Climatology Exam Bank
Course Introduction
Climatology is the scientific study of climate, encompassing the statistical analysis of long-term weather patterns and the factors that influence them across different regions and time scales. This course explores the fundamental concepts of climate systems, including atmospheric circulation, energy balance, seasonality, and climatic variability. Students learn to interpret climatological data, investigate the natural and anthropogenic drivers of climate change, and examine the impacts of climate on ecosystems and human activities. The course also introduces contemporary issues such as global warming, technological advancements in climate modeling, and policy responses to climate challenges.
Recommended Textbook
Geosystems An Introduction to Physical Geography 9th Edition by Robert W. Christopherson
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20 Chapters
3026 Verified Questions
3026 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Essentials of Geography
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185 Verified Questions
185 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Geography is a discipline primarily concerned with place names.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) GIS can create dynamic maps for visualization purposes.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Use examples to distinguish an open system from a closed system.
Answer: An open system is one in which energy and matter flow in and out of the system. A forest is an example of an open system. A closed system is closed off from surroundings systems and is self-contained. In terms of matter, the Earth is essentially a closed system.
Q4) Why is the term "spatial" so important in geography?
Answer: Answer should note that geography is inherently spatial and that physical geography uses an integrative spatial approach to study entire Earth systems.
Q5) What is geodesy?
Answer: The science that attempts to determine Earth's shape and size by surveys and mathematical means
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Chapter 2: Solar Energy to Earth and the Seasons
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Sample Questions
Q1) All points on Earth's surface experience the subsolar point at some moment during the year.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) The Tropic of Capricorn refers to
A) that parallel that is 23.5° south latitude.
B) the location of the subsolar point on September 22.
C) the parallel that is the farthest northern location for the subsolar point during the year.
D) that parallel that is 66.5° south latitude.
Answer: A
Q3) The plane of Earth's orbit about the Sun is called A) perihelion.
B) aphelion.
C) the plane of the ecliptic.
D) a great circle.
Answer: C
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4
Chapter 3: Earths Modern Atmosphere
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Sample Questions
Q1) Based on human-induced changes to the atmosphere, some have tentatively labeled the Earth's next atmosphere the
A) living atmosphere.
B) modern atmosphere.
C) ozonosphere.
D) anthropogenic atmosphere.
E) pollution sphere.
Answer: D
Q2) Carbon monoxide is potentially dangerous because it
A) replaces oxygen on red blood cells.
B) causes cancer.
C) causes birth defects.
D) causes genetic mutations.
Answer: A
Q3) Problems with air pollution occurred as far back in time as the Roman period (2000 years ago).
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Atmosphere and Surface Energy Balances
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Sample Questions
Q1) Molecule-to-molecule transfer of heat energy is
A) conduction.
B) convection.
C) advection.
D) latent heat.
Q2) Which of the following is correctly matched?
A) insolation - shortwave radiation - UV, visible, and near infrared
B) insolation - longwave radiation - thermal infrared radiation
C) terrestrial radiation - shortwave radiation - UV, visible, and near infrared
D) terrestrial radiation - shortwave radiation - thermal infrared radiation
Q3) When water evaporates from a surface, which of the following occurs?
A) Energy is stored within the water.
B) Energy is released to the surface.
C) The surface is warmed.
D) Heat is transferred back and forth between the air and surface.
Q4) Low, thick stratus clouds have little effect on the Earth's climate.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What have recent studies shown regarding the relationship between cirrus clouds generated by aircraft and the Earth-atmosphere energy balance?
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Global Temperatures
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Sample Questions
Q1) In colder temperatures, alcohol thermometers are preferred to mercury thermometers because
A) mercury freezes at -39°C (-38.2°F), whereas alcohol freezes at -120°C (-170°F).
B) alcohol thermometers are generally more accurate, especially in cold temperatures.
C) alcohol thermometers are less expensive and more easily to replace if broken in extreme temperatures.
D) mercury is poisonous and are rarely used in modern thermometers any more.
Q2) Would residents of Miami or San Francisco be more likely to pay attention to the heat index? Why?
Q3) The temperature on a cloudy night is likely to be ________ the temperature on a clear night-all other factors being equal.
A) warmer than
B) colder than C) the same as
Q4) Discuss several ways in which global temperatures affects humans and how humans affect global temperatures.
Q5) What are the various factors that can affect the apparent temperature?
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulations
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is true regarding the effects of the Coriolis force?
A) The amount of Coriolis deflection is uniform from equator to poles.
B) Coriolis deflection occurs only along parallels, not meridians.
C) The Coriolis force is zero at the poles, increasing to maximum along the equator.
D) The Coriolis force is zero along the equator, increasing to one-half of maximum at 30° latitude and maximum at the poles.
Q2) Temperature and salinity are important to the flow of deep ocean currents.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in June 1991
A) demonstrated that localized circulation can curtail widespread dispersal of aerosols.
B) erupted unexpectedly, inhibiting scientists from monitoring its effects.
C) had little global affects and was mostly isolated to the Philippines.
D) provided a unique opportunity to assess the dynamics of global atmospheric circulation.
Q4) Examine the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo with a focus on its atmospheric impacts and the dispersal of its emissions by winds.
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8
Chapter 7: Water and Atmospheric Moisture
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Sample Questions
Q1) When stable air is forced to lift as it passes over a mountain range, the air may become saturated and condensation may occur. In this case, the air is
A) stable.
B) unstable.
C) conditionally unstable.
Q2) The bulk of the evaporation on Earth occurs over the continents.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is true regarding the evaporation of water?
A) The phase change involves the latent heat of sublimation.
B) The phase change involves the latent heat of evaporation.
C) The phase change involves the latent heat of deposition.
D) The phase change involves the latent heat of condensation.
Q4) The phase changes of water provide a significant amount of the energy that powers the general circulation of the atmosphere.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Compare and contrast the normal lapse rate, environmental lapse rate, the dry adiabatic rate, and the moist adiabatic rate.
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Chapter 8: Weather
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Sample Questions
Q1) Hurricanes originate entirely within tropical air masses.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Most Atlantic Basin hurricanes occur during the months of June to November.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Hail forms
A) when water falls from a cloud and freezes during its fall to the ground.
B) every time water condenses onto dust particles.
C) from repeated circulation of raindrops above and below the freezing level in a cloud.
D) when water vapor sublimates (deposits) inside a cirrus cloud.
Q4) A(n)________ is a homogenous volume of air defined based on its temperature, and moisture characteristics.
A) cyclone
B) air mass
C) front
D) parcel
Q5) Describe the four types of atmospheric lifting and give typical geographic characteristics associated with each.
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Chapter 9: Water Resources
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Sample Questions
Q1) Glacio-eustatic factors refer to
A) changes in the total amount of water on Earth.
B) a steady-state equilibrium in the water system.
C) changes in sea level related to the increase or decrease in quantities of ice.
D) changes in sea level related to the melting of icebergs.
Q2) The largest reservoir in the world by volume is
A) Lake Nasser.
B) Lake Kariba.
C) Lake Votka.
D) Lake Guri.
Q3) The permanent remove of water from the immediate water environment is known as A) water withdrawal.
B) nonconsumptive use.
C) consumptive use.
D) offstream.
Q4) The permanent removal of water from its source is known as consumptive use.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Describe the hydrological cycle, including its different components.
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Chapter 10: Global Climate Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) The climate of an area can be classified in different ways depending upon the criteria used to define it.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The soils in tropical rain forests are nutrient-rich-as indicated by the vast amount of vegetation that grows there.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Along the periphery of hot deserts, where shifting subtropical high pressure cells create a distinct summer-dry and winter-wet pattern, one finds
A) tropical, subtropical hot steppe climates.
B) marine west coast climates.
C) tropical monsoon climates.
D) humid subtropical hot-summer climates.
Q4) Owing to the small diurnal and annual temperature ranges, tropical climates are considered "winterless."
A)True
B)False
Q5) Construct a climograph for your city or town.
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Chapter 11: Climate Change
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is radiative forcing? List gases and aerosols that have positive or negative radiative forcing. What is the primary source of each.
Q2) As air temperatures increase, evaporation increases, leading to more condensation and cloud formation. Low, thick cloud cover increases the albedo of the atmosphere, thereby having a cooling effect on Earth. This is an example of a A) positive feedback loop.
B) negative feedback loop.
C) neither a positive or negative feedback loop.
Q3) The United States leads the world in per capita carbon dioxide (CO ) emissions.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Ice shelves and icebergs are an example of sea ice. A)True B)False
Q5) All greenhouse gases contribute equally to global climate change. A)True
B)False
Q6) Describe methods that individuals and communities are taking to mitigate against climate change.
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Chapter 12: The Dynamic Planet
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Sample Questions
Q1) Earthquake and volcanic occurrences do not correlate well with crustal plate boundaries.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A rock transformed from any other rock through extreme heat and or pressure is referred to as
A) sedimentary.
B) metamorphic.
C) igneous.
D) ancient.
Q3) The lowest features on the Earth's surface coincide with A) subduction zones.
B) mid-oceanic ridges.
C) transform plate boundaries.
D) divergent plate boundaries.
Q4) The major rocks of Earth's crust are classified into principal types based on A) element composition.
B) mineral composition.
C) three specific rock-forming processes; i.e., the manner in which they formed.
D) relative and absolute locations.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Tectonics, Earthquakes, and Volcanism
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Basin and Range Province of the interior western United States is a type of horst-and-graben topography.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Define and distinguish between the following: epicenter, focus, foreshock, aftershock.
Q3) The Alps are examples of the second order of relief.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Small conical-shaped hills with truncated tops that formed during moderately explosive volcanic eruptions are known as A) cinder cones. B) craters.
C) calderas. D) domes.
Q5) Paleoseismology estimates expected earthquake activity based on past earthquake activity.
A)True B)False
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Chapter 14: Weathering, Karst Landscapes, and Mass Movement
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not a type of physical weathering process?
A) exfoliation
B) hydrolysis
C) salt crystal growth
D) frost wedging
Q2) Other than the rock itself, the most important chemical substance needed for the majority of weathering processes is
A) oxygen.
B) nitrogen.
C) water.
D) carbon dioxide.
Q3) Which of the following is not a class of mass movement?
A) fall
B) slide
C) slip
D) flow
E) creep
Q4) The angle of repose typically ranges from 15° to 30° from horizontal.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 15: River Systems and Landforms
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Sample Questions
Q1) Overland flow can concentrate in small grooves called ________, which can enlarge to form ________.
A) striations; potholes
B) potholes; striations
C) rills; gullies
D) gullies; rills
E) striations; gullies
Q2) The average size of sediment in a natural levee is ________ that found in the surrounding floodplain.
A) larger than
B) smaller than
C) the same size as
Q3) The suspended load of a stream consists of particles that are
A) rolled and bounced along the stream bed.
B) held aloft in the stream flow.
C) dragged along the stream bed.
D) dissolved in solution.
Q4) Drainage basins are closed systems in terms of matter.
A)True
B)False
Page 17
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Chapter 16: The Oceans, Coastal Processes, and Wind
Processes
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Sample Questions
Q1) By definition, brackish water has a higher salinity than brine.
A)True
B)False
Q2) When the Sun and Moon are on the same side Earth or on opposite sides of earth, the ________ occurs and results in the ________ tidal range between low and high tides.
A) spring tides; lowest
B) spring tides; greatest
C) neap tides; lowest
D) neap tides; greatest
Q3) The salinity of seawater averages 35 .
A)True
B)False
Q4) A wave in the open ocean consists of water molecules traveling in the direction of wave propagation.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Soils formed from loess tend to be infertile.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 17: Glacial and Periglacial Processes and Landforms
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Sample Questions
Q1) Unfrozen ground in a region of discontinuous permafrost is known as A) nunatak.
B) talik.
C) cryotic zone.
D) patterned ground.
Q2) An extensive, continuous mass of ice covering a continental scale is known as a(n) A) tidal glacier.
B) ice sheet.
C) piedmont glacier.
D) tidewater glacier.
Q3) Combined, alpine glaciers and ice sheets cover about 10% of the Earth's land surface.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Worldwide, alpine glaciers are presently increasing in size and number.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Differentiate between alpine and continental glaciers, ice caps and ice fields.
Q6) What is the importance of the Pleistocene ice age epoch to the modern day?
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Chapter 18: The Geography of Soils
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the NRCS Soil Taxonomy.
Q2) Prior to the U.S. Soil Taxonomy system, soils were classified based on pedogenic regimes.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following best describes the role of biological activity in soils development?
A) Broadleaf trees tend to increase the alkalinity of soil, whereas needleleaf trees increase the acidity.
B) Earthworms increase soil porosity and contribute to soil movement and organic content.
C) Plant roots provide channels for air and water movement in soils.
D) All organisms living in, on, and over the soil, influence soil development and characteristics: they can influence the pH, the organic matter, chemical content, and biological content of soils.
Q4) Alifols, Mollisols, and Aridisols form an east to west continuum in the north-central United States and southern Canadian prairies.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 19: Ecosystem Essentials
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Sample Questions
Q1) The break-even point between the production and consumption of organic material is termed
A) net primary productivity.
B) compensation point.
C) net photosynthesis.
D) free air CO enrichment.
Q2) On average, algal beds and reefs have higher net primary productivity than tropical rain forests.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Chlorophyll reflects predominately ________ wavelengths of visible light.
A) red
B) blue
C) green
D) indigo
Q4) Which of the following is not a biotic component of an ecosystem?
A) plants
B) animals
C) bacteria
D) mineral nutrients
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Chapter 20: Terrestrial Biomes
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Sample Questions
Q1) Invasive species can alter community dynamics and may lead to declines in native species.
A)True
B)False
Q2) This biome occupies more than one-third of the Earth's land area and is characterized by xerophytic vegetation, low precipitation, and high potential evapotranspiration.
A) deserts
B) midlatitude grasslands
C) tropical savanna
D) Mediterranean shrubland
Q3) Most non-native species introduced to a new community become established.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are the important factors used in defining a biogeographic realm?
Q5) Invasive species represent a threat to biodiversity worldwide. Based on either the examples presented in the textbook or outside sources, describe several invasive species of concern in your area. What factors contributed to their spread. Why are these species of concern, both in a broad context, as well as within your area.
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