Atmospheric Processes
Final Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Atmospheric Processes explores the fundamental physical and chemical mechanisms that drive the behavior of Earths atmosphere. The course covers topics such as the structure and composition of the atmosphere, energy balance, radiation, cloud formation, precipitation, atmospheric circulation, weather systems, and interactions between the atmosphere and other earth systems. By understanding these processes, students gain insight into weather prediction, climate dynamics, and the environmental impacts of human activity.
Recommended Textbook Meteorology Today 11th Edition by C. Donald Ahrens
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Chapter 1: Earth and Its Atmosphere
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Q1) Meteorology is the study of
A)landforms.
B)the oceans.
C)the atmosphere.
D)outer space.
E)extraterrestrial meteoroids that enter the atmosphere.
Answer: C
Q2) The ozone hole is an actual hole in the atmosphere,a region of complete vacuum.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) The temperature of the tropopause
A)is close to the temperature at Earth's surface.
B)is much colder than the temperature at Earth's surface.
C)has never been measured.
D)is much warmer than the temperature at Earth's surface.
E)is nearly the same as the sun's temperature.
Answer: B
Q4) The atmosphere protects inhabitants at Earth's ____________________.
Answer: surface
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Chapter 2: Energy - Warming the Earth and the Atmosphere
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Q1) In the Northern Hemisphere,we call the green-yellow light show observed in the sky the ____________________;its counterpart in the Southern Hemisphere is the ____________________.
Answer: aurora borealis;aurora australis northern lights;southern lights
Q2) How do red and blue light differ?
A)Blue light has a higher speed of propagation.
B)The wavelength of red light is longer.
C)Red light has a higher intensity.
D)Red and blue light have different directions of propagation.
E)The wavelength of blue light is longer.
Answer: B
Q3) The total amount of energy stored in an object is called
A)potential energy
B)kinetic energy.
C)heat.
D)temperature
E)pressure
Answer: A
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Chapter 3: Seasonal and Daily Temperatures
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Q1) On a warm summer day,one city experienced a daily range of 22°C (40°F),while another had a daily range of 10°C (18°F).One of these cities is located in New Jersey and the other in New Mexico.The highest daily range probably occurred in ____________________ where relatively dry summer air allows for large daily temperature ranges.The lowest daily range more than likely occurred in ____________________ where the humid summer air keeps the daily temperature range small.
Answer: New Mexico;New Jersey
Q2) In the Northern Hemisphere,south-facing mountain slopes normally have a smaller diurnal range in temperature than north-facing slopes.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) If two cities have the same mean annual temperature,it means that their temperatures throughout the year are always similar.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 4: Atmospheric Humidity
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Q1) Which of the following always decreases in a rising parcel of air?
A)relative humidity
B)absolute humidity
C)specific humidity
D)mixing ratio
E)dew point
Q2) Saturation is more likely to occur in cool air than in warm air.
A)True
B)False
Q3) An enterprising travel agent trying to sell you a summer vacation package to Phoenix,Arizona,claims that the summertime relative humidity is above 90 percent.Can this be true? Explain.
Q4) The ____ determines the amount of water vapor in the air by measuring the air's actual water vapor pressure.
A)aspirated psychrometer
B)hair hygrometer
C)sling psychrometer
D)dew-point hygrometer
E)dew cell
Q5) Why is perspiration an effective means of cooling human skin?
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Chapter 5: Condensation Dew Fog and Clouds
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Q1) To a weather forecaster a clear sky is one where no clouds are present.When there are between ____ and ____ clouds covering the sky,there are a few clouds present. A)one-eighth;two-eighth B)two-eighth;three-eighth C)three-eighth;four-eighth D)four-eighth;five-eighth E)five-eighth;six-eighth
Q2) In hazy conditions,distant objects are usually more visible in the afternoon than in the morning,even when the concentration of particles in the air has not changed. A)True B)False
Q3) The process of water vapor changing directly to ice without becoming a liquid first is called ____________________.
Q4) Suppose the sky is covered with stratus clouds.How might you determine whether middle or high clouds are also present?
Q5) Under what conditions can a cloud form when air is sinking?
Q6) Explain how dew,frozen dew,and visible frost form.
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Chapter 6: Stability and Cloud Development
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Q1) If rising air cools to its dew-point temperature,the relative humidity becomes ____.
A)20%
B)40%
C)60%
D)80%
E)100%
Q2) What transfers heat upward into the atmosphere?
A)cloud streets
B)billows
C)thermals
D)subsidence inversions
E)pockets of saturated air
Q3) The potential instability brought about by the lifting of a stable layer whose surface is humid and whose top is "dry" is called ____________________.
Q4) The temperature of rising air at a given level inside a cumulus cloud is normally warmer than the air around the cloud.
A)True
B)False
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Precipitation
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Q1) During cloud seeding,dry ice is much easier to handle than silver iodide,because it can be supplied to the cloud from burners located either on the ground or on the wing of a small aircraft.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which is the correct association?
A)snow grains -ice pellet
B)ground blizzard -graupel
C)snow squall -intense snow shower
D)sleet -glaze
E)freezing rain -hail
Q3) Fallstreaks usually ____ before reaching the ground.
A)evaporate
B)condense
C)sublimate
D)deposit
E)perspirate
Q4) Snow accumulation rates may be measured at a single site by using a(n)____________________,a small wooden platform resting near the ground that is cleared off after each measurement.
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Chapter 8: Air Pressure and Winds
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Q1) The pressure gradient force has a direct effect on horizontal wind movements.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Describe how the wind blows around highs and lows aloft and near the surface (a)in the Northern Hemisphere and (b)in the Southern Hemisphere.
Q3) The ____ force is an apparent force created by Earth's rotation.
A)pressure gradient
B)Coriolis
C)centripetal
D)gravitational
E)frictional
Q4) Meridional wind-flow patterns go
A)from either north-to-south or south-to-north.
B)from north-to-south.
C)from south-to-north.
D)from east-to-west.
E)from either east-to-west or west-to-east.
Q5) If Earth did not rotate,the wind would blow directly from regions of ____________________ pressure toward regions of ____________________ pressure.
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Chapter 9: Wind Small Scale and Local Systems
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Q1) During the summer along the coast,a sea breeze is usually strongest and best developed
A)in the afternoon.
B)just after sunrise.
C)just before sunset.
D)just before noon.
E)around midnight.
Q2) A(n)____________________ is an instrument that indicates both wind speed and direction.It consists of a bladed propeller that rotates at a rate proportional to the wind speed.Its streamlined shape and a vertical fin keep the blades facing into the wind.When attached to a recorder,a continuous record of both wind speed and direction is obtained.
Q3) You are hiking on a mountain trail at sunrise when you smell the smoke from cooking bacon.You can't see where the smoke is coming from.Would you expect the camp to be above you or below you on the mountain? Explain.
Q4) Wind direction and speed can be determined with an aerovane.
A)True
B)False
Q5) How can winds be observed by satellites?
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Chapter 10: Wind Global Systems
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Q1) In terms of the three-cell model of the general circulation,areas of surface low pressure should be found at
A)the equator and the poles.
B)the equator and 30° latitude.
C)the equator and 60° latitude.
D)30° latitude and 60° latitude.
E)30° latitude and the poles.
Q2) The El Nino event features a(n)____________________ of the typical east-to-west wind flow and ocean currents across the tropical Pacific.In contrast,La Nina features a(n)____________________ of the same east-to-west wind flow and ocean currents.
Q3) How do jet streams form?
Q4) Why is the single cell model of the general circulation not an accurate description of the actual circulation of the atmosphere?
Q5) The Hadley cell is referred to as a(n)____________________ cell because it is driven by energy from the Sun as warm air rises and cold air sinks.
Q6) Explain why summers along the west coast of the United States tend to be dry,whereas along the east coast summers tend to be wet.
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Chapter 11: Air Masses and Fronts
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Q1) The lake effect occurs when a(n)____ air mass moves over a ____ body of water.
A)mT;cold
B)mT;warm
C)cA;cold
D)cP;cold
E)cP;warm
Q2) Occluded fronts may form when
A)a cold front overtakes a warm front.
B)a warm front overtakes a cold front.
C)a cold front overtakes a squall line.
D)overrunning occurs along a warm front.
E)a cold front and warm front collide
Q3) Maritime polar air masses along the East Coast of the United States are usually ____________________ than those along the nation's West Coast.
Q4) ____________________ are not warm fronts or cold fronts,but represent a narrow boundary where there is a steep horizontal change in moisture.
Q5) Why is the formation of air masses associated with high pressure systems rather than low pressure systems?
Q6) An elongated area of low pressure is called a(n)____________________.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Middle Latitude Cyclones
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Q1) In the polar front theory of a developing wave cyclone,energy for the storm is usually derived from an increase in surface winds,rising of warm air and sinking of cold air,and latent heat of condensation.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What type of clouds indicate that a storm is still developing and intensifying?
A)cumulus
B)stratus
C)period
D)semicolon
E)comma
Q3) The polar jet stream removes air above the surface cyclone and supplies air to the surface anticyclone.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In the Southern Hemisphere,convergence and divergence play a role in the development of middle latitude cyclones.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Weather Forecasting
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Q1) The greatest improvement in forecasting skill during the past 30 years has been made in forecasting
A)snowstorms along the eastern seaboard.
B)the development of middle latitude cyclones in the Pacific Ocean.
C)severe storm warnings for hurricanes and tornadoes.
D)the movement of warm and cold fronts.
E)maximum and minimum temperature 6 to 10 days into the future.
Q2) A comma cloud is
A)an organized band of clouds that looks like a comma on a satellite photograph.
B)a large cumulonimbus cloud whose anvil is in the shape of a comma.
C)a high wispy cirrus cloud that takes on the shape of a comma.
D)the spiraling arms of a hurricane.
E)a band of high cirrus clouds blown by the jet stream.
Q3) A forecast of "chance of precipitation" means the probability of precipitation is
A)between 0 and 20 percent.
B)between 30 and 50 percent.
C)between 50 and 60 percent.
D)between 60 and 70 percent.
E)greater than 80 percent.
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Chapter 14: Thunderstorms
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Q1) All thunderstorms require
A)hot air.
B)divergence of the air aloft.
C)lifting along some barrier such as a mountain or front.
D)surface heating.
E)rising air.
Q2) ____________________ are placed on buildings to protect them from lightning damage.
Q3) Distant lightning that is so far away you cannot hear the thunder is called
A)sheet lightning.
B)heat lightning.
C)false lightning.
D)St.Elmo's fire.
E)auroral lightning.
Q4) A sound occasionally mistaken for thunder is the ____________________.
Q5) What is a microburst? Why do microbursts represent a hazard to aviation?
Q6) Describe the relationship between flooding and thunderstorms.
Q7) ____________________ is a discharge of electricity,a giant spark,which usually occurs in mature thunderstorms.
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Q8) Thunderstorms are ____________________ storms that form with rising air.
Chapter 15:Tornadoes
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Q1) Even the most powerful twisters seldom have winds exceeding ____ knots.
A)90
B)125
C)220
D)300
E)410
Q2) Provide an explanation for how a tornado could lift the roof off a building,and why it is not a good idea to open windows of a building during a tornado.
Q3) With the Doppler radar,a radar transmitter sends out ____,and when they strike an object,some are reflected and scattered back to the antenna.
A)microwave pulses
B)laser beams
C)soundwaves
D)ultraviolet lightwaves
E)light beam
Q4) The most severe tornado outbreaks are typically very well predicted.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain what suction vortices are.
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Chapter 16: Hurricanes
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Q1) The vertical structure of the hurricane shows an upper-level ____ of air,and a surface ____ of air.
A)outflow;inflow
B)stagnation;outflow
C)inflow;outflow
D)inflow;inflow
E)stagnation;inflow
Q2) Initially,the mass of thunderstorms with only a slight wind circulation is known as a(n)____________________,or tropical wave.It becomes a(n)____________________ when the winds increase to between 20 and 34 knots and several closed isobars appear about its center on a surface weather map.When the isobars are packed together and the winds are between 35 and 64 knots,it further develops into a(n)____________________.The latter is classified as a(n)____________________ only when its winds exceed 64 knots (74 mi/hr).
Q3) As it is warm all year long in the tropics,the weather is not characterized by four seasons which,for the most part,are determined by temperature variations.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What is a storm surge? How does a storm surge form?
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Chapter 17: Earths Changing Climate
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Q1) In which of Köppen's climatic types are the average temperatures of the coldest month below 18°C (64°F)and above -3°C (27°F)?
A)tropical moist climates
B)dry climates
C)moist mid-latitude climates with mild winters
D)moist mid-latitude climates with severe winters
E)polar climates
Q2) In spite of the long hours of daylight in polar regions,why are summers are quite cool?
Q3) During much of the year,____ climates are characterized by low clouds,fog,and drizzle.
A)marine
B)tropical wet
C)tropical wet-and-dry
D)Mediterranean
E)highland
Q4) A widely used classification of world climates based on the annual and monthly averages of temperature and precipitation is called the ____________________ classification system.
Q5) Discuss the general winter and summer precipitation patterns of polar regions.
Page 19
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Chapter 18: Global Climate
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Q1) Most of the oxygen in sea water is composed of 8 protons and 8 neutrons in its nucleus,giving it an atomic weight of ____________________.
Q2) The use of global-scale technological fixes to counter climate change by either removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere or by changing the amount of sunlight that reaches Earth is called ____.
A)the Kyoto Protocol
B)geoengineering
C)radiative forcing
D)radiative equilibrium
E)plate tectonics
Q3) Thick sheets of ice advanced over North America as far south as New York as recently as ____.
A)1816 ("the year without a summer")
B)1550
C)18,000 to 22,000 years ago
D)1,000 to 2,000 years ago
E)2 million years ago
Q4) How could the modification of the Amazon Rainforest by humans influence climate change?
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Chapter 19: Air Pollution
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Q1) A study conducted in St.Louis,Missouri,showed that precipitation amounts downwind from the city were ____ than ____.
A)less on Mondays;on Fridays
B)greater on weekdays;on weekends
C)greater on weekdays;on weekends
D)greater in spring;in fall
E)less in spring;fall
Q2) In cities,where less vegetation and exposed soil exists,the majority of the Sun's energy is absorbed by urban structures and asphalt,creating an urban heat island.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The original Clean Air Act in the United States was enacted in ____.
A)1946
B)1955
C)1970
D)1977
E)1990
Q4) Strong winds tend to____________________the concentration of pollutants by spreading them apart as they move downstream.
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Chapter 20: Light Color and Atmospheric Optics
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Q1) A ring of light encircling and extending outward from the Sun or Moon is called a(n)____________________.
Q2) A star that is cooler than our Sun radiates most of its energy at slightly longer wavelengths;therefore,it appears ____________________.
Q3) A star much hotter than our Sun radiates more energy at shorter wavelengths and thus appears redder.
A)True
B)False
Q4) When the bright light beams appear to converge toward the part of the horizon opposite from the Sun,the beams of light are called ____________________ rays.
Q5) Atmospheric mirages are created by light passing through and being ____________________ by air layers of different densities.
Q6) When an aircraft flies above a cloud layer composed of water droplets less than 50 µm in diameter,a set of colored rings,called the ____________________,may appear around the shadow of the aircraft.
Q7) When might you be able to see a halo around your head,and what would cause this?
Q8) Compare a corona of the moon to dropping a small stone into a pond.
Page 22
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