Meteorology Review Questions
Course Introduction
Meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere, focusing on the processes and phenomena that determine weather and climate patterns. This course explores the fundamental principles of atmospheric dynamics, thermodynamics, cloud formation, precipitation, and severe weather events. Students will examine methods of weather observation and forecasting, analyze climatic trends, and learn how meteorology affects both the natural world and human activity. Practical applications such as interpreting weather maps, using meteorological instruments, and understanding the impact of human activities on atmospheric processes are also emphasized.
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) Standing at the top of a tall mountain,a breath of air would contain a lot fewer molecules than a breath of air taken at sea level,but the proportion of oxygen in the two breaths of air,relative to the other constituents,would remain the same.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Hurricanes inflict most of their damage after crossing from the ocean onto the land.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Under what circumstances might a person breathe stratospheric air? How often is it likely to happen in a student's lifetime?
Answer: no answer
Q5) Describe the relationship between gravity and weight.
Answer: no answer
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Chapter 2: Energy That Drives the Storms
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49 Verified Questions
49 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the Northern Hemisphere,this day has the fewest hours of daylight:
A)summer solstice
B)winter solstice
C)vernal equinox
D)autumnal equinox
Answer: B
Q2) The fact that solar energy is spread over a larger area in northern latitudes helps to explain why even though these latitudes experience 24 hours of sunlight on June 22,they are not warmer than latitudes further south.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The heat energy released when water vapor changes to a liquid is called:
A)latent heat of evaporation.
B)latent heat of fusion.
C)latent heat of fission.
D)latent heat of condensation.
Answer: D
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4
Chapter 3: Temperature and Humidity Extremes
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39 Verified Questions
39 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The largest annual ranges of temperatures are found:
A)at polar latitudes over land.
B)at polar latitudes over water.
C)at middle latitudes near large bodies of wate.r
D)at the Equator.
E)in the Northern Central Plains of the United States.
Answer: A
Q2) During the afternoon the greatest temperature difference between the surface air and the air several meters above occurs on a:
A)clear,calm afternoon.
B)clear,windy afternoon.
C)cloudy,calm afternoon.
D)cloudy,windy afternoon.
Answer: A
Q3) The strongest radiation inversions occur when:
A)skies are overcast.
B)skies are partly cloudy.
C)skies are clear.
D)precipitation is falling.
Answer: C
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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) Particles that serve as surfaces on which water vapor may condense are called condensation nuclei.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Cumulonimbus clouds indicate unstable atmospheric conditions.What stops the upward growth and causes the top of a cumulonimbus cloud to flatten out into an anvil?
Q3) Light or moderate-but-steady precipitation is most often associated with __________ clouds.
A)nimbostratus
B)cirrostratus
C)cirrocumulus
D)cumulonimbus
Q4) When viewed from the surface,the smallest individual cloud elements (puffs)are observed with which cloud?
A)stratocumulus
B)cumulus
C)cirrocumulus
D)altocumulus
E)cumulonimbus
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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) Describe the changes in atmospheric stability throughout a 24 hour period beginning at sunrise on a cloudless summer day over land.
Q2) Which of the following would increase the environmental lapse rate?
A)cold advection at higher altitudes
B)daytime solar heating
C)surface radiational cooling
D)all of the above
E)both (a)and (b)
Q3) Subsidence inversions are best developed with __________ pressure areas because of the __________ air motions associated with them.
A)high,rising
B)high,sinking
C)low,rising
D)low,sinking
Q4) If the environmental lapse rate is 5<sup>o</sup> C per 1,000 m and the temperature at the earth's surface is 25<sup>o</sup> C,then the air temperature at 2,000 m above the ground is 20<sup>o</sup> C.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Precipitation Extremes
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40 Verified Questions
40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Thunderstorm cloud bases are generally higher above the ground in Arizona than in Florida.Why?
Q2) The main difference between a cloud drop and a raindrop is its:
A)color.
B)size.
C)shape.
D)none of the above
Q3) Which cloud type below will only produce precipitation by the collision-coalescence process?
A)a thick,cold nimbostratus cloud
B)a thick,warm cumulus cloud
C)a thick,cold cumulus cloud
D)a thick,supercooled cumulonimbus cloud with abundant nuclei
E)a supercooled cumulus congestus cloud
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) Briefly describe the differences in the atmospheric temperature profiles necessary to produce snow,freezing rain,sleet,and hail.
Q6) What is the main difference between a raindrop and a cloud droplet?
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Atmospheric Motions
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45 Verified Questions
45 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following can influence wind direction?
A)Coriolis force
B)pressure gradient force
C)centripetal force
D)all of the above
Q2) Low __________ on a constant height chart corresponds to low __________ on a constant pressure chart.
A)pressures,pressures
B)pressures,heights
C)heights,pressures
D)heights,heights
Q3) Winds blow slightly inward around surface low pressure centers in the Southern Hemisphere.
A)True
B)False
Q4) If the earth stopped rotating there would no longer be a Coriolis force.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain why strong upper-level divergence will cause the pressure in the center of a surface low to decrease.
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Chapter 8: Wind Systems
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41 Verified Questions
41 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Summertime weather forecasts for cities on the shores of the Great Lakes often contain the phrase "cooler near the lake".Explain the relevance of this phrase.
Q2) 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.
Q3) Chicago,Illinois (latitude 42<sup>o</sup>N)is located in the northeast trades.
A)True
B)False
Q4) 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
Q5) A sea or land breeze is caused by temperature differences.
A)True
B)False
Q6) How might a knowledge of the direction of the prevailing wind at a given location be used in landscape design or the design of an energy efficient home?
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Chapter 9: Air Masses and Fronts
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Sample Questions
Q1) The air mass with the highest actual water vapor content is:
A)mT
B)cT
C)mP
D)cP
Q2) Describe some of the changes in weather conditions (winds,temperature,clouds,precipitation,pressure changes)that you would expect to observe as a cold front approaches and passes through your location.
Q3) Draw side views of a typical warm and cold front.Indicate the temperatures of the separate air masses and show their directions of motion.What types of clouds would you expect to find and where? Where would you expect precipitation to occur?
Q4) What type of air mass would be responsible for daily afternoon thunderstorms along the Gulf Coast?
A)mP
B)mT
C)cP
D)cT
Q5) When a warm and cold air mass collide,why is the warm air is forced upward?
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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) Developing low pressure areas generally have __________ air near the surface and __________ air aloft.
A)converging,diverging
B)diverging,converging
C)converging,converging
D)diverging,diverging
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)the Great Basin of the United States.
E)Gulf of Mexico.
Q3) List some of the reasons why the polar front theory doesn't apply to storms in the tropics.
Q4) Cyclogenesis is the __________ of a mid-latitude cyclone.
A)development or strengthening
B)weakening or dissipation
C)term for the exact midpoint
D)none of the above
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Chapter 11: Thunderstorms
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41 Verified Questions
41 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) List and describe the stages of development of an ordinary cell thunderstorm.About how long does a single ordinary thunderstorm cell last?
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) An ordinary cell thunderstorm is most intense during the __________ stage.
A)mature
B)multicell
C)cumulus
D)dissipating
Q4) What is wind shear? Why does wind shear represent a hazard to aviation?
Q5) The most likely time for an ordinary call 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 12: Tornadoes
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40 Verified Questions
40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What makes a tornado-producing thunderstorm different from other thunderstorms?
Q2) After a tornado is spotted:
A)a tornado watch is issued.
B)its direction of movement is carefully monitored by aircraft.
C)a tornado warning is issued.
D)hail begins to fall from the cloud.
E)attempts may be made to change its direction of movement.
Q3) Compare some damaging straight-line winds with tornado winds.Which do you think are more destructive? Why?
Q4) At home,when confronted with an approaching tornado,you should:
A)open the windows right away.
B)grab a video camera and start filming.
C)listen to see whether the tornado has an audible roar.
D)seek shelter immediately.
Q5) A funnel cloud is composed primarily of:
A)cloud droplets.
B)dust and dirt from the ground.
C)raindrops.
D)hail.
E)ice crystals.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Hurricanes
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41 Verified Questions
41 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) List and describe some of the conditions that are favorable to hurricane development.What atmospheric conditions inhibit hurricane formation and growth?
Q2) Hurricanes dissipate when:
A)they move over colder water.
B)they move over land.
C)surface inflow of air exceeds upper-level outflow of air.
D)all of the above
Q3) Because of the conservation of angular momentum,air spiraling inward toward the center of a hurricane __________ in speed.
A)decreases
B)increases
C)remains constant
Q4) The energy for hurricanes comes from the transfer of sensible and latent heat from the ocean surface to the atmosphere.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Hurricanes have strong divergence at their tops.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Weather Forecasting
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41 Verified Questions
41 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is presently a problem with modern-day weather predictions?
A)computer forecast models make assumptions about the atmosphere that are not always correct.
B)there are regions of the world where only space observations are available.
C)computer models do not always adequately interpret the surface's influence on the weather.
D)the distance between grid points on some models is too large to pick up smaller-scale weather features such as thunderstorms.
E)all of the above
Q2) The forecasting of weather by a computer is known as numerical weather prediction.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A "forecast based on weather types" is a forecasting technique that produces several versions of a forecast model,each beginning with slightly different weather information to reflect errors in the measurements.
A)True
B)False
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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) The higher the ratio of oxygen 18 to oxygen 16 in the shells of organisms that lived in the sea during the geologic past,the colder the climate at that time.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Lowering of sea levels is not one of the possible consequences of global warming predicted by climate models.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have been increasing steadily since the beginning of the industrial revolution and may double before the end of the current century.Why is this of concern?
Q4) The most recent warming trend experienced over the Northern Hemisphere could be the result of increasing volcanic eruptions.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Precession of the equinox refers to the wobble of the earth on its axis.
A)True
B)False
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