Final exam

Question 1

Occluded front

Answer 1

Cold front overtakes warm front likely bringing rain or snow

Question 2

Dry line

Answer 2

a boundary between wet and dry air masses, no temperature difference, often triggers the formation of thunderstorms because the dry air has a lower density than the wet air

Question 3

Cold front

Answer 3

Cold, dense air mass pushes under a warm, lighter air mass, forcing the warm air to rise; often causes rain and thunderstorms

Question 4

stationary front

Answer 4

when a cold air mass and a warm air mass collide but neither overtakes the other

Question 5

warm front

Answer 5

A warm air mass replacing a cool air mass; warm air masses often accumulate moisture, bringing rain

Question 6

Thunderstorms are most often associated with

Answer 6

Cold fronts and dry lines

Question 7

What are the three stages of an air mass thunderstorm?

Answer 7

1. cumulus
2. mature
3. dissipating

Question 8

What is an MCC

Answer 8

A Mesoscale Convective Complex; a large, circular, long lived cluster of showers and thunderstorms typically lasting 8-10 hours

Question 9

Squall line

Answer 9

line of thunderstorms forming along or ahead of a cold front

Question 10

tornado

Answer 10

A violently rotating column of air touching the ground, usually attached to the base of a thunderstorm that form in contrasting air masses with wind speeds of up to 300mph

Question 11

Hurricane

Answer 11

Counter clockwise, low pressure system that form from updrafts of rising warm air in maritime tropic air masses with wind speeds of up to 74mph

Question 12

The eye of a hurricane has no clouds because of

Answer 12

sinking cold air

Question 13

where are the strongest winds in a hurricane located?

Answer 13

the eye wall

Question 14

Hurricanes dissipate when they

Answer 14

move over land

Question 15

Hurricanes only form when the water temperature is

Answer 15

over 80 degrees

Question 16

Hurricanes rarely form between 5 south and 5 north latitude because

Answer 16

the Coriolis effect is too weak, the coriolis effect makes the hurricane rotate

Question 17

The main difference between tropical depressions and tropical disturbances is

Answer 17

rotation

Question 18

The hurricane storm surge is caused by

Answer 18

pushing outward of water away from the eye by winds blowing away from the center

Question 19

The name of the US government agency in charge of weather and climate forecasts is

Answer 19

National weather service

Question 20

Organization responsible for the international exchange of weather data

Answer 20

World meteorological organization (WMO)

Question 21

convergence

Answer 21

a location where airflows or ocean currents meet, characteristically marked by upwelling of air or downwelling of water

Question 22

divergence

Answer 22

Stronger wind moves away from a weaker wind or air streams move in opposite directions, when it occurs in the upper levels of the atmosphere it leads to rising air

Question 23

Koppen classification “A” represents

Answer 23

Humid tropical

Question 24

Koppen classification “B” represents

Answer 24

dry climates

Question 25

Koppen classification "C" represents

Answer 25

humid midlatitude, mild winters

Question 26

Koppen classification "D" represents

Answer 26

Humid midlatitude, severe winters

Question 27

Koppen classification "E" represents

Answer 27

Polar

Question 28

The greenhouse effect

Answer 28

certain gasses in the atmosphere absorb longwave radiation and heat the surrounding air

Question 29

The current level of CO2 in the atmosphere is about

Answer 29

400ppm

Question 30

layers of the atmosphere

Answer 30

1. Troposphere 2. Stratosphere 3. Mesosphere 4. Thermosphere 5. Exosphere

Question 31

What layer of the atmosphere is the ozone layer found in

Answer 31

stratosphere

Question 32

What is heat

Answer 32

Heat is a transfer of energy from areas with high temperatures to areas with low temperatures

Question 33

The primary cause of seasons is

Answer 33

The tilt of the earth's rotation axis

Question 34

Convection

Answer 34

the movement of particles through a substance, transporting their heat energy from hotter areas to cooler areas

Question 35

Albedo

Answer 35

reflection of the sun's radiation off of snow

Question 36

Most of earth's radiation is emitted in the form of

Answer 36

infrared

Question 37

Isotherm

Answer 37

Map connecting all the places with the same temperature

Question 38

adiabatic cooling

Answer 38

As the altitude increases, atmospheric pressure decreases, causing the air to expand. As the air expands, the temperature decreases

Question 39

Frontal wedging

Answer 39

When a warm air mass and cold air mass collide (same process as a warm front)

Question 40

Clouds are formed by water vapor and

Answer 40

condensation nuclei

Question 41

Clouds and precipitation most form because of

Answer 41

air being cooled as it rises through adiabatic cooling

Question 42

Condensation

Answer 42

the formation of a cloud droplet by water vapor collecting around a nuclei

Question 43

Clouds are classified according to

Answer 43

their form or appearance

Question 44

clouds that appear high in the atmosphere (20,000ft or 6000m)

Answer 44

alto

Question 45

Clouds with extensive vertical dimentions

Answer 45

Cumulus

Question 46

A cloud that is best described as a sheet or layers that cover most of the sky

Answer 46

stratus

Question 47

Prefix that indicates precipitation

Answer 47

Nimbo

Question 48

The Bergeron process

Answer 48

explains how ice crystals grow at the expense of liquid cloud droplets within a mixed cloud. The air reaches a saturation and some of the resulting droplets will come in contact with freezing nuclei

Question 49

High and wispy clouds

Answer 49

cirrus

Question 50

Clouds that are full and large but contain no precipitation

Answer 50

congestus

Question 51

Clouds that indicate no rain

Answer 51

humilis

Question 52

The addition of water vapor will cause the air density to

Answer 52

decrease

Question 53

The primary force that causes all winds is

Answer 53

the pressure gradient force

Question 54

cyclone

Answer 54

low pressure system

Question 55

cyclonic airflow is characterized by

Answer 55

divergence aloft and convergence at the surface