PLEASE NOTE: The following questions are examples of the types of questions I ask in this course. As the course changes slightly each semester, not every question may be appropriate for the material covered this year. The questions are best used to acquaint you with my "style" of test questions and only secondarily as a test review
1: T F The sun never appears directly overhead at any point poleward
of
ten degrees latitude
2: At noon on about March 21 the sun is directly over which
latitude?
A: 90 deg S
B: 23.5 deg. N
C: equator
D: 23.5 deg. S
E: 60 deg. S
3: December 22 is the
A: date of the vernal equinox
B: date of the winter solstice
C: date of perihelion
D: date of aphelion
4: Which of the following is the main reason for the disparity
between summer and winter in the amount of solar radiation
received at the top of the atmosphere in polar regions?
A: elliptical orbit of the earth
B: variation in the solar constant
C: tilt of the earth's axis
D: atmospheric transparency
5: On our about March 21, which of the below locations experiences
the longest period of daylight?
A: north pole
B: equator
C: 23.5 deg. S
D: all of the previous receive the same amount
6: On or about December 21
A: the sun shines for 24 hours per day at the North Pole
B: the highest solar altitudes are found in the northern hemisphere
C: the southern hemisphere, on average has longer periods of
daylight than the northern hemisphere
D: the period of daylight at Omaha is 15 hours
E: none of the above are true
7: T F Seasonal variations in air temperature are primarily caused
by
variations in the distance between the earth and the sun
8: T F When the solar declination is 0 degrees, solar radiation
in the
northern hemisphere is equal to that received in the southern
hemisphere
9: On which date does the southern hemisphere receive maximum
solar
energy in respect to the northern hemisphere?
A: June 21
B: spring equinox
C: fall equinox
D: December 21
E: April 1
10 To vaporize five grams of liquid water at 0 deg. C
A: 80 calories of sensible heat are required
B: 600 calories of latent heat are required
C: 3000 calories of sensible heat are required
D: 8000 calories of sensible heat are required
E: no energy at all is required
F: energy is required but neither A,B,C, nor D are correct
11: Heat is energy in the process of being transferred from
A: high temperature objects to low temperature objects
B: low pressures to high pressures
C: cold objects to hot objects
D: warm objects to hot objects
E: regions of low density to regions of high density
12: This occurs when a solid turns directly to a gas
A: evaporation
B: sublimation
C: condensation
D: melting
13: This results in the release of about 600 calories of latent
heat
per gram of water (i.e. latent to sensible)
A: evaporation
B: sublimation
C: condensation
D: melting
14: A heat transfer process in the atmosphere that depends upon
the
movement of air is
A: conduction
B: convection
C: absorption
D: reflection
E: radiation
15: Electromagnetic energy with wavelengths just shorter than
visible
light is called ____________.
16: In response to the same input of heat, which one of the following
substances exhibits the smallest rise in temperature? (assume
equal mass)
A: sand
B: water
C: brick
D: rock
17: Which of the following heat transfer processes can take place
in
a vacuum?
A: conduction
B: convection
C: radiation
D: none of previous
18: The change of state from liquid to gas
A: evaporation
B: sublimation
C: condensation
D: melting
E: perihelion
F: none of prev.
19: T F Systems have the remarkable trait of always returning
to their
original state after they have been disturbed
20 :Which of the following is related to solar energy?
A: earthquake
B: baby playing with its feet
C: radioactive decay
D: volcano
21: If the mean temperature of the sun increased, the wavelength
of
maximum solar emission would
A: shift to shorter wavelengths
B: shift to longer wavelengths
C: remain the same
D: impossible to determine from the information given
22: T F A thermometer will read (indicate) a higher temperature
in the
direct sunlight than in the shade of nearby trees because the
air
in the sunlight is actually warmer than is the air in the shade.
23: T F Sensible heat can be transferred into the atmosphere by
conduction and convection
24: On average about what percent of the solar energy that strikes
the outer atmosphere eventually reaches the surface of the earth
A: 5%
B: 25%
C: 50%
D: 80%
25: In a humid midlatitude environment during the summer
A: 80% of the net radiation is conducted into the soil
B: the radiation balance is negative at night under clear sky
conditions
C: 70% of the net radiation is transferred into the atmosphere
as
sensible heat
D: none of the above are true
26: Suppose last night was clear and calm. Tonight low clouds
will be
present. From this you would conclude that tonight's minimum
temperature will be
A: higher than last night's minimum temperature
B: lower than last night's minimum temperature
C: the same as last night's minimum temperature
27: Longwave radiation
A: refers to the total solar radiation spectrum
B: is the spectrum of earth radiation
C: is mostly in the visible light range
D: takes place only when the sun is shining
28: Most longwave radiation emitted by the earth
A: passes through the atmosphere directly to space
B: is primarily absorbed by oxygen in the atmosphere
C: is absorbed by the atmosphere and reradiated back to earth
D: is reflected off of clouds
29: In most deserts there is characteristically
A: not much temperature change from midnight to noon
B: a high relative humidity
C: an absence of wind movement
D: heavy rainfall for at least four months of the year
E: considerable fluctuation of temperature from night to day
30: On average the energy balance of the atmosphere is
A: positive
B: negative
C: neutral
31: On average the radiation balance of the surface of the earth
is
A: positive
B: negative
C: neutral
D: positive in winter and negative in summer
32: Stefan's Law
A: deals with radiation emission of black bodies
B: deals with gray bodies only
C: is the same as the Wien Displacement Law
D: applies to hot objects only
33: If the amount of energy lost by the earth to space each year
were
not approximately equal to that received
A: the earth's mean temperature would change
B: the earth would explode
C: Mother nature would become very upset
D: the sun would have to either increase or decrease energy output
E: the mass of the atmosphere would change in the opposite direction
34: The tropopause is marked by
A: a cloud layer
B: an increase in atmospheric pressure
C: a sharp drop in temperature
D: isothermal conditions (i.e. no change in temperature with
increase in altitude)
35: What is ozone and why is it important to life on earth?
36: A gas that occurs in minute concentrations in the atmosphere
and
yet shields living organisms from exposure to potentially lethal
intensities of solar ultraviolet radiation is
A: oxygen
B: ozone
C: carbon dioxide
D: nitrogen
37: Water vapor is
A: an invisible gas
B: uniformly distributed within the atmosphere
C: concentrated within the lower stratosphere
D: visible as clouds
E: none of the previous is correct
38: T F A falling pressure is often a good indication of stormy
weather
39: Pressure decreases with altitude in the
A: stratosphere
B: mesosphere
C: troposphere
D: all of the previous
E: a and b only
40: Atmospheric pressure:
A: is usually highest near a storm center
B: is nonexistent at the top of Mt. Everest
C: is greater on mountain tops than in valleys
D: is likely to be highest at sea level
41: Standard atmospheric pressure at sea level in millibars
A: 29.92
B: 760
C: 1013.25
D: 14.7
42: In the troposphere, air temperatures_____with increasing altitude
A: always increase
B: always decrease
C: usually increase
D: usually decrease
E: do not change
43: As we ascend within the troposphere
A: air pressure increases
B: water vapor content increases
C: wind speeds decrease
D: air density increases
E: none of the previous is correct
44: At what altitude is atmospheric pressure approximately half
of
that at sea level?
A: .1 km
B: 1 km
C: 5 km
D: 15 km
45: The polar front
A: is a zone of surface divergence
B: is stronger and better defined in winter
C: is associated with the subtropical jet stream
D: is not associated with Rossby Waves
46: A strong wind system produced near the polar front is the
A: polar westerlies
B: jet stream
C: cyclonic shear
D: trade winds
47: The geostrophic wind results from a balance between which
forces?
A: frictional force and centripetal force
B: pressure gradient,centripetal and coriolis forces
C: gravity and pressure gradient force
D: pressure gradient and coriolis force
48: The coriolis effect is most influential"
A: on the direction of wind flow
B: on the velocity of wind flow
C: on pressure variation with height
D: where there is a temperature inversion
E: in the deeper parts of the ocean
49: Trade winds in the northern hemisphere
A: are characteristically violent
B: always blow away from the equator
C: are more pronounced over land than water
D: are very steady winds
E: are mostly found in the mid latitudes
50: The Westerlies
A: are found only in the northern hemisphere
B: are generated by the ITCZ
C: blow from the east
D: are associated with Rossby Waves
51: In atmospheric motion the coriolis force is associated with
A: the rotation of the earth
B: air temperature
C: revolution of the earth about the sun
D: the tilt of the earth's axis
52: A zone of westerly winds on the earth extends from about
A: 0 deg. N to 30 deg. N. in the northern hemisphere only
B: 30 to 60 degrees in both hemispheres
C: 60 to 90 degrees in both hemispheres
D: 20 to 70 degrees in both hemispheres
53: In the northern hemisphere winds in a low pressure area near
the
surface spiral _______ and _______
A: clockwise and inward
B: counterclockwise and inward
C: clockwise and outward
D: counterclockwise and outward
54: Lines connecting points of equal pressure are known as ________.
55: An area of high pressure is defined as an area where the
A: pressure is greater than 1013.25 mb
B: pressure increases as you move away from the center
C: pressure is greatest at the center and decreases as you move
away
from the center
D: all of the above
56: The air mass type that forms over the Gulf of Mexico is known
as
_________ _________air.
57: A cyclone is most likely to develop on the _____side of an
upper
air trough
A: eastern
B: western
C: eastern in the southern hemisphere only
58:
As a warm front approaches an area, clouds appear in which one
of
the following sequences?
A: cirrus, altostratus, cirrocumulus
B: cumulus, stratus, cirrus
C: cirrus, altostratus, nimbostratus
D: cirrocumulus, stratocumulus, altostratus
59: The cloud and precipitation shield associated with a cold
front
is typically _______ than the cloud and precipitation shield
associated with a warm front
A: wider
B: narrower
60: A cyclone is said to be occluded when
A: the pressure drops by more than 8 millibars
B: there is no significant rainfall
C: the pressure drops by more than 25 millibars
D: the warm sector is lifted above the surface by the two cold
sectors
61: Which of the following is true of the life cyclone of a mid
latitude cyclone?
A: in general, the warm front moves more rapidly than the cold
front
B: occluded fronts develop early in the life of the cyclone
C: a favored area of development for a mid latitude cyclone is
off
the coast of southern California
D: none of the above is correct
62: A warm front is associated with
A: more thunderstorms than the cold front
B: a wind shift from southwest to northwest as the front passes
C: a wind shift from east to south as the front passes
D: a drop in the dew point temperature
E: none of the previous
63: Mid latitude cyclonic storms
A: develop in areas of air mass divergence
B: have no association with the jet stream
C: are important in maintaining the earth's energy balance
D: usually have warm fronts steeper than cold fronts
E: occur mainly in summer
64: In the northern hemisphere currents move
A: counterclockwise
B: equatorward only
C: clockwise
D: poleward only
E: the same way the earth rotates
65: Which of the following is true of warm ocean currents in the
mid
latitudes?
A: they are generally found along east coasts of continents
B: they are generally found along west coasts of continents
C: they are found along east coast in the northern hemisphere
and
west coasts in the southern
D: they are found along west coasts in the northern hemisphere
and
east coasts in the southern
66: Water vapor condenses at the ______ _______
67: Condensation nuclei are important in the atmosphere because
A: they provide most of the minerals found in water
B: without them, condensation would not occur naturally in the
atmosphere
C: they are the sole producers of smog
D: they filter out sunlight
E: they are high energy particles that warm the air
F: they are high energy particles that cool the air
68: A rainshadow
A: lies on the windward side of a mountain range
B: is produced by a rising mass of moist air
C: is a dry zone where air is subsiding
D: has dense clouds most of the time
69: Thunder and lightening are associated with this cloud
A: cirrostratus
B: nimbostratus
C: cirrus
D: cumulonimbus
E: stratocumulus
70: The cloud form that is best described as sheets or layers
that
cover much or all of the sky at low levels
A: cumulus
B: cirrus
C: cirrostratus
D: altostratus
E: stratus
F: mackeral sky
71: The dew point is the temperature at which
A: water in the liquid state changes to vapor
B: hailstones are formed
C: water vapor condenses to liquid
D: cumulus clouds change to cumulonimbus clouds
E: none of the previous
72: At what time of day would the relative humidity be highest?
A: sunset
B: sunrise
C: midnight
D: noon
73: Bergeron Process
A: method of fog formation over coastal waters
B: related to Wien Displacement Law
C: based on the different saturation vapor pressures of water
and
ice at the same temperature
D: based on the presence of giant condensation nuclei
74: Inversion refers to
A: a measured temperature increase with altitude
B: a measured pressure increase with height
C: a measured density increase with altitude
D: a polluted atmosphere
E: a dislike to the weather in a particular region
75: When the environmental lapse rate is higher than the dry
adiabatic lapse rate
A: the air is stable
B: the air is unstable
C: the air is conditionally unstable
D: an inversion exists
E: air becomes unstable only if condensation occurs