Atmospheric Science
Exam Materials
Course Introduction
Atmospheric Science explores the physical and chemical processes that govern Earths atmosphere. Students will study atmospheric composition, structure, and dynamics, including topics such as weather systems, climate change, atmospheric circulation, and the role of human activity in altering atmospheric phenomena. The course integrates foundational concepts from physics, chemistry, and environmental science to give a comprehensive understanding of weather patterns, severe storms, pollution, and forecasting methods, preparing students to analyze and interpret atmospheric data in both local and global contexts.
Recommended Textbook
Meteorology Today An Introduction to Weather Climate and the Environment 2nd Edition by C.
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Earth and Its Atmosphere
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following conditions causes hypoxia?
A)rapid change in atmospheric pressure
B)extreme cold
C)combined effects of heat and humidity
D)lack of oxygen to the brain
Answer: D
Q2) By volume, which of the following are the most abundant gases in the Earth's atmosphere?
A)nitrogen and oxygen
B)carbon dioxide and nitrogen
C)oxygen and water vapour
D)oxygen and helium
Answer: A
Q3) Which of the following processes describes how the aurora is produced?
A)reflection of sunlight by polar ice fields
B)burning oxygen caused by the intense sunlight at high altitude
C)scattering of sunlight in the upper atmosphere
D)collision of fast-moving charged particles with air molecules
Answer: D
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Energy: Warming Earth and the Atmosphere
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following options gives the proper order for the types of radiation, from shortest to longest wavelength?
A)infrared, visible, ultraviolet
B)visible, infrared, ultraviolet
C)visible, ultraviolet, infrared
D)ultraviolet, visible, infrared
Answer: D
Q2) Two objects have the same temperature. Object A feels colder to the touch than object B. Which of the following properties may explain this difference between the two objects?
A)latent heat
B)thermal conductivity
C)specific heat
D)density
Answer: B
Q3) Describe the atmospheric greenhouse effect. Is there any difference between the way the atmospheric greenhouse effect works on a clear night and on a cloudy night?
Answer: Answers may vary.
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4
Chapter 3: Seasonal and Daily Temperatures
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Sample Questions
Q1) On which of the following days at the North Pole will the sun rise above the horizon?
A)June 22
B)December 22
C)March 21
D)September 23
Answer: C
Q2) If you are located at 40°N latitude, on which of the following dates would you be most concerned about sunburn?
A)August 3
B)July 20
C)May 31
D)May 5
Answer: C
Q3) Which of the following is a factor that causes seasons to occur?
A)the length of the daylight hours
B)the changing shape of Earth's orbit around the sun
C)the changing distance between the Earth and the sun
D)the constant angle at which sunlight reaches the Earth
Answer: A
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Atmospheric Humidity
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following procedures will increase the relative humidity in a home during the winter?
A)lowering the temperature of the air inside the home
B)taking a shower and letting the air circulate in the home
C)increasing the thermostat setting
D)sealing the house against drafts
Q2) Explain why condensation is more likely to occur on a glass of water sitting on a table outdoors on a warm day as opposed to a cold day.
Q3) Explain why high humidity in the summer makes us feel warmer than the air temperature suggests.
Q4) If very cold air is brought indoors and warmed with no change in its moisture content, which of the following will happen to the saturation vapour pressure of this air?
A)It will remain stable.
B)It will keep increasing and then decreasing.
C)It will increase.
D)It will decrease.
Q5) Describe the differences in the molecular structure of the water molecules in the gas, liquid, and ice phases of water.
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Chapter 5: Condensation: Dew, Fog, and Clouds
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is the name for a liquid drop of dew that freezes when the air temperature drops below freezing?
A)frost
B)frozen dew
C)black frost
D)hoarfrost
Q2) Which of the following statements applies to the properties of fog?
A)Valleys are less susceptible to radiation fog than hill tops.
B)Without the summer fog along the coast of California, redwoods would grow well there.
C)Fog cannot be used as a source of drinking water.
D)Fog can be composed of ice crystals.
Q3) In which of the following conditions is the use of helicopters at airports effective to mix the air and disperse radiation fog?
A)The fog layer is deep.
B)The liquid water content of the fog is high.
C)The liquid water content of the fog is low.
D)The fog layer is not deep.
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Chapter 6: Stability and Cloud Development
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following terms applies to the vertical motion of air caused by the sun heating the ground?
A)orographic lifting
B)subsidence
C)convection
D)convergence
Q2) Which of the following gives an example of orographic clouds?
A)rotor clouds
B)lee wave clouds
C)cumulus clouds produced by surface heating
D)clouds that form on the upwind slope of a mountain
Q3) Which of the following terms refers to the temperature of an air parcel that is moved to a pressure of 1000 hPa at the dry adiabatic rate?
A)dew point temperature
B)potential temperature
C)descending temperature
D)adiabatic temperature
Q4) Do clear skies accompany stable, unstable, or neutral stability conditions? Explain your answer.
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Chapter 7: Precipitation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain why it is much more difficult to measure snowfall amount than rainfall amount.
Q2) Which of the following defines contact nucleation?
A)the joining of many nuclei to form an ice nucleus
B)the freezing of supercooled droplets by contact with a nucleus
C)the sticking together of ice crystals to make a snowflake
D)the freezing of supercooled droplets when they make contact with a supercooled surface
Q3) Which of the following is the most likely type of cloud that causes rain to fall on one side of a street and not on the other?
A)stratus cloud
B)altostratus cloud
C)nimbostratus cloud
D)cumulonimbus cloud
Q4) Do the largest forms of precipitation particles occur during the warmest or the coldest time of year? Explain.
Q5) Briefly describe the differences between snow, freezing rain, ice pellets, and hail.
Q6) Is silver iodide used as a cloud seeding agent in warm or cold clouds? Why?
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Chapter 8: Air Pressure and Winds
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Sample Questions
Q1) Consider an airplane flying from standard temperature air into warmer than standard temperature air. Without making any correction, the altimeter in the warmer air would indicate which of the following conditions?
A)an altitude exactly the same as the airplane's altitude
B)an altitude correction factor to be used by the pilot
C)an altitude higher than the airplane's actual altitude
D)an altitude lower than the airplane's actual altitude
Q2) Suppose a warm parcel of air at sea level is compared to a similar but very cold parcel of air at 5.5 km. Which of the following statements accurately compares the two parcels of air?
A)The parcel at sea level has higher pressure and higher density than the parcel at 5.5 km.
B)The parcel at sea level has lower pressure and lower density than the parcel at 5.5 km.
C)The parcel at sea level has lower pressure and higher density than the parcel at 5.5 km.
D)The parcel at sea level has higher pressure and lower density than the parcel at 5.5 km.
Q3) Explain the formation of a geostrophic wind.
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Page 10
Chapter 9: Wind: Small-Scale and Local Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is clear air turbulence (CAT)? Why does clear air turbulence represent a hazard to aviation?
Q2) Which of the following locations is the most practical for building a wind turbine?
A)a narrow valley
B)a region of moderate, steady winds
C)a region of strong, gusty winds
D)the downwind side of a mountain
Q3) Briefly sketch or describe the formation of a chinook wind. Do chinook winds form more often on the eastern or the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia?
Q4) Which of the following defines a katabatic wind?
A)a warm, downslope wind
B)a cold, downslope wind
C)a cold, upslope wind
D)a warm, upslope wind
Q5) What is meant by the term monsoon wind system? Briefly describe or sketch the wind and pressure pattern during the summer and winter monsoon in Asia.
Q6) Will a valley breeze or a mountain breeze produce clouds? Explain.
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Chapter 10: Wind: Global Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following factors explains why the world's deserts exist at 30o latitude?
A)the sinking air of the subtropical highs
B)the convergence of the prevailing westerlies and the northeast trades
C)the location of the intertropical convergence zone
D)the sinking air of the polar front
Q2) Which of the following jet stream patterns transfers the most heat across the globe?
A)tropical easterly
B)meridional
C)low-level
D)zonal
Q3) How many semipermanent highs typically exist in the southern hemisphere in January?
A)7
B)5
C)3
D)2
Q4) What features in the Earth's general circulation help determine where the driest and wettest places on Earth are found?
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Air Masses and Fronts
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Sample Questions
Q1) At which of the following positions is the sky most likely clearing?
A)1
B)2
C)3
D)4
Q2) Suppose a weather forecast states the following: Light rain and cold today with temperatures just above freezing; southeasterly winds shifting to westerly tonight; turning colder, with rain becoming mixed with snow, then changing to snow. Which of the following types of weather fronts would be responsible for this forecast?
A)cold-type occluded front
B)warm-type occluded front
C)cold front
D)warm front
Q3) How would a warm front, a cold front, and a centre of low pressure appear on a surface weather map in the southern hemisphere?
Q4) What types of weather changes accompany the passage of a dryline?
Q5) Explain how, without any meteorological instruments other than your eyes, you could identify the passage of an occluded front.
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Chapter 12: Middle-Latitude Cyclones
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is another name for Rossby waves?
A)shortwaves
B)stable waves
C)tidal waves
D)longwaves
Q2) In which of the following orders of measurement are the lengths of longwaves in the middle and upper troposphere usually described?
A)tens of km
B)hundreds of km
C)thousands of km
D)millions of km
Q3) Where would a surface high-pressure area moving toward the southeast most likely be found?
A)1
B)2
C)3
D)4
Q4) Describe with a sketch, a wind flow pattern that results in upper-level divergence.
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Chapter 13: Weather Forecasting
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Sample Questions
Q1) In which part of a northeastward-moving thunderstorm does a tornado most likely develop?
A)southwest part
B)northeast part
C)southeast part
D)northwest part
Q2) Which of the following factors distinguishes severe thunderstorms from ordinary thunderstorms?
A)Severe thunderstorms contain hail.
B)Severe thunderstorms have a strong updraft and downdraft.
C)Severe thunderstorms have a tilted updraft in the mature stage.
D)Severe thunderstorms have an anvil-shaped cloud.
Q3) Most tornadoes move from the southwest toward the northeast. Why?
Q4) Which of the following describes where hail can come from during a severe thunderstorm?
A)It can fall from the top of the anvil.
B)It can remain aloft indefinitely
C)It can be tossed in the sides of a cloud.
D)It can fall from the bottom of a cloud.
Q5) What is wind shear? Why does wind shear represent a hazard to aviation?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Thunderstorms
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following characterizes the top of hurricanes?
A)strong divergence
B)weak convergence
C)strong convergence
D)weak divergence
Q2) Because of the conservation of angular momentum, which of the following describes the speed of the air spiraling inward toward the centre of a hurricane?
A)It decreases.
B)It remains constant.
C)It increases.
Q3) List and describe some of the conditions that are favourable to hurricane development. What atmospheric conditions inhibit hurricane formation and growth?
Q4) Which of the following factors is depicted by streamlines on a weather map?
A)dew point
B)wind flow
C)pressure
D)water temperature
Q5) Why can't hurricanes form in the middle latitudes?
Q6) What is a storm surge? How does a storm surge form?
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Tornadoes
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Sample Questions
Q1) List some of the factors that affect the accuracy of atmospheric models.
Q2) Which of the following terms refers to the forecasting of weather by computer?
A)extended forecast
B)numerical weather prediction
C)weather-type forecasting
D)climatological forecast
Q3) Which of the following terms refers to the forecasting method that produces several versions of a forecast model, each one beginning with slightly different weather information to reflect errors in the measurements?
A)climatological forecasting
B)redundancy analysis
C)ensemble forecasting
D)persistence forecasting
Q4) Which of the following forecast methods is used to predict weather by weather types?
A)steady-state forecast
B)persistence forecast
C)analogue method
D)probability forecast
Q5) Explain the relationship between dew point and minimum temperatures.
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Hurricanes
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following climate zones are characterized by average monthly temperatures that exceed 0°C, but remain below 10°C?
A)subpolar (Dfc) climate zone
B)polar ice cap (EF) climate zone
C)polar tundra (ET) climate zone
D)alpine (An) climate zone
Q2) Annual and monthly averages of which of the following factors are used in the Köppen system for classifying climates?
A)ocean levels and surface pressure
B)population density and agricultural output
C)precipitation and stream runoff
D)temperature and precipitation
Q3) In a tropical wet-and-dry climate, which of the following is associated with the dry season?
A)subtropical high is distant
B)low sun period (winter)
C)low sun period (summer)
D)close proximity of the ITCZ
Q4) Which climate type(s) are most affected by climate change? Why?
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Chapter 17: Earths Changing Climate
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements characterizes oxygen 16 and oxygen 18?
A)Oxygen 16 and oxygen 18 evaporate from ocean water at the same rate.
B)Oxygen 18 contains two more electrons than oxygen 16.
C)Oxygen 16 and oxygen 18 exist in the shells of marine organisms.
D)Oxygen 16 and oxygen 18 occur in roughly equal amounts in ocean water.
Q2) What combination of the Earth's orbital eccentricity and the precession and obliquity of the Earth's axis produces the hottest summer temperatures in the northern hemisphere?
Q3) Consider the ratio of oxygen 18 to oxygen 16 in the shells of organisms that lived in the sea during the geologic past. Which of the following describes the relationship between this ratio and the climate at that time?
A)the higher the ratio, the drier climate at that time
B)the higher the ratio, the wetter climate at that time
C)the higher the ratio, the colder climate at that time
D)the higher the ratio, the warmer climate at that time
Q4) When did the current warming trend observed on Earth start?
A)about 500 years ago
B)about 100 years ago
C)about 1,000 years ago
D)about 10,000 years ago
Page 19
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Chapter 18: Global Climate
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following gases is a primary component of photochemical smog?
A)chlorofluorocarbons
B)ozone
C)carbon monoxide
D)sulphur dioxide
Q2) Explain how ozone can have both a beneficial and a detrimental role in the Earth's atmosphere.
Q3) List some of the ways that pollutants are removed from the atmosphere. Does this occur quickly or slowly?
Q4) As a result of country breezes, which of the following tends to happen to pollutants in the urban air?
A)They are concentrated.
B)They are pushed to higher altitudes.
C)They are pushed to rural areas.
D)They are diluted.
Q5) Which of the following conditions is likely associated with a country breeze?
A)a large high pressure area that forms over a city
B)a hot, humid, summer day in a large city
C)a period of heavy rain that falls over a city
D)a strong urban heat island
Page 20
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Chapter 19: Air Pollution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following describes how the sky would appear during the day, if the Earth did not have an atmosphere?
A)black
B)red
C)blue
D)white
Q2) In which of the following directions could you see a sundog at sunrise?
A)east
B)north
C)west
D)south
Q3) Which of the following phenomena is caused by the diffraction of light?
A)glory
B)halo
C)tangent arc
D)sun pillar
Q4) With a sketch, show why the setting sun often appears red to an observer on the ground. Why does the sun appear white at noon and red at sunrise and sunset?
Q5) Why do distant mountains appear blue?
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