Earth Science

Q: Where is the Coriolis force greatest? A) low latitude B) high latitude C) anywhere air moves north or south D) intermediate latitudes

Q: The force that generates wind is ________. A) Coriolis force B) gravity force C) centrifugal force D) pressure gradient force

Q: When Hurricane Katrina was a category 5 hurricane at its peak strength, the air pressure in the eye of the storm was 902mb. Near the earth's surface, the air pressure falls off at roughly 100mb per kilometer. So if you had an uncorrected altimeter in the eye of Katrina at sea level (not a good place to be), what altitude would it have read? A) 10,000 m B) 2010 m C) 1020 m D) 115 m

Q: Inches of mercury is something that would only be used in America. Elsewhere in the world, the mercury height would be in millimeters, or about 760mm (76cm). Mercury has a density of about 13.56 g/cm3, or in other words, each cm of mercury weighs about 13,300 dynes. So 760mm of mercury weighs 1,013,000 dynes. 1 mb is 1 dyne/cm2, so what is the air pressure in mb? A) 760 mb B) 1,000,000 mb C) 1013 mb D) 1.013 mb

Q: You might wonder why a millibar isn't exactly 1/1000th of an atmosphere. The unit is actually related to the old CGS units because atmospheric pressure is close to this unit. In CGS units 1 bar = 1000 dynes/cm2. Pressure is often incorrectly reported as kg/cm2, which is neither a legitimate pressure unit nor a standard SI unit (pressure is force/unit area, and kg are a mass unit, and SI units never mix kg and cm). So let's straighten out your friends on these units. Standard air pressure in this incorrect unit is 1.034 kg/cm2. The weight of a kg at the earth's surface is 980,000 dynes. So what is standard air pressure in millibars? A) 750 mb B) 890 mb C) 1013 mb D) 1143 mb

Q: An altimeter is an adaptation of the ________. A) mercurial barometer B) aneroid barometer C) barograph D) anemometer

Q: Which of these instruments is not used to measure air pressure? A) mercurial barometer B) aneroid barometer C) barograph D) anemometer

Q: The mercurial barometer was invented by ________. A) Torricelli B) Galileo C) Newton D) Watt

Q: Standard sea level pressure in inches of mercury is ________. A) 7.52 inches B) 14.70 inches C) 28.70 inches D) 29.92 inches

Q: On a given day in the winter in St. Louis, Missouri, it began snowing in the morning, the snow changed to rain by noon, later in the afternoon sleet was falling which turned to snow, and by evening rain was freezing on bridges and roadways as glaze. Briefly explain how such a sequence of precipitation might occur.

Q: Compare and contrast Bergeron Process with the Collision-Coalescence Process.

Q: Considering the factors involved in the formation of clouds, briefly discuss the relationship of climate and clouds. Would you expect such things as cloud height and the types of clouds to vary from one region to another due to differing climates? Why or why not? Also, how would geography affect this process?

Q: Why is the vertical movement of air critical to the formation of clouds and precipitation? What role do adiabatic temperature changes play in these processes?

Q: Label the various clouds on the diagram below.

Q: Fill in the missing terms on the diagram below.

Q: When supercooled raindrops freeze on contact with solid objects, ________ forms.

Q: A wintertime form of precipitation that consists of small ice particles is called ________.

Q: When warm moist air moves over a cold surface, ________ fog may result.

Q: What type of fog forms in valleys at night?

Q: The ________ is the temperature to which a parcel of air would need to be cooled in order to reach saturation.

Q: Thunder and lightning are normally associated with ________ clouds.

Q: High clouds that form delicate veil-like patches or wispy fibers are called ________ clouds.

Q: The term used to describe clouds that consist of globular masses that take on a billowy form is ________.

Q: ________ clouds that form sheets or layers that cover much of the sky.

Q: If a packet of cool air were forced to rise and became cooler than the surrounding air is the packet considered to be stable or unstable?

Q: ________ wedging occurs when warm air is forced over cooler air.

Q: ________ temperature changes are those that do not involve the addition or subtraction of heat.

Q: ________ is the mass of water vapor in a unit of air compared to the remaining mass of dry air.

Q: The process by which water vapor changes directly to a solid is called ________.

Q: The change of state from a gas to a liquid is called ________.

Q: Clouds form because rising air cools as it comes in contact with colder air aloft.

Q: When air rises, it expands and cools adiabatically.

Q: When air sinks, it compresses and warms.

Q: Stable air will not produce clouds.

Q: A system with an environmental lapse rate of 5oC/1000 m and a dry adiabatic of 10C is stable.

Q: When unstable air is forced to rise, towering clouds and stormy conditions are expected.

Q: When stable air is forced to rise, any clouds that are produced are generally thin and flat lying.

Q: Air that resists vertical motion is described as being stable.

Q: Orographic lifting occurs where sloping terrains, such as mountains, act as barriers to the flow of air.

Q: Relative humidity indicates amount of water vapor in the air.

Q: Dew point is the temperature at which the air is saturated.

Q: When air is cooled to its dew point, the relative humidity is 100%.

Q: The capacity of air to "hold" water vapor is temperature dependent.

Q: Relative humidity is usually expressed as a percent.

Q: Generally the water vapor content of the air over a tropical desert exceeds that of the air over the polar ice caps.

Q: If the temperature drops and the amount of moisture in the air remains unchanged, the relative humidity will increase.

Q: If the temperature rises and the amount of moisture in the air remains unchanged, the relative humidity will increase.

Q: Because the mixing ratio is expressed in units of mass, it is affected by changes in pressure or temperature.

Q: Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern. sleet snow hail freezing rain

Q: What is the important measure from weather radar that gives the intensity of the precipitation? A) brightness of the echo B) time of the echo C) number of echoes from a single point D) height of the echo E) none of the above

Q: Why does a rain gauge have a wide opening that funnels into a narrow tube? A) Rain drops are too far apart to measure with a narrow opening. B) The narrow tube takes less space. C) The wide opening allows evaporation so it is a more accurate representation of what actually happens on the surface. D) The narrow tube minimizes evaporation and magnifies the amount of rain captured by the wide opening.

Q: How does snow vary with temperature? A) Warm snow is powdery and light, while cold snow is moist. B) Cold snow is powdery and light, while warm snow is moist. C) Snow has a uniform moisture content, but warm snow consists of larger crystals. D) Snow has a uniform moisture content, but cold snow consists of larger crystals. E) Warm snow is often called sleet because it is mixed with rain, but cold snow is more like hail with very large solid ice crystals.

Q: A wintertime form of precipitation that consists of small ice particles is called ________. A) rime B) glaze C) hail D) sleet

Q: Glaze is not a common weather term in the U.S., but it is probably associated with weather forecasts of ________. A) thunderstorms B) snowstorms C) blizzards D) ice storms E) hail storms

Q: Why are raindrops larger than 5 millimeters rare? A) There is no process to form large raindrops in clouds. B) Because they start as snowflakes, they must grow much larger than 5 millimeters while falling from a cloud without sublimating. C) The frictional drag from falling is greater than the surface tension that holds the drops together when they get larger than 5 millimeters. D) If they form larger than 5 millimeters then they will reach the ground as snow or hail instead of rain because they cannot melt completely.

Q: The Coalescence-Collision Process applies to ________ . A) super cooled water vapor in a cloud B) coexisting ice and water droplets in a cloud C) warm clouds D) cold clouds

Q: Under what circumstances could the relative humidity exceed 100% without producing condensation in the air? A) when the dew point is higher than the air temperature B) when the air is perfectly dry C) when the water vapor is composed of "heavy" water D) when there are no condensation nuclei

Q: The Bergeron Process suggests that the coexistence of ice crystals and supercooled water droplets in a cloud is ideal for producing rain because ________. A) the ice crystals have a stronger affinity for water vapor than does liquid water. B) the ice crystals have a stronger affinity for liquid water than does water vapor C) the liquid water has a stronger affinity for water vapor than do ice crystals. D) the ice crystals provide nuclei needed to form more water droplets E) the ice crystals provide the nuclei for snowflakes to form as precipitation

Q: A super cooled liquid needs to ________ to turn into a solid. A) sublimate B) collide with an object C) lose volume D) increase volume E) coalesce with other liquids

Q: Cloud water droplets remain a liquid to temperatures as low as ________. A) 0oC B) 0oF C) -10oC D) -40oC E) -25oC

Q: Which one of the fogs listed below may be categorized as an evaporation fog? A) advection B) radiation C) steam D) upslope

Q: This fog results from adiabatic cooling. A) advection B) radiation C) steam D) upslope

Q: When warm moist air moves over a cold surface, ________ fog may result. A) advection B) radiation C) steam D) upslope

Q: This fog forms in valleys at night. A) advection fog B) radiation fog C) steam fog D) precipitation fog

Q: Which of the following is not a type of fog caused by cooling of near surface air to below its dew point? A) radiation fog B) frontal fog C) advection fog D) upslope fog

Q: Advective fogs form when warm, moist air moves over a cool surface so this type of fog is likely to be common in ________. A) desert areas near water where air is heated during the day and then the ground cools quickly B) cities where moisture is added to the air by watering systems C) the western coast of the U.S. where the ocean water is usually cooler than the air D) the eastern coast of the U.S. where the ocean water is usually warmer than the air

Q: A dark gray cloud that blankets the sky and often generates precipitation is called ________. A) cirrostratus B) nimbostratus C) altostratus D) cirrus

Q: A halo around the Sun or Moon indicates that this cloud type is present. A) cirrostratus B) cumulonimbus C) altostratus D) cirrus

Q: This cloud type is confined to the middle height range. A) cirrostratus B) cumulonimbus C) altostratus D) cirrus

Q: Thunder and lightning are associated with these clouds. A) cirrostratus B) cumulonimbus C) altostratus D) cirrus

Q: This cloud sometimes produces "mare's tails." A) cirrostratus B) cumulonimbus C) altostratus D) cirrus

Q: This term is used to describe clouds that produce precipitation. A) cumulus B) stratus C) cirrus D) nimbo

Q: High clouds that form delicate veil-like patches or extended wispy fibers are termed ________. A) cumulus B) stratus C) cirrus D) alto

Q: This term is used to describe clouds found in the middle height range. A) cumulus B) stratus C) cirrus D) alto

Q: The cloud form that consists of globular cloud masses that take on a billowy or "cauliflowerlike" structure is called ________. A) cumulus B) stratus C) cirrus D) alto

Q: The cloud form that is best described as sheets or layers that cover much or all of the sky is termed ________. A) cumulus B) stratus C) cirrus D) alto

1 2 3 … 107 Next »

Subjects