Climatology Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Climatology is the scientific study of climate, including the statistical analysis of long-term weather patterns and trends over time and space. This course explores the fundamental concepts of climate systems, energy balances, atmospheric circulation, and the factors influencing regional and global climates. Students will examine methods for collecting and interpreting climatic data, investigate natural and human-induced climate variability, and assess the impacts of climate change on both natural environments and society. The course also covers contemporary issues such as global warming, extreme weather events, and the role of climate modeling in predicting future conditions.
Recommended Textbook
Meteorology Today An Introduction to Weather Climate and the Environment 10th Edition by C.
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Chapter 1: Earth and Its Atmosphere
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Q1) The gas responsible for the greenhouse effect on Venus is
A) carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>).
B) oxygen (O<sub>2</sub>).
C) ozone (O<sub>3</sub>).
D) nitrogen (N<sub>2</sub>).
E) water vapor (H<sub>2</sub>O).
Answer: A
Q2) The planet with a strong greenhouse effect,whose surface temperature averages 480°C (900°F)is
A) Earth.
B) Venus.
C) Mars.
D) Pluto.
Answer: B
Q3) The earth's rotation has ____ to do with the behavior of atmospheric storms.
A) nothing
B) little
C) much
Answer: C
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Chapter 2: Energy: Warming the Earth and the Atmosphere
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Q1) The major process that warms the lower atmosphere is
A) the release of latent heat during condensation.
B) conduction of heat upward from the surface.
C) absorption of infrared radiation.
D) direct absorption of sunlight by the atmosphere.
Answer: C
Q2) Which principle best describes why holes develop in snow around tree trunks?
A) Snow is a good absorber of infrared energy.
B) Snow is a good emitter of infrared energy.
C) Snow is a poor reflector of visible light.
D) Snow is a poor absorber of visible light.
E) Snow is a poor absorber of ultraviolet light.
Answer: A
Q3) In what ways is the atmospheric greenhouse different from an agricultural greenhouse?
Answer: no answer
Q4) 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: no answer
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Chapter 3: Seasonal and Daily Temperatures
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Q1) If tonight's temperature is going to drop into the middle 20s (°F)and a fairly stiff wind is predicted,probably the best way to protect an orchard against a hard freeze is to (assume that cost is not a factor)
A) use helicopters.
B) use wind machines.
C) sprinkle the crops with water.
D) put orchard heaters to work.
E) pray for clouds.
Answer: C
Q2) Hypothermia is most common in
A) hot,humid weather.
B) cold,wet weather.
C) hot,dry weather.
D) cold,dry weather.
Answer: B
Q3) Longer days are generally associated with A) less insolation.
B) fewer heating degree days.
C) more insolation.
Answer: C
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Chapter 4: Atmospheric Humidity
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Q1) The Gulf Coast states are more humid in summer than the coastal areas of Southern California mainly because of the
A) higher air temperature in the Gulf States.
B) lower air temperature in Southern California.
C) higher water temperature in the Gulf of Mexico.
D) low relative humidity of the air over the Pacific Ocean.
Q2) What is meant by the terms water vapor saturation and saturation vapor pressure?
Why does the saturation vapor pressure increase with increasing air temperature?
Q3) If the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere remains constant,the humidity
A) cannot change.
B) must change.
C) might change,depending on which measure of humidity is used.
D) will only change if we're using absolute humidity as the measure of humidity.
Q4) When the air temperature increases,the saturation vapor pressure will
A) increase.
B) decrease.
C) remain the same.
D) vary over an increasingly broad range of values.
Q5) How could you heat air without decreasing its relative humidity?
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Chapter 5: Condensation: Dew, Fog, and Clouds
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Q1) As Apollo 12 ascended into the atmosphere,the height of the surrounding clouds was noted to be 42,000 feet.A lightning stroke was seen within these clouds,indicating that they must have been
A) cumulus congestus.
B) cumulonimbus.
C) cirrus.
D) cirrocumulus.
E) lenticular.
Q2) Cirrus clouds are composed primarily of A) water droplets.
B) water vapor.
C) ice particles.
D) salt aerosols.
Q3) Suppose the sky is completely covered with a thin,white layered-type cloud.You look at the ground and see that objects cast a distinct shadow.From this you conclude that the cloud type must be A) stratus.
B) nimbostratus.
C) cirrostratus.
D) stratocumulus.
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Chapter 6: Stability and Cloud Development
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Q1) Would you expect to find a subsidence inversion to be associated with high or low pressure?
Q2) Explain how the stability of the atmosphere can affect the types of clouds that form.
Q3) The environmental lapse rate is almost always the same as the adiabatic lapse rate. A)True
B)False
Q4) Explain why the surface air on the downwind side of a mountain can be drier than the surface air on the upwind side.What is this effect called? Can you think of a location in the United States where this might actually occur?
Q5) If you were to take a trip during the summer from Ohio to Nevada,you would most likely observe that afternoon cumulus clouds ____ as you travel west. A) have higher cloud bases
B) are larger
C) form earlier in the day
D) disappear
Q6) List and explain the four processes that cause rising air motions in the atmosphere. To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 8
Chapter 7: Precipitation
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Q1) Is silver iodide used as a cloud seeding agent in warm or cold clouds? Why?
Q2) Rain which falls from a cloud but evaporates before reaching the ground is referred to as
A) sleet.
B) virga.
C) graupel.
D) dry rain.
Q3) Large,heavy snowflakes are associated with
A) dry air and temperatures well below freezing.
B) moist air and temperatures well below freezing.
C) dry air and temperatures near freezing.
D) moist air and temperatures near freezing.
Q4) What are the two main substances used in cloud seeding?
A) lead iodide,dry ice
B) silver iodide,lead iodide
C) ice crystals,flood powder
D) dry ice,sea salt
E) silver iodide,dry ice
Q5) Would you expect the heaviest snowfall to occur on an unusually cold night or a night when the temperature was just a little below freezing?
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Air Pressure and Winds
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Q1) On an upper-level chart the wind tends to blow
A) at right angles to the isobars or contour lines.
B) parallel to the isobars or contours.
C) at an angle between 10 and 30 to the contours and towards lower pressure.
D) at constant speed.
Q2) Sketch the wind flow patterns around surface high and low pressure centers in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Q3) The ____ is an apparent force created by the earth's rotation.
A) pressure gradient force
B) Coriolis force
C) centripetal force
D) gravitational force
Q4) Winds blow slightly inward
A) around surface low pressure centers in the Northern Hemisphere only.
B) around surface low pressure centers in the Southern Hemisphere only.
C) around surface low pressure centers in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
D) at the poles in both hemispheres.
Q5) Briefly explain the principle of the mercury barometer.Mercury is relatively expensive and toxic.Why do you think mercury is used in barometers instead of another fluid such as water?
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Wind: Small Scale and Local Systems
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Q1) A wind reported as 45 would be a wind blowing from the:
A) NE.
B) S.
C) SW.
D) NW.
E) E.
Q2) Which of the following is a serious hazard to aircraft?
A) molecular viscosity
B) laminar flow
C) clear-air turbulence
D) longwaves in the westerlies
E) none of the above
Q3) An offshore wind
A) blows from land to water.
B) blows from water to land.
C) blows only at night.
D) only blows during the day.
Q4) Would you expect a well-developed sea breeze circulation to cause clouds to form over the land or over the ocean?
Q5) How can winds be observed by satellites?
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Wind: Global Systems
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Q1) How do jet streams form?
Q2) Chicago,Illinois (latitude 42 N)is located in the
A) northeast trades.
B) southeast trades.
C) westerlies.
D) doldrums.
Q3) Which below does not describe the polar front jet stream?
A) is strongest in winter
B) moves farther south in winter
C) forms near the boundary called the polar front
D) is normally found at a higher elevation than the subtropical jet
Q4) Generally,on an upper-level (100 mb)chart in the Northern Hemisphere during July,we would expect to find the tropical easterly jet stream
A) north of the polar front.
B) north of the upper-level subtropical high.
C) directly over the polar front.
D) south of the upper-level subtropical high.
E) in the upper stratosphere.
Q5) What meteorological conditions are typically associated with the ITCZ?
Q6) What is the polar jet stream and where is it found?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Air Masses and Fronts
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Q1) An mT air mass lying above a cold ground surface represents a(n)____ situation.
A) stable
B) unstable
C) occluded
D) stationary
Q2) The origin of cP and cA air masses that enter the United States is
A) Northern Siberia.
B) Northern Atlantic Ocean.
C) Antarctica.
D) Northern Canada and Alaska.
Q3) Which of the following statements is most plausible?
A) In winter,cP source regions have higher temperatures than mT source regions.
B) In summer,mP source regions have higher temperatures than cT source regions.
C) In winter,cA source regions have lower temperatures than cP source regions.
D) In summer,mT source regions have lower temperatures than mP source regions.
E) They are all equally plausible.
Q4) When warm and cold air masses collide,the warm air is forced upward.Why does this occur?
Q5) Explain why the observation of a halo around the moon or sun could forewarn of the arrival of a warm front.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Middle-Latitude Cyclones
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Q1) How can shortwaves be identified and followed on 500 mb charts?
Q2) Which region is not considered to be a region where cyclogenesis often occurs?
A) eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
B) Atlantic Ocean near Cape Hatteras,North Carolina
C) California
D) Great Basin of the United States
E) Gulf of Mexico
Q3) Which of the scientists below was not one of the meteorologists who helped develop the polar front theory of a developing wave cyclone?
A) B.Bjerknes
B) C.G.Rossby
C) T.Bergeron
D) H.Solberg
E) J.Bjerknes
Q4) A small,moving disturbance imbedded in a longwave is called
A) a lee-side low.
B) a wave cyclone.
C) a shortwave.
D) a frontal wave.
Q5) Explain how cyclogenesis works.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Weather Forecasting
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Q1) 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.
Q2) Weather forecast that predicts that the future weather will be the same as the present weather is called
A) a steady-state forecast.
B) the trend method.
C) a persistence forecast.
D) the analogue method.
E) an extended weather forecast.
Q3) Refer to Exhibit 13-1.The storm system will apparently move toward the A) northeast.
B) east.
C) southeast.
D) northwest
Q4) Describe the difference between persistence and steady-state forecasts.
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Chapter 14: Thunderstorms and Tornadoes
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Q1) If you see a lightning stroke and then,15 seconds later,hear the thunder,the lightning is about ____ miles away.
A) 45
B) 15
C) 5
D) 3
Q2) All thunderstorms require
A) hot,humid air.
B) divergence of the air aloft.
C) lifting along some barrier such as a mountain or front.
D) surface heating.
E) rising air.
Q3) List and discuss some of the atmospheric conditions that are needed for a thunderstorm to develop.
Q4) The most likely time for an ordinary thunderstorm to form is
A) just after sunrise.
B) just before sunrise.
C) around midnight.
D) late afternoon.
E) at noon.
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Chapter 15: Hurricanes
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Q1) Why can't hurricanes form in the mid-latitudes?
Q2) In the Northern Hemisphere,hurricanes and middle latitude cyclones are similar in that both
A) have surface weather fronts.
B) intensify with increasing height above the ground.
C) have winds that blow counterclockwise around their centers.
D) will generally move from west to east.
Q3) Hurricanes have strong divergence at their tops.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Most hurricanes have fronts.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Streamlines on a weather map depict
A) water temperature.
B) pressure.
C) wind flow.
D) dew point.
E) ocean currents.
Q6) What is a storm surge? How does a storm surge form?
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Earths Changing Climate
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Q1) Evidence suggests that throughout much of the earth's history,the global climate was
A) warmer than it is today.
B) colder than it is today.
C) about the same temperature as it is today.
D) more variable than it is today.
Q2) During the next 100 years,the greatest surface warming is project to be in the A) tropics.
B) mid-latitudes.
C) polar regions.
Q3) It now appears that if global temperatures continue to rise,the oceans
A) will increase the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> in the atmosphere.
B) will reduce the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> in the atmosphere.
C) could increase or reduce the amount of CO<sub>2</sub> in the atmosphere.
D) will have no effect on atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> concentrations.
Q4) What are some of the possible consequences of global warming?
Q5) Describe some of the techniques used to infer past climates.About how far into the past are these different methods able to reconstruct past climatic conditions?
Q6) In what ways might global warming benefit the planet?
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Global Climate
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Q1) What do Dallol,Ethiopia,Death Valley,California,and El Azizia,Libya,have in common?
A) They are all in third-world countries.
B) They are three of the hottest places on the earth.
C) They are three of the coldest places on the earth.
D) They all have frequent snowstorms.
Q2) The coldest regions of large continents are usually on the west coast.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Thawing of an upper layer of permafrost would most likely be observed in which climatic type?
A) polar ice cap
B) humid continental with warm summers
C) humid subtropical
D) polar tundra
Q4) Discuss some of the factors that determine where the wettest places in the world are found.
Q5) Describe the climate of and the microclimatic variation within the neighborhood in which you live.
Q6) Which climate type(s)would be affected most by global warming? Why?
Page 19
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Chapter 18: Air Pollution
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Q1) Rain with a pH of 5.6 would be considered
A) acidic.
B) alkaline.
C) neutral.
D) polluted.
E) harmful.
Q2) What atmospheric conditions would you expect to find associated with a major air pollution episode?
Q3) Atmospheric stagnation is a condition normally brought on by
A) thunderstorms.
B) slow-moving anticyclones.
C) overcast skies.
D) tall buildings in a city.
E) movement of an upper level trough overhead.
Q4) Which of the following would probably result in polluted conditions over a fairly long duration?
A) a radiation inversion
B) a subsidence inversion
C) persistent winds
D) overcast skies
Page 20
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Chapter 19: Light, Color, and Atmospheric Optics
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Q1) Which of the following is not involved in the formation of a rainbow?
A) scattering
B) refraction
C) reflection
D) dispersion
E) diffraction
Q2) Which of the following would you most likely observe over snow-covered ground in the winter?
A) superior mirage
B) sun pillars
C) crespuscular rays
D) shimmering
Q3) Refraction of light by the atmosphere is responsible for A) scintillation of starlight.
B) mirages.
C) causing the sun to appear to flatten-out on the horizon.
D) increasing the length of daylight.
E) all of the above
Q4) Distinguish between the processes of reflection,refraction and scattering of light.
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