Meteorology Exam Brief Questions

Question 1

Where can half of the water vapour in the atmosphere be found?

Answer 1

Below 6,500ft

Question 2

What are the heights of the tropopause?

Answer 2

At the equator - approx. 60,000ft

At the poles - approx. 25,000ft

Question 3

What is ISA?

Answer 3

International Standard Atmosphere

Dry air
Mean sea level temperature - 15°C
Mean sea level pressure - 1013.25 hPa
Lapse rate of 1.98°C per 1,000ft

Question 4

Which part of the atmosphere is most important to aviation?

Answer 4

Troposphere

Question 5

What is the change called from: water vapour to ice crystals?

Answer 5

Deposition

Question 6

What is the change called from: water vapour to water droplets?

Answer 6

Condensation

Question 7

What is the change called from: ice crystals to water vapour?

Answer 7

Sublimation

Question 8

What is the change called from: liquid water to water vapour?

Answer 8

Evaporation

Question 9

Name the 3 ways that heat is transferred through the atmosphere

Answer 9

Radiation
Conduction
Convection

Question 10

What is the relationship between the temperature and the amount of water an air mass can hold?

Answer 10

The higher the temperature of an air mass the more water it can hold

Question 11

What is the force that is generated by the rotation of the earth called?

Answer 11

The Coriolis Effect

Question 12

What are the processes associated with latent heat?

Answer 12

Latent heat released:

• condensation
• deposition
• freezing

Latent heat absorbed

• evaporation
• melting
• sublimation

Question 13

Define saturation

Answer 13

An air mass is saturated when it contains the maximum amount of water that it can hold at a given temperature

Question 14

Define dew point

Answer 14

The temperature at which the air would become saturated

Question 15

Define relative humidity

Answer 15

The ration between the actual water content of the air and amount of water vapour which could be held in the air mass at that temperature expressed as a percentage

Question 16

Name the two processes by which precipitation is formed

Answer 16

Coalescence and deposition

Question 17

What are the dry and saturated adiabatic lapse rates?

Answer 17

DALR - 3.0°C per 1,000ft

SALR - 1.5°C per 1,000ft

Question 18

What does the Coriolis Effect affect in the northern and southern hemispheres?

Answer 18

The Coriolis Effect influences the direction of wind flow.
Southern hemisphere - wind turns to the left
Northern hemisphere - wind turns to the right
This accounts for the direction of wind around high pressure systems

Question 19

What is an isobar?

Answer 19

A line of equal pressure

Question 20

What are the main types of inversions?

Answer 20

Radiation
Turbulence
Subsidence
Frontal

Question 21

What are the forces which affect wind strength and direction?

Answer 21

Pressure gradient
Friction
Coriolis Effect

Question 22

Where is friction the greatest influence on wind?

Answer 22

Over land, close to the ground

Question 23

What conditions must exist for frost or dew to form overnight?

Answer 23

Clear skies
Low temperatures
Light winds

For frost - temperatures below 0°C

Question 24

What is an air mass?

Answer 24

An air mass is a large body of air with generally uniform temperature and pressure

They form in their source regions (areas where they pick up the properties of the surface)

Question 25

What are a sea breeze and a land breeze?

Answer 25

Sea breeze - develop by day as the land warms faster than the sea and thus rises creating a breeze from the sea towards the land

Land breeze - the opposite; develop at later hours (and overnight) when the land cools much faster than the sea and thus the air sinks and creates a breeze toward the sea

Question 26

What turbulence is commonly associated with Jet Streams?

Answer 26

Clear air turbulence

Question 27

What lifting agents cause clouds to form?

Answer 27

Frontal Lifting
Orographic lifting
Turbulence
Convection

Question 28

At the passage of a cold front, what would you expect to observe with respect to temperature, visibility, pressure and wind?

Answer 28

Vis - poor
QNH - arrest or fall
Temperature - Decrease
Wind - Sudden backing at a steady strength

Question 29

List a number of weather events that would influence visibility

Answer 29

Rain
Fog
Mist
Smoke
Haze
Dust
Ash
Snow
Sand

Question 30

What is the difference between mist and fog?

Answer 30

Fog is reported when visibility is less than 1000m

Mist is reported when visibility is between 1000m and 5000m

Question 31

What are the ideal conditions for radiation fog?

Answer 31

Clear night
Moist air
Light wind
Long night

Question 32

Name the different types of turbulence

Answer 32

Clear air turbulence
Mechanical
Thermal
Frontal
Wind shear
Wake

Question 33

What are the 3 requirements for the formation of a thunderstorm?

Answer 33

Unstable air
Moisture
Lifting agent (trigger)

Question 34

What are the different types of icing?

Answer 34

Clear ice
Rime ice
Freezing rain
Snow and ice crystals

Question 35

What are the stages of a thunderstorm?

Answer 35

Towering cumulus
Mature
Dissipation

Question 36

What are the types of clouds and their stratum?

Answer 36

Low - Surface
SFC - 6,500ft

Middle - Alto
6,500ft - 20,000

High - Cirrus
20,000ft and above

Question 37

What would a pilot encounter in stable conditions?

Answer 37

Low vis
Steady precipitation
Stratiform clouds
Steady winds
Smooth flying conditions

Question 38

What would a pilot encounter in unstable conditions?

Answer 38

Good vis
Showers of precipitation
Cumuliform clouds
Gusty winds
Turbulence

Question 39

Difference between forecast and observed

Answer 39

A forecast is a scientific estimate of the future weather conditions whereas observed weather is reported at a given time based on the current weather