Environmental Studies
Exam Materials
Course Introduction
Environmental Studies explores the dynamic relationship between humans and the natural world, integrating scientific, social, economic, and cultural perspectives to address current environmental challenges. This interdisciplinary course examines topics such as ecosystem dynamics, biodiversity, resource management, climate change, pollution, and sustainability practices. Students will analyze the causes and impacts of environmental issues on local and global scales, evaluate policies and solutions, and develop critical thinking skills necessary for informed decision-making and responsible environmental stewardship.
Recommended Textbook
Extreme Weather and Climate 1st Edition by C. Donald Ahrens
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15 Chapters
633 Verified Questions
633 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/3773
Page 2
Chapter 1: The Turbulent Atmosphere
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40 Verified Questions
40 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/75272
Sample Questions
Q1) What causes air pressure? Why does air pressure decrease with increasing altitude? Answer: no answer
Q2) Which of the following weather elements always decreases as we climb upward in the atmosphere?
A)wind
B)temperature
C)pressure
D)moisture
E)all of the above
Answer: C
Q3) Hurricanes inflict most of their damage after crossing from the ocean onto the land.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Calm,tranquil weather is sometimes extremely hazardous.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Energy That Drives the Storms
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49 Verified Questions
49 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The changing distance between the earth and the sun over the course of the year is the main cause of the seasons.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) The combined albedo of the earth and the atmosphere is approximately:
A)4%.
B)10%.
C)30%.
D)50%.
E)90%.
Answer: C
Q3) The temperature of a rising air parcel:
A)always cools due to expansion.
B)always warms due to expansion.
C)always cools due to compression.
D)always warms due to compression.
E)remains constant.
Answer: A
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Temperature and Humidity Extremes
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39 Verified Questions
39 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Would a strong radiation inversion be more likely to form on a winter night or a summer night? Explain your answer.
Answer: A strong radiation inversion would be more likely to form on a winter night. This is because in winter, the ground cools down rapidly after sunset due to the longer nights and lower angle of the sun. This rapid cooling of the ground leads to the formation of a strong inversion layer, where a layer of warm air traps cooler air near the surface. In contrast, summer nights tend to be warmer and the ground does not cool down as quickly, making it less likely for a strong radiation inversion to form.
Q2) In meteorology,the term thermal belt refers to the extreme heat sometimes found inside a car.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Lines on a weather map connecting points of equal temperature are called isotherms.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 4: Condensation in the Atmosphere
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42 Verified Questions
42 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Mammatus clouds form in descending air.
A)True
B)False
Q2) List the main types of fog.Then briefly explain how each one forms.Where might you expect each of these different types of fog to form?
Q3) Light or moderate-but-steady precipitation is most often associated with __________ clouds.
A)nimbostratus
B)cirrostratus
C)cirrocumulus
D)cumulonimbus
Q4) Which cloud type is composed of ice crystals and can cause a halo to form around the sun or moon?
A)altostratus
B)stratus
C)nimbostratus
D)cirrostratus
E)angelitus
Q5) In what ways are the formation of fog and clouds similar and different?
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Chapter 5: Clouds and Stability
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43 Verified Questions
43 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Subsidence increases stability.
A)True
B)False
Q2) An air parcel that is warmer than its surroundings will rise.What force accounts for this upward motion?
Q3) Most thunderstorms do not extend very far into the stratosphere because the air in the stratosphere is:
A)unstable.
B)stable.
C)too cold.
D)too thin.
E)too dry.
Q4) Would you expect to find a subsidence inversion to be associated with high or low pressure? What effects might a subsidence inversion have on weather conditions at the ground?
Q5) Does radiational cooling at the ground at night act to increase or decrease atmospheric stability? How does daytime heating at the ground during the day affect atmospheric stability?
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Precipitation Extremes
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40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Cloud seeding using silver iodide works well in warm clouds composed entirely of water droplets.
A)True
B)False
Q2) If you observe large raindrops hitting the ground,you could probably say that the cloud overhead was __________ and had __________ updrafts.
A)thick,weak
B)thick,strong
C)thin,weak
D)thin,strong
Q3) The growth of a precipitation particle by the collision of an ice crystal (or snowflake)with a supercooled liquid droplet is called deposition.
A)True
B)False
Q4) 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?
Q5) Thunderstorm cloud bases are generally higher above the ground in Arizona than in Florida.Why?
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Chapter 7: Atmospheric Motions
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45 Verified Questions
45 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain briefly why upper-level winds at middle latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere generally blow from west to east.In what direction do upper level winds at middle latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere blow?
Q2) Under what conditions (if any)might you record a station pressure of 750 mb?
Q3) Pressure changes:
A)more rapidly in the horizontal direction than in the vertical.
B)more rapidly in the vertical direction than in the horizontal.
C)at the same rate in the horizontal and vertical directions.
D)more rapidly in the vertical over land than over the ocean.
Q4) Suppose you deflate a fully-inflated bicycle tire by depressing the air valve.Why does air rush out of the tire? Why does the rushing air feel cold? After the air stops rushing out of the tire,is the tire empty? Explain your answer.
Q5) What differences might you expect to see between the weather conditions depicted on the surface in your city and at the 500 mb level above your city?
Q6) Explain why closely-spaced contour lines on an upper-level isobaric chart are associated with fast winds.
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Page 9
Chapter 8: Wind Systems
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41 Verified Questions
41 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Suppose a west wind of 20 knots blows over a coastal region which is densely covered in shrubs.If this same wind moves out over the middle of a large calm lake,its speed and direction would probably be:
A)greater than 20 knots and more northwesterly.
B)less than 20 knots and more northwesterly.
C)greater than 20 knots and more southwesterly.
D)less than 20 knots and more southwesterly.
E)less than 20 knots and westerly.
Q2) In south Florida the prevailing winds are northeasterly.Because of this,the strongest sea breeze is usually observed on Florida's __________ coast,and the strongest land breeze on Florida's __________ coast.
A)east,west
B)west,east
C)west,west
D)east,east
Q3) The jet stream flows in a wavy pattern from east to west.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Will a valley breeze or a mountain breeze produce clouds? Explain.
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Chapter 9: Air Masses and Fronts
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the Southern Hemisphere,
A)air rises steeply ahead of a warm front,and gradually ahead of a cold front.
B)cold,warm and occluded fronts are associated with high pressure systems.
C)precipitation associated with warm fronts tends to be brief and intense.
D)precipitation associated with warm fronts tends to be gentle and prolonged.
Q2) Which air mass would show the most dramatic change in both temperature and moisture content as it moves over a large body of very warm water?
A)cT in summer
B)cP in winter
C)mP in winter
D)mT in summer
Q3) An air mass is characterized by similar properties of __________ and __________ in any horizontal direction
A)temperature,pressure
B)pressure,moisture
C)winds,moisture
D)temperature,moisture
Q4) Explain how,using no meteorological instruments other than your eyes,you could identify the passage of an occluded front.
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Chapter 10: Mid-Latitude Cyclonic Storms
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40 Verified Questions
40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) For a surface storm system to intensify,the upper-level low (or trough)should be located to the __________ of the surface low.
A)north
B)south
C)east
D)west
Q2) A 'building anticyclone' means the central pressure is increasing.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Like hurricanes,__________ have a clear area in their center.
A)polar lows
B)cut-off lows
C)conveyer belts
D)wrap-around bands
Q4) For cyclogenesis to occur along a frontal wave,the winds aloft directly above the wave should be:
A)diverging.
B)converging.
C)blowing straight from west to east.
D)increasing in speed uniformly over a broad area.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Thunderstorms
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41 Verified Questions
41 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the United States,dryline thunderstorms are most common
A)in the Rocky Mountains
B)in the desert southwest
C)in the Great Plains
D)in California
E)in Florida
Q2) An ordinary cell thunderstorm is most intense during the __________ stage.
A)mature
B)multicell
C)cumulus
D)dissipating
Q3) Lightning may occur:
A)within a cloud
B)from a cloud to the ground
C)from one cloud to another cloud
D)all of the above
Q4) What is a squall line? Where would you expect squall lines to form?
Q5) List and discuss some of the atmospheric conditions that are needed for a thunderstorm to develop.
Page 13
Q6) What is wind shear? Why does wind shear represent a hazard to aviation?
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Chapter 12: Tornadoes
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40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The funnel cloud characteristic of a tornado is principally formed by:
A)condensation of water vapor in air drawn into the low pressure core of the tornado.
B)dust and dirt picked up from the atmosphere.
C)clouds being funneled by downward air currents coming out of a cumulonimbus cloud.
D)water drawn up from the sea surface into the cloud.
E)gaseous products from intense lightning activity within the tornado.
Q2) Why do tornadoes have low pressure cores?
Q3) Why do tornadoes move from the southwest toward the northeast?
Q4) Would it be possible for a tornado to form around a high pressure core?
Q5) Most tornadoes last only a few minutes;some tornadoes have existed for several hours.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Warm,humid air spins when drawn into a supercell thunderstorm.
A)True
B)False
Q7) The region of greatest tornado activity shifts northward from early spring to summer.Why does this occur?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Hurricanes
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41 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) In order for a hurricane to form,the layer of warm water must extend from the ocean surface to a depth of at least 400 meters.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Why can't hurricanes form in the midlatitudes?
Q3) As a northward-moving hurricane passes to the east of an area,surface winds should change from:
A)NW to N to NE.
B)W to SW to S.
C)NE to N to NW.
D)S to SW to W.
E)SE to S to SW.
Q4) In what ways would you expect hurricanes in the Southern Hemisphere to be different from hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere?
Q5) Hurricane winds rotate in a clockwise direction:
A)in the Northern Hemisphere only.
B)in the Southern Hemisphere only.
C)in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
D)in neither hemisphere.
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Chapter 14: Weather Forecasting
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41 Verified Questions
41 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Weather forecast that predicts that the future weather will be the same as the present weather is called a persistence forecast.
A)True
B)False
Q2) If there is a chance for tornadoes tomorrow,a weather watch would probably be issued.
A)True
B)False
Q3) If you wanted to make a persistence forecast of minimum and maximum temperatures for a particular city,which type of chart would be most helpful?
A)surface chart
B)meteogram
C)500 mb chart
D)adiabatic chart
E)Doppler radar display
Q4) Assuming you know last night's minimum temperature,what weather information would you use to predict tonight's minimum temperature?
Q5) List some of the factors that affect the accuracy of atmospheric models.
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Chapter 15: The Earths Changing Climate
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50 Verified Questions
50 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the conditions below would most likely produce warming at the earth's surface?
A)increase the amount of low-level global cloudiness
B)increase the amount of sulfur-rich particles in the stratosphere
C)decrease the energy output of the sun
D)increase the amount of global snow cover
E)increase the amount of high-level global cloud cover
Q2) Large volcanic eruptions with an ash veil that enters the stratosphere,tend to __________ at the surface.
A)increase temperatures
B)increase precipitation
C)decrease temperatures
D)have no effect
Q3) A high concentration of oxygen 16 found in the ice caves of Antarctica and Greenland would indicate __________ at the time the ice was formed.
A)cold air temperatures
B)mild winters
C)intense ultraviolet radiation
D)the caves were under the ocean
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