Exam 2

Question 1

the most adiabatic lapse rate is ___ per 1000 meters and the dry adiabatic lapse rate is ___ per 1000 meters

Answer 1

6 degree C, 10 degree C

Question 2

If city 1 and city 2 are at the same elevation and have the same air pressure at the surface, then what could cause the height of an air column above city 1 to be smaller than the height of the an air column above city 2?

Answer 2

warm air takes up more volume and is less dense

Question 3

what type of atmosphere would you have if there was an inversion?

Answer 3

absolutely stable

Question 4

an area of high pressure is called an ___ and an area of low pressure is called a ___

Answer 4

anticyclone, cyclone

Question 5

if a weather ballon measures a cooling of 8 deg over 1 km the atmosphere is considered ?

Answer 5

conditionally unstable

Question 6

if a weather ballon measures a cooling of 11 deg over 1 km the atmosphere is considered ?

Answer 6

absolutely unstable

Question 7

if a weather ballon measures a cooling of 4 deg over 1 km the atmosphere is considered ?

Answer 7

absolutely stable

Question 8

if air is cooler than its surroundings, it will (rise or sink) which is considered a (stable or unstable) atmosphere

Answer 8

sink, stable

Question 9

when you launch a weather balloon it is measuring the ____ lapse rate

Answer 9

environment

Question 10

a high cloud that has a puffy appearance is called

Answer 10

cirri-cumulus

Question 11

a mesoscale system is typically around this size

Answer 11

a few km to 100 km

Question 12

___ causes a pressure gradient to form

Answer 12

unequal heating

Question 13

the scales of atmospheric motion in order from smallest scale to largest scale with an example of each

Answer 13

1. microscale: eddy
2. mesoscale: thunderstorms
3. synoptic scale: high and low pressure areas
4. planetary scale: long waves (global)

Question 14

a typical storm system over the U.S. is a ___ scale

Answer 14

synoptic

Question 15

rain is considered drizzle when it is less than ___ mm

Answer 15

0.5

Question 16

Coriolis force acts to the ___ of air motion in the northern hemisphere

Answer 16

right

Question 17

____ unstable atmospheres are rare a typically occur over deserts during the daytime

Answer 17

absolutely

Question 18

could that have rain falling from them are called

Answer 18

nimbostratus

Question 19

the polar jet stream is ___ than the subtropical jet stream

Answer 19

stronger

Question 20

the ice-crystal prices is also called the?

Answer 20

Bergeron process

Question 21

a conditionally unstable atmosphere, the environmental lapse rate is __ then dry adiabatic lapse rate

Answer 21

less

Question 22

___ is the warm precipitation process and ____ is the cold precipitation process

Answer 22

collision/coalescence, ice crystal

Question 23

what are the mechanisms for cloud development

Answer 23

convection, lifting along topography, convergence of air, and lifting along weather front

Question 24

what are the cells in the three cell model

Answer 24

Hadley, ferrel, and polar

Question 25

the ____ is the line of storms across the globe that are responsible for most hurricanes

Answer 25

intertropical convergence

Question 26

___ and the ___ are the two jet streams in the northern hemisphere

Answer 26

polar, subtropical

Question 27

___ is the abnormal warming of the equatorial pacific waters

Answer 27

El Nino

Question 28

___ is the abnormal cooling of those same waters

Answer 28

La nina

Question 29

___ occurs above a surface low and ___ occurs above a surface high

Answer 29

divergence, convergence

Question 30

how does the wind blow start to blow in our atmosphere?

Answer 30

differences in pressure and temperature. ar will try to move from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure

• newtons law of motion: changes in the motion of the air or and depend on the focus acting on the wind
• pressure gradient force is directed from high pressure to low pressure causing the air to move

Question 31

describe the process of air heating up by simply rising on one side of a mountain range and descending on the other side

Answer 31

a wind is so warm and dry it melts the snow and picks up moisture, the heat is due to compressional heating as the air gets to higher pressure at lower elevations down the slope