Exam 2 Questions Flashcards
Which of the following is an example of secondary circulation?
a. migratory high and low pressure systems
b. weather patterns
c. general circulation of the atmosphere
d. mountain-valley breezes
a. migratory high and low pressure systems
Which association is incorrect?
a. Equatorial low - Hot, Dry
b. Polar High - Cold, Dry
c. Subpolar low - 60* N/S
d. Subtropical High - 20-35* N/S
a. Equatorial low - Hot, Dry
Which of the following is not true of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)?
a. Consistent high Sun altitude and day length make large amounts of energy available
b. Warm, moisture-laden air converge along the ITCZ
c. A band of precipitation associated with the ITCZ
d. The ITCZ is stationary throughout the year
d. The ITCZ is stationary throughout the year
Between 20* to 35* north latitude and 20* - 35* south latitude are
a. the largest zone of water surpluses in the world
b. warm and wet conditions, and the world’s largest great tropical forests
c. the world’s arid and semi-arid desert regions
d. cyclonic systems of low pressure
c. the world’s arid and semi-arid desert regions
Which of the following characteristics of global circulation is more relevant to us in Brookings, SD?
a. Trade Winds
b. Westerlies
c. ITCZ
d. Polar Easterlies
b. Westerlies
The Aleutian low and Icelandic low are
a. dominant in the winter and weaken or disappear in the summer
b. dominant in the summer and weaken or disappear in the winter
c. dominant in the spring and fall and weaken or disappear in the summer and winter
d. dominant year-round, but tend to be strongest in the summer
a. dominant in the winter and weaken or disappear in the summer
_____________ are waving undulations that occur along the polar front where colder air meets warmer air
a. Hadley cells
b. Rossby waves
c. The jet stream
d. Monsoons
b. Rossby waves
Rapid winds generated by high pressure in the Great Basin that may bring wildfires to the western U.S. are called
a. jet streams
b. valley winds
c. geostrophic winds
d. Santa Ana Winds
d. Santa Ana Winds
The great circulations in the ocean basins occur around the __________ pressure systems and are known as __________
a. subpolar low; ocean streams
b. subtropical high; ocean streams
c. subpolar low; gyres
d. subtropical high; gyres
d. subtropical high; gyres
________ is a warm ocean current off the east coast of the United States that is formed due to western intensification
a. Labrador Current
b. North Equatorial Current
c. Gulf Stream
d. West Wind Drift
c. Gulf Stream
Which of the following is true of thermohaline circulation?
a. They travel at greater speeds than surface currents
b. They are largely wind driven
c. They are deep currents caused by differences in temperature and salinity
d. Due to their depths, they carry limited volumes of water
c. They are deep currents caused by differences in temperature and salinity
The El Nino-Southern Oscillation
a. occurs every year around Christmas time in the southern Pacific Ocean
b. is a periodic shift of high and low pressure zones over the western and eastern Pacific, respectively, usually occurring every 2 to 12 years
c. is a pattern of sea surface, air pressure, and wind shifts between the northern and tropical western Pacific
d. A north-south fluctuation of high and low pressure zones in the North Atlantic Ocean
b. is a periodic shift of high and low pressure zones over the western and eastern Pacific, respectively, usually occurring every 2 to 12 years
Surface tension and capillarity are the result of
a. hydrogen bonding
b. gravitational attraction
c. magnetic bonding
d. molecular hold
a. hydrogen bonding
In winter, freezing water can break pipes and even crack engine blocks. Why does this happen?
a. Water expands in volume as it freezes
b. Ice is denser than water
c. Water contracts as it cools and freezes
d. It occurs because of the latent heat of fusion
a. Water expands in volume as it freezes
Which of the following phase changes of water is incorrectly matched?
a. Sublimation - energy absorbed
b. Deposition - energy released
c. Evaporation - energy released
d. Melting - energy absorbed
c. Evaporation - energy released
What instrument is used to measure relative humidity?
a. Aneroid barometer
b. Anemometer
c. Sling Psychrometer
d. Thermometer
c. Sling Psychrometer
At saturation, the further addition of water vapor or a decrease in temperature results in
a. condensation
b. evaporation
c. freezing
d. sublimation
a. condensation
In which of the following months wold the relative humidity likely be the highest (assuming a Northern Hemisphere station)
a. January
b. March
c. July
d. September
a. January
An adiabatic process refers to heating and cooling of a parcel of air due to changes in:
a. temperature
b. humidity
c. dew point
d. pressure
d. pressure
When the environmental lapse rate is between the dry and moist adiabatic lapse rates conditions are described as
a. adiabatic
b. stability
c. conditionally unstable
d. unstable
c. conditionally unstable
In a warm cloud, precipitation if formed through __________
a. collision-coalescence
b. Bergeron process
c. droplet reduction
d. adiabatic warming
a. collision-coalescence
A falling snowflake reaches a warm layer in the atmosphere and melts partially. It freezes and it falls and hits you in the head as an ice pellet. What just hit you?
a. hail
b. sleet
c. freezing rain
d. vigra
a. hail
The air mass from the Gulf of Mexico that is most likely to cause air mass thunderstorms in the southeast
mT
An air mass that drives the passing of a cold front in North America and is mostly developed in winter
cP
An air mass that forms over the northern Pacific and impacts the Pacific NW, but not so much interior U.S.
mP
The air mass that causes hot, dry climate in SW U.S. and aligns west of Tornado Alley
cT
When a cold cP air mass passes over the warmer Great Lakes, it absorbs heat energy and moisture and becomes humidified. This is known as
a. continental effect
b. maritime effect
c. humidity effect
d. lake effect
d. lake effect
An atmospheric lifting process that occurs when two opposing winds meet (such as the two tradewinds at the ITCZ) is called:
a. convectional uplift
b. orographic uplift
c. convergent uplift
d. advectional uplift
c. convergent uplift
An atmospheric lifting process that occurs when unequal heating of the surface causes a warmer air parcel to rise is called:
a. convectional uplift
b. orographic uplift
c. convergent uplift
d. advectional uplift
a. convectional uplift
Which of the following is true of the open stage of a midlatitude cyclone in the Northern Hemisphere
a. A disturbance develops along the polar front with warm air converging and rising near the surface
b. The faster moving cold front overtakes the slower warm front and wedges beneath it
c. Warm air moves northward along an advancing front, while cold air advances southward
d. The lifting mechanism is completely cut off from the warm air mass
c. Warm air moves northward along an advancing front, while cold air advances southward
Which one of the following weather map symbols symbolizes an occluded front?
a. (triangles on one side)
b. (bumbs on one side)
c. (alternating triangles and bumbs on alternating sides)
d. (alternating triangles and bumps on the same side)
d. (alternating triangles and bumps on the same side)
Which of the following is true of migrating centers of low pressure in the Northern Hemisphere?
a. The winds diverge from the pressure system and spiral outward in a clockwise fashion
b. These pressure systems tend to move east to west along storm tracks
c. These pressure systems are characterized by converging, ascending air that spirals inward in a counterclockwise fashion
d. They form only a minor weather pattern in the middle and higher latitudes
c. These pressure systems are characterized by converging, ascending air that spirals inward in a counterclockwise fashion
Along with wind speed, the Enhanced Fujita Scale (or Fujita Scale) uses which of the following to rate tornadoes?
a. air pressure
b. property damage
c. cows killed
d. hours of downed internet service
b. property damage
Derechos are
a. named after the latin word for “hooked” or “curved”
b. straight-line winds associated with thunderstorms
c. associated with gravity drainage
d. most common in the pacific northwest of the United States
b. straight-line winds associated with thunderstorms
Which of the following is true of tornadoes in the United States?
a. they occur in every month except March and April
b. the peak month is November
c. the peak month is May
d. the develop within cP air masses
c. the peak month is May
Which best explains the patterns of tropical cyclones around the world?
a. they occur in almost every ocean
b. they only occur in the Pacific Ocean
c. they only occur in the Atlantic Ocean
d. they only occur in the northern hemisphere
a. they occur in almost every ocean
In what part of a hurricane would you find the most intense precipitation?
a. eye
b. rain bands
c. right front quadrant
d. eye wall
d. eye wall
The big, famous collection of marine debris - mostly plastic is formed because of
a. North Pacific Gyre
b. North Atlantic Gyre
c. Gulf Stream current
d. Bermuda High
a. North Pacific Gyre
What was the name of the Category 4 hurricane hitting Florida as we began to examine the Hydrosphere of the earth’s system in class?
a. Wilma
b. Ike
c. Matthew
d. Nancy
c. Matthew
In the TED talk video about how to air-condition outdoor space, which one of the following was NOT a solution to cool down temperature in a stadium during the 2022 Qatar football world cup?
a. increase shading
b. cold water going through the water pipes beneath the ground
c. natural-watered lawn
d. dehumidifier
d. dehumidifier
What type of rare cloud did Nancy witness on the way to Colorado Springs?
a. Anvil cloud
b. Kelvin-Helmholtz cloud
c. Funnel cloud
d. Lenticular cloud
b. Kelvin-Helmholtz cloud
In the BBC video about extreme weather - global climate change, what is the material that scientists suggest to scatter into the sky to absorb the sunlight and thus eventually reduce hurricane occurrences?
a. Aerosols
b. Black Carbon
c. CFCs
d. Dust
b. Black Carbon