Weather and Climate Exam
Solutions
Course Introduction
This course explores the fundamental principles of meteorology and climatology, examining how atmospheric processes shape weather patterns and long-term climate systems. Students will study topics such as atmospheric composition, energy balance, cloud formation, precipitation, wind systems, and severe weather phenomena, as well as the scientific methods used to monitor and predict weather. The course also covers human impacts on climate, global climate change, and related environmental issues, providing a comprehensive understanding of the complex interactions between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
Recommended Textbook
Meteorology Today An Introduction to Weather Climate and the Environment 10th Edition by C.
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Earth and Its Atmosphere
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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
Q2) The most abundant greenhouse gas in the earth's atmosphere is
A) carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>).
B) nitrous oxide (N<sub>2</sub>O).
C) water vapor (H<sub>2</sub>O).
D) methane (CH<sub>4</sub>).
E) chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
Answer: C
Q3) What causes air pressure? Why does air pressure decrease with increasing altitude?
Answer: no answer
Q4) What instruments are used in meteorology? What role did the discovery of instruments play in the emergence of the science of meteorology?
Answer: no answer
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Chapter 2: Energy: Warming the Earth and the Atmosphere
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain how energy in the form of sunlight absorbed at the ground could be transferred upward in the atmosphere in the form of latent heat.How or when is the latent heat energy released in the air above the ground?
Answer: no answer
Q2) The atmosphere near the earth's surface is "heated from below." Which of the following is NOT responsible for the heating?
A) conduction of heat upward from a hot surface
B) convection from a hot surface
C) absorption of infrared energy that has been radiated from the surface
D) heat energy from the earth's interior
Answer: D
Q3) The earth emits radiation with greatest intensity at
A) infrared wavelengths.
B) radio wavelengths.
C) visible wavelengths.
D) ultraviolet wavelengths.
Answer: A
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4
Chapter 3: Seasonal and Daily Temperatures
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Sample Questions
Q1) The earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5° with respect to the plane of its orbit around the sun.If the amount of tilt were increased to 40°,we would expect in middle latitudes
A) hotter summers and colder winters than at present.
B) cooler summers and milder winters than at present.
C) hotter summers and milder winters than at present.
D) cooler summers and colder winters than at present.
E) no appreciable change from present conditions.
Answer: A
Q2) Two objects,A and B,have the same mass but the specific heat of A is larger than B.If both objects absorb equal amounts of energy,
A) A will become warmer than B.
B) B will become warmer than A.
C) both A and B will warm at the same rate.
D) A will get warmer,but B will get colder.
Answer: B
Q3) What types of temperature data might be appropriate to include in a short description of a city or region's climate?
Answer: no answer
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5
Chapter 4: Atmospheric Humidity
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Sample Questions
Q1) If the air temperature in a room is 70°F,the saturation vapor pressure is 25 mb,the dew point temperature is 45°F,and the actual vapor pressure is 10 mb,then the relative humidity must be near ____ percent.
A) 15
B) 20
C) 35
D) 40
Q2) The main reason why vegetables take longer to cook in boiling water at high altitudes is because
A) water boils at a higher temperature with higher altitude.
B) the temperature of the boiling water decreases with increasing altitude.
C) there is less oxygen in the air at high altitude.
D) saturation vapor pressure decreases with increasing altitude.
Q3) Which of the following will increase in a rising parcel of air?
A) saturation vapor pressure
B) relative humidity
C) mixing ratio
D) air temperature
E) none of the above
Q4) 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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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following associations is not correct?
A) altostratus - middle cloud
B) cirrus - high cloud
C) stratocumulus - cloud of vertical development
D) cirrocumulus - high cloud
E) cumulonimbus - cloud of vertical development
Q2) With which cloud type would each of the following phenomena be associated?
lightning hail tornadoes
brief heavy rain steady rain milky sun
halo mackerel sky
Q3) Upslope fog forms because air ____ as it flows up a hill or mountain range.
A) warms adiabatically
B) warms radiatively
C) cools adiabatically
D) cools radiatively
Q4) Frost forms when
A) objects on the ground cool below the dew point temperature.
B) the dew point is 32 F or below.
C) water vapor changes into ice without first becoming a liquid.
D) all of the above
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Chapter 6: Stability and Cloud Development
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Sample Questions
Q1) At the earth's surface,a rising saturated air parcel would cool most rapidly when its temperature is
A) 10 F.
B) 32 F.
C) 50 F.
D) 68 F.
E) 80 F.
Q2) Suppose you observe lenticular clouds that appear to be motionless.Is the air in the vicinity of the cloud motionless? Explain.
Q3) The difference between the "moist" and "dry" adiabatic rates is due to
A) the fact that saturated air is always unstable.
B) the fact that an unsaturated air parcel expands more rapidly than a saturated air parcel.
C) the fact that moist air weighs less than dry air.
D) the fact that latent heat is released by a rising parcel of saturated air.
Q4) Describe the changes in atmospheric stability throughout a 24 hour period beginning at sunrise on a cloudless summer day over land.
Q5) Explain how the stability of the atmosphere can affect the types of clouds that form.
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Chapter 7: Precipitation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Fall streaks usually ____ before reaching the ground.
A) evaporate
B) condense
C) sublimate
D) deposit
Q2) In the winter you read in the newspaper that a large section of the Midwest is without power due to downed power lines.Which form of precipitation would most likely produce this situation?
A) snow
B) hail
C) freezing rain
D) sleet
E) rain
Q3) Which is NOT a correct association?
A) snow grains - hail
B) ground blizzard - drifting and blowing snow
C) snow squall - intense snow shower
D) sleet - ice pellet
E) freezing rain - glaze
Q4) How is precipitation measured using Doppler radar?
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Chapter 8: Air Pressure and Winds
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Sample Questions
Q1) The amount of pressure change that occurs over a given horizontal distance is called the
A) pressure tendency.
B) Coriolis parameter.
C) pressure gradient.
D) potential gradient.
E) slope.
Q2) On an upper-level chart,normally we find warm air associated with ____ pressure,and cold air associated with ____ pressure.
A) high,high
B) high,low
C) low,low
D) low,high
Q3) The unit of pressure most commonly found on a surface weather map is A) inches of mercury.
B) millibars or hectopascals.
C) pounds per square inch.
D) atmospheres.
Q4) Under what conditions might a station pressure of 750 mb be observed?
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Chapter 9: Wind: Small Scale and Local Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) A katabatic wind is a ____ and ____ wind.
A) cold,upslope
B) warm,upslope
C) cold,downslope
D) warm,downslope
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) The summer monsoon in eastern and southern Asia is characterized by
A) wet weather and winds blowing from land to sea.
B) dry weather and winds blowing from land to sea.
C) wet weather and winds blowing from sea to land.
D) dry weather and winds blowing from sea to land.
Q4) Draw a sketch to show where eddies can form when air blows rapidly over a mountain range.Show on your sketch where you might expect clouds to form.How would these clouds appear when viewed from the ground?
Q5) Clear air turbulence often occurs near a boundary of high wind shear.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Wind: Global Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to the three-cell general circulation model,at the equator we would not expect to find
A) the ITCZ.
B) a ridge of high pressure.
C) cumuliform clouds.
D) light winds.
E) heavy showers.
Q2) The average winds aloft are strongest in A) summer.
B) winter.
C) fall.
D) spring.
Q3) The low-level jet that forms over the Central Plains of the United States appears to be responsible for
A) the influx of cold,polar air.
B) the development of El Niño.
C) the onset of a chinook.
D) the formation of a subtropical high pressure area.
E) nighttime thunderstorms.
Q4) How do jet streams form?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Air Masses and Fronts
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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
Q2) A true cold front on a weather map is always
A) associated with precipitation.
B) associated with a wind shift.
C) followed by drier air.
D) followed by cooler air.
Q3) The only indication on the station model of past weather conditions is the A) temperature.
B) dew point.
C) cloud cover.
D) wind direction.
E) pressure tendency.
Q4) How do upper-air fronts form?
Q5) Explain why the observation of a halo around the moon or sun could forewarn of the arrival of a warm front.
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Chapter 12: Middle-Latitude Cyclones
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Sample Questions
Q1) Cyclogenesis often occurs in regions without horizontal temperature gradients.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The type of weather system known as a "mid-latitude cyclone" cannot form over the tropical ocean because:
A) surface temperature contrasts are not large.
B) the ocean surface has a lot of waves.
C) the Coriolis force is weak in the tropics.
D) both surface temperature contrasts are not large and the ocean surface has a lot of waves.
E) both surface temperature contrasts are not large and the Coriolis force is weak in the tropics.
Q3) Draw a sketch of a 500 mb chart that clearly shows a trough and a ridge.Where would you expect to find the maximum and minimum values of absolute vorticity? Where would you expect to find converging and diverging wind motions?
Q4) Describe or illustrate the various phases in the life cycle of a middle latitude storm according to the polar front theory.
Q5) Why is it important locate and follow the movements of atmospheric shortwaves?
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Page 14
Chapter 13: Weather Forecasting
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Sample Questions
Q1) The principle that "surface weather systems tend to move in the same direction and at approximately the same speed as they have been moving" forms the basis of which type of forecasting method?
A) persistence forecast
B) analogue method
C) steady-state forecast
D) ensemble forecast
Q2) Which weather advisory is issued when falling or blowing snow and winds of at least 35 miles per hour restrict visibility to less than 1/4 mile for several hours?
A) tornado warning
B) hurricane warning
C) snow advisory
D) blizzard warning
Q3) Suppose a large anticyclone covered the eastern United States.What do you think the corresponding 500-mb chart would look like? Why?
Q4) Describe the difference between persistence and steady-state forecasts.
Q5) Explain how observed teleconnection patterns can help in the preparation of a seasonal weather forecast.
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Chapter 14: Thunderstorms and Tornadoes
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Q1) During the summer,what conditions prevail near the surface over the Great Plains that help a hailstone survive as ice all the way to the ground?
A) a warm,shallow layer of dry air
B) a warm,thick layer of moist air
C) a cold,shallow layer of dry air
D) a cold,thick layer of moist air
E) a warm,shallow layer of moist air
Q2) What makes a tornado-producing thunderstorm different from other thunderstorms?
Q3) When caught in a thunderstorm in an open field,the best thing to do is to
A) run for cover under the nearest tree.
B) lie down flat on the ground.
C) crouch down as low as possible while minimizing contact with the ground.
D) remove all metallic objects from your pockets.
Q4) The electrification of a cumulonimbus cloud appears to involve
A) graupel or hailstones.
B) supercooled cloud droplets.
C) ice crystals.
D) all of the above
Q5) What is wind shear? Why does wind shear represent a hazard to aviation?
Q6) What is a squall line? Where would you expect squall lines to form?
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Chapter 15: Hurricanes
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Q1) As latent heat is released inside the clouds of a hurricane,the warming of the air aloft creates an area of ____ aloft.
A) low pressure
B) high pressure
Q2) Most of the destruction caused by a hurricane is due to A) high winds.
B) flooding.
C) tornadoes.
D) hail.
Q3) In a hurricane,the eye wall represents
A) the exact center of the storm.
B) the area of broken cloudiness at the center.
C) a region of light winds and low pressure.
D) a zone of intense thunderstorms around the center.
E) a layer of cirrus cloud in the center of the storm.
Q4) Would you expect hurricanes in the Southern Hemisphere to be any different from hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere? Why or why not?
Q5) Why can't hurricanes form in the mid-latitudes?
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) The ocean's conveyor belt circulation is controlled by A) gradients in temperature.
B) gradients in salinity.
C) gradients in density.
D) all of the above
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) Which of the following has been used to reconstruct past climates?
A) analysis of air bubbles trapped in ice
B) study of documents describing floods,droughts and crop yields
C) the ratio of oxygen 18 to oxygen 16 in the shells of marine organisms
D) study of geologic formations
E) all of the above
Q4) Briefly describe the climatic variations that have occurred since the beginning of the Pleistocene epoch to the present day.
Q5) Describe the role of clouds in climate change.
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Global Climate
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Q1) The tropical wet-and-dry climate is influenced mainly by the
A) polar front and the subtropical highs.
B) polar front and the ITCZ.
C) subtropical highs and polar front.
D) ITCZ and subtropical highs.
E) subtropical highs and polar lows.
Q2) The earth's rainforests are found in
A) humid subtropical (Cfa)climates.
B) tropical wet (Af)climates.
C) tropical wet and dry (Aw)climates.
D) all of the above
Q3) The most abundant climate type over the face of the earth is
A) moist tropical climates.
B) dry climates.
C) moist subtropical mid-latitude climates.
D) moist continental climates.
E) polar climates.
Q4) Identify and describe the different climatic zones you would observe if you traveled from west to east across the middle of the United States?
Q5) 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) Which of the following is not true of fine particulate matter (particles less than one micrometer in diameter)in the atmosphere?
A) Particles may remain suspended in the atmosphere for several weeks.
B) Particles are not readily removed from the atmosphere by rain and snow.
C) Particles are small enough to penetrate into the lungs.
D) Particles can cause a significant reduction in visibility.
Q2) Which of the following conditions would act to prevent a buildup of pollutants near the surface?
A) light surface winds
B) a strong subsidence inversion
C) a large,slow-moving anticyclone
D) a deep mixing layer
Q3) Studies suggest that downwind of a large industrial area
A) average annual precipitation can increase.
B) higher surface temperatures are observed.
C) breezy conditions are frequently observed.
D) all of the above
Q4) Describe some of the ways an industrial facility that is constructed in or near a large urban area could attempt to reduce emissions of air pollutants.
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Chapter 19: Light, Color, and Atmospheric Optics
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Q1) On the average,as a cloud grows thicker (taller),which below does not occur?
A) More sunlight is reflected from the cloud.
B) Less sunlight is transmitted through the cloud.
C) Less sunlight is absorbed by the cloud.
D) More light is scattered by the cloud.
Q2) At sunset in the middle latitudes,look for a rainbow toward the A) north.
B) south.
C) east.
D) west.
Q3) Using a diagram,if necessary,show why an inferior mirage produces an inverted image.
Q4) If the temperature was constant in the lowest 1,000 meters of the atmosphere,conditions would be ____ for viewing a mirage.
A) good
B) excellent
C) average
D) poor
Q5) Describe the changes in appearance of a late-afternoon rainbow as the sun sinks toward the horizon.
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