Physical Geography 141

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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


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