - Correct Answer
You go camping in Canada with a friend. You both go to bed when the Sun goes down and get up when the Sun comes up, but you both notice that you are not getting enough sleep! What time of year are you most likely near?
summer solstice - Correct Answer
The amount of temperature change per unit distance is the ________.
temperature gradient - Correct Answer
Growing degree-day
the difference between the daily mean temperature and the minimum temperature required for the crop to grow
Vapor pressure is defined as _________.
the part of the total atmospheric pressure exerted by water vapor - correct answer
When temperature increases, _____.
the saturation vapor pressure increases - correct answer
On maps illustrating the world distribution of temperatures, lines that connect points of equal temperature generally ________.
trend east and west - Correct Answer
Wind chill
uses both wind speed and air temperature to assess sensation on human skin
Heat index
uses relative humidity and air temperature to establish human comfort or discomfort
Which of the following measurements describes the actual amount of water vapor in the air?
vapor pressure, dew-point temperature, and mixing ratio - ? Correct Answer
A poleward-moving ocean current in the Southern Hemisphere will most likely be a ________ current.
warm - Correct Answer
The statement, "The highest temperature ever recorded was 56.7 °C (134 °F) in Death Valley National Park, CA, on July 10, 1913" provides information that can help understand Death Valley's ______.
weather and climate - Correct Answer
The _____ can dictate how you dress on a particular day or whether you take an umbrella with you when you go out; the _____ can dictate the types of clothes you have in your closet and whether your home has an air conditioner, a heater, or both.
weather; climate - Correct Answer
Which of the following natural hazards is not necessarily storm related, but is influenced by weather?
wildfires - Correct Answer
Generally, the warmest months of the year in the Northern Hemisphere are ________.
July and August - Correct Answer
On which day would a location in the Southern Hemisphere experience the FEWEST number of daylight hours?
June 21st - Correct Answer
The zero point of the ________ temperature scale(s) represent(s) the temperature at which all molecular motion is presumed to cease.
Kelvin - Correct Answer
Which of the following statements is correct?
Landmasses have a higher annual temperature range than oceans. - Correct Answer
The basic laws of radiation include which of the following?
Objects that are good absorbers of radiation are also good emitters. - Correct Answer
________ is defined as the fraction of incoming sunlight that is reflected back to space.
Planetary albedo - Correct Answer
Which of the following locations has the largest annual temperature range?
Siberia - Correct Answer
_______ is a measure of the average kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules in a substance.
Temperature - Correct Answer
Miami, FL recorded the following: High temperature: 32 °C Low temperature: 20 °C What is the daily temperature range?
12 °C - Correct Answer
When is the warmest part of a typical day?
3 PM - Correct Answer
Suppose Earth's albedo is measured to be 30 percent. This means that _______.
30 percent of the Sun's energy is reflected. - Correct Answer
What is the daily mean temperature of a place that accumulates eight heating degree-days?
57°F - Correct Answer
If the daily maximum temperature is 84 degrees Fahrenheit, and the daily minimum temperature is 68 degrees Fahrenheit, then the daily mean temperature would be ________.
76 - Correct Answer
Which of the following lists the order of events in a typical scientific investigation?
Ask a question. Propose a tentative explanation. Make observations and conduct experiments to test the tentative explanation. Share results with the community. - Correct Answer
_____________ is the transfer of energy into or out of an object due to temperature differences between that object and its surroundings.
Heat - Correct Answer
:________ is the general term used to describe the amount of water vapor in the air.
Humidity - Correct Answer
Which of the following statements about dew-point temperature is true?
The dew-point temperature is equal to air temperature in a cloud. - Correct Answer
On the world temperature map for January (like Figure 3.18), notice that the west coast of the United States is warmer than the east coast if you look along the same latitude line. What is the best explanation for this?
The wind blows from west to east. - Correct Answer HINT: The wind is coming off of the ocean on the west coast and is blowing out to sea on the east coast. The ocean moderates the temperature more on the west coast than it does on the east coast.
In which of the following situations is the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere the highest?
This cannot be determined without knowing the temperature. - Correct Answer
All objects with a temperature above absolute zero emit radiation.
True
Cloud cover moderates the daily temperature range by reflecting incoming solar radiation during the day and absorbing longwave radiation from Earth at night.
True
If the air temperature in the troposphere is decreasing by 5°C per 1000 meters, then the atmosphere is most likely stable.
True
The continuous exchange of water among the oceans, the atmosphere, and the continents is referred to as the hydrologic cycle.
True
The energy absorbed or released during a change of state of water is called latent heat.
True
Thermometers measure temperature either mechanically or electrically.
True
Water vapor is a greenhouse gas.
True
As altitude increases, how do average monthly temperatures change?
Winter temperatures decrease. - Correct Answer