Physical Geography
Exam Solutions
Course Introduction
Physical Geography explores the processes and patterns of the natural environment, focusing on the Earths atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere. Through the study of landforms, climate, vegetation, soils, and water systems, students gain an understanding of how these systems interact and shape the physical landscape. The course emphasizes both the theoretical foundations and the practical applications of physical geography, including natural hazards, resource management, and the impacts of human activities on the environment. Through lectures, fieldwork, and laboratory exercises, students develop analytical and observational skills essential for interpreting the dynamic physical world.
Recommended Textbook
Extreme Weather and Climate 1st Edition by C. Donald Ahrens
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15 Chapters
633 Verified Questions
633 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: The Turbulent Atmosphere
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Sample Questions
Q1) Water vapor shows more variation from place to place and from time to time than any other atmospheric gas.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) In a volume of air near the earth's surface,__________ occupies 78 percent And __________ nearly 21 percent.
A)nitrogen,oxygen
B)hydrogen,oxygen
C)oxygen,hydrogen
D)nitrogen,water vapor
E)hydrogen,helium
Answer: A
Q3) The ozone hole is an actual hole in the atmosphere,a region of complete vacuum.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) Why is there very little water vapor above the tropopause?
Answer: no answer
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Chapter 2: Energy That Drives the Storms
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Sample Questions
Q1) If the earth's average surface temperature were to increase,the amount of radiation emitted from the earth's surface would __________ and the wavelength of peak emission would shift toward __________ wavelengths.
A)increase,shorter
B)increase,longer
C)decrease,shorter
D)decrease,longer
Answer: A
Q2) Air that rises always:
A)contracts and warms.
B)contracts and cools.
C)expands and cools.
D)expands and warms.
Answer: C
Q3) The most important reason why summers in the Southern Hemisphere are not warmer than summers in the Northern Hemisphere is that over 80% of the Southern Hemisphere is covered with water.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Temperature and Humidity Extremes
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39 Verified Questions
39 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The primary cause of a radiation inversion is:
A)infrared radiation emitted by the earth's surface.
B)infrared radiation absorbed by the earth's surface.
C)solar radiation absorbed by the earth's surface.
D)solar radiation reflected by the earth's surface.
E)infrared radiation absorbed by the atmosphere and clouds.
Answer: A
Q2) 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.
Q3) Hypothermia is most common in cold,dry weather.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Condensation in the Atmosphere
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Sample Questions
Q1) Suppose it is a winter night and at about 11 pm the air cools to the dew-point temperature and a thick radiation fog develops.If the air continues to cool during the night,in 5 hours the dew point temperature will probably:
A)decrease as the air becomes drier.
B)decrease as the air becomes moister.
C)increase as the air becomes drier.
D)increase as the air becomes moister.
Q2) Explain how the stability of the atmosphere can affect the types of clouds that form.
Q3) An air parcel that is warmer than its surroundings will rise.What force accounts for this upward motion?
Q4) Mammatus clouds form in descending air.
A)True B)False
Q5) What kinds of information about clouds can you determine using infrared and visible satellite photographs?
Q6) Cirrocumulus clouds rarely produce precipitation that reaches the ground. A)True B)False
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Chapter 5: Clouds and Stability
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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.
Q2) The most latent heat would be released in a __________ parcel of __________ saturated air.
A)rising,warm
B)rising,cold
C)sinking,warm
D)sinking,cold
Q3) Subsidence increases stability.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Suppose you observe lenticular clouds that appear to be motionless.Is the air in the vicinity of the cloud motionless? Explain.
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Chapter 6: Precipitation Extremes
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is one reason that snow is more common in winter than in summer?
A)Precipitation falling from a cloud as snow has a better chance of surviving when temperatures are cold.
B)Very tall clouds are more common in winter than in summer.
C)Cumulonimbus clouds rarely occur in winter.
D)The atmosphere is usually more unstable in summer.
Q2) 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
Q3) After a rainstorm,visibility typically:
A)deteriorates.
B)is unaffected.
C)improves.
Q4) It is never too cold to snow.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Design an automated device for measuring snowfall.How might it work?
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Chapter 7: Atmospheric Motions
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Sample Questions
Q1) The pressure gradient force is directed from higher pressure toward lower pressure:
A)only at the equator.
B)at all places on earth except for the equator.
C)only in the Northern Hemisphere.
D)only in the Southern Hemisphere.
E)at all places on earth.
Q2) Suppose that the winds aloft are geostrophic and blowing from the north.Low pressure is located to the east.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Warm air aloft is associated with constant pressure surfaces that are found At __________ altitude than normal and __________ than normal atmospheric pressure aloft.
A)higher,higher
B)higher,lower
C)lower,higher
D)lower,lower
Q4) Explain why closely-spaced contour lines on an upper-level isobaric chart are associated with fast winds.
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Chapter 8: Wind Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) Surface winds are generally strongest and most gusty:
A)in the afternoon.
B)in the early morning.
C)around midnight.
D)just after sunset.
E)just before sunrise.
Q2) In the Northern Hemisphere,the polar jet stream is strongest when:
A)air north of the polar front is much colder than air south of the polar front.
B)air north of the polar front is much warmer than air south of the polar front.
C)air temperatures on opposite sides of the polar front are about equal.
D)air temperatures on the East Coast of the US are much colder than on the West. Coast of the US
Q3) In Honolulu,Hawaii (latitude 21<sup>o</sup> N),you would most likely experience winds blowing from the:
A)northeast.
B)south.
C)southwest.
D)northwest.
Q4) What is meant by the term monsoon wind system? How is this wind system different from a land-sea breeze?
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Chapter 9: Air Masses and Fronts
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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
Q2) What type of air mass would be responsible for refreshing cool,dry breezes after a long summer hot spell in the Central Plains?
A)mP
B)mT
C)cP
D)cT
Q3) One would expect a cP air mass to be:
A)cold and dry.
B)cold and moist.
C)warm and dry.
D)warm and moist.
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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Sample Questions
Q1) Suppose you observe a middle-latitude cyclone on the surface weather chart.What kind(s)of weather chart(s)would you want to examine to determine whether the cyclone is likely to strengthen or decay over the next 24 hours? What information would you hope to gain from each chart type?
Q2) Sketch a 500 mb chart that clearly shows a trough and a ridge.Where would you expect to find converging and diverging wind motions? Below what point on your 500 mb chart would you expect middle latitude storm development to occur?
Q3) If the flow of air into a surface low pressure area is greater than the divergence of air aloft,the surface pressure in the center of the low will:
A)increase.
B)decrease.
C)remain the same.
D)deepen.
Q4) What does the term "shortwave" refer to? Why is it important to locate and follow the movements of atmospheric shortwaves? How is this done? How is a shortwave different from a "longwave?"
Q5) When making a weather forecast,which kind of chart is more important: a surface chart or a 500 mb chart? Why?
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Chapter 11: Thunderstorms
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Sample Questions
Q1) The upper part of a thunderstorm cloud is normally __________ charged,and the middle and lower parts are __________ charged.
A)negatively,negatively
B)negatively,positively
C)positively,positively
D)positively,negatively
Q2) Conditional instability is a favorable condition for thunderstorm formation.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Why is the weather so violent inside a supercell thunderstorm?
Q4) The wind shear associated with several major airline crashes is believed to have been caused by:
A)microbursts
B)dry lines
C)the jet stream
D)mesocyclones
Q5) Severe thunderstorms often occur where the dryline intersects a front or an outflow boundary.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 12: Tornadoes
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Sample Questions
Q1) When the air is dry tornado winds can remain invisible until they reach the ground and pick up dust.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Damage to structures inflicted by tornadoes can be caused by:
A)flying debris.
B)the tornadoes high winds.
C)the drop in air pressure as a tornado moves overhead.
D)all of the above
E)none of the above
Q3) The Enhanced Fujita Scale for classifying tornado strength is based on:
A)multiple damage indicators.
B)degree of damage.
C)atmospheric stability.
D)both a and b
E)none of the above
Q4) Why is wind shear important in tornado formation?
Q5) How is the atmosphere able to concentrate such an enormous amount of energy into a vortex as small as a tornado?
Q6) Would it be possible for a tornado to form around a high pressure core?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Hurricanes
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Sample Questions
Q1) The strongest winds in a hurricane heading westward toward Florida would most likely be found on the __________ side.
A)northern
B)southern
C)eastern
D)western
Q2) Suppose the eye of a hurricane passed directly over you,and you survived the experience.If winds were from the northeast as the eyewall first approached you,from what direction did the winds blow when the eyewall reached you the second time?
A)NW
B)NE
C)SE
D)SW
Q3) Why can't hurricanes form in the midlatitudes?
Q4) The favorable stability condition for hurricane development is:
A)a deep layer of stable air.
B)a shallow layer of absolutely unstable air.
C)a shallow layer of conditionally unstable air.
D)a deep layer of conditionally unstable air.
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Chapter 14: Weather Forecasting
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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) 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
Q3) Describe the relationship between dew point and minimum temperatures.
Q4) Describe four different types of weather forecasting methods and give an example of each.
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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Sample Questions
Q1) Where is the Sahel located? Is this a region of scarce,variable or abundant rainfall? Describe the biogeophysical feedback mechanism whereby a reduction in surface vegetation might cause a reduction in precipitation amounts.
Q2) Discuss the changes that occur in the earth's orbit and orientation of the earth in its orbit.Over what time scales do these different changes occur?
Q3) Ice cores record both the record of past temperatures,and also the causes of climate change.
A)True
B)False
Q4) During a period when the earth's orbital tilt is at a minimum,which would probably not be true?
A)there should be less seasonal variation between summer and winter
B)more snow would probably fall during the winter in polar regions
C)there would be a lesser likelihood of glaciers at high latitudes
D)there would be less seasonal variations at middle latitudes
Q5) What combination of the earth's orbital eccentricity,and precession and obliquity of the earth's axis would produce hottest summer temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere?
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