Flat and puffy clouds with horizontal development are classed as
a) cumuliform
b) cirroform
c) stratiform
c) stratiform
In which of the following months would the relative humidity like be the highest (assuming a Northern Hemisphere station)
a) March
b) July
c) September
d) January
d) January
A(n) __________ is an instrument used to measure wind speed
a) barometer
b) sling psychrometer
c) anemometer
d) wind vane
c) anemometer
Air rising as a result of being stimulated by local surface heating is an example of ___________ lifting
a) convergent
b) convectional
c) orographic
d) frontal
b) convectional
The capacity of air for water vapor is primarily a function of the __________ of both the air and water vapor
a) temperature
b) pressure
c) volume
d) density
a) temperature
The dry leeward side of a mountain is often termed a(n)
a) rain shadow
b) chinook
c) orogeny
d) front
a) rain shadow
Relative humidity is
a) the amount of water vapor in the air relative to the water vapor capacity of the air
b) a basically unused concept when it comes to weather topics
c) the amount of water vapor ini the air compared to the normal amount
d) the amount
a) the amount of water vapor in the air relative to the water vapor capacity of the air
Surface tension and capillarity are the result of
a) molecular hold
b) hydrogen bonding
c) gravitational attraction
d) magnetic bonding
b) hydrogen bonding
Variations of wind speed and direction with altitude is known as
a) supercells
b) wind shear
c) convection
d) convergence
b) wind shear
Seasonally shifting wind systems associated with the annual cycle of returning precipitation are known as
a) sea breezes
b) Santa Ana winds
c) monsoons
d) chinook winds
c) monsoons
Air flow is initiated by the
a) friction force
b) centrifugal force
c) pressure gradient force
d) Coriolis force
c) pressure gradient force
A(n) __________ is a homogeneous volume of air defined based on its temperature, and moisture
a) front
b) cyclone
c) air mass
d) parcel
c) air mass
Water covers approximately ________ of Earth's surface
a) 90 percent
b) 50 percent
c) 25 percent
d) 71 percent
d) 71 percent
Eustasy refers to
a) a steady- state equilibrium in the water system
b) the amount of new water from outgassing volcanoes
c) worldwide changes in sea level
d) changes in the total amount of water on Earth
c) worldwide changes in sea level
The horizontal movement of air relative to Earth's surface is
a) convection flow
b) barometric pressure
c) a result of equalized
d) wind
d) wind
Which is TRUE of air flowing into low pressure center?
a) air diverges and descends
b) air converges and ascends
c) air diverges and ascends
d) air converges and descends
b) air converges and ascends
The largest practical potential source of fresh water in the world is
a) soil moisture
b) stream discharge
c) ice sheets and glaciers
d) groundwater
d) groundwater
Potential evapotranspiration refers to
a) the amount of evapotranspiration measured from an evaporation pan
b) the amount of evapotranspiration that would occur if available water was not limited
c) a precise measurement of evapotranspiration using a lysi
b) the amount of evapotranspiration that would occur if available water was not limited
The High Plains aquifer
a) was not heavily mined until the 1960s
b) is also known as the Garber- Wellington Aquifer
c) has little importance as a freshwater resource
d) is North America's largest known aquifer
d) is North America's largest known aquifer system
Which of the following would decrease the rate at which evapotranspiration occurs?
a) increased water availability
b) increased wind speed
c) the contact surface
d) increased humidity
d) increased humidity
The utilization of aquifers beyond their flow and recharge capacities is known as
a) influent conditions
b) groundwater mining
c) the contact surface
d) the potentiometric surface
b) groundwater mining
In the Northern Hemispheres, winds spiraling counterclockwise into a low pressure area are
a) geostrophic
b) anticyclonic
c) meridional
d) cyclonic
d) cyclonic
What is the heat energy involved in the change of state or phase, in water?
a) sensible heat
b) fusion heat
c) latent heat
d) mechanical heat
c) latent heat
Winds are named based on
a) the direction in which they are blowing
b) the altitude at which they occur
c) the direction from which they originate
d) the scientist who first described them
c) the direction from which they originate
A water- bearing rock stratum is called a(n)
a) aquifer
b) aquiclude
c) zone of aeration
d) water table
a) aquifer
Soil moisture tightly bound to each soil particle and unavailable for plant use is termed _______ water
a) hygroscopic
b) gravitational
c) available
d) capillary
a) hygroscopic
The area of conflict between colder and warmer air masses in the sub polar region
a) is referred to as the subtropical contact zone
b) is termed the polar front
c) is unrelated to the formation of cyclonic storms
d) is most distinctive during summer month
b) is termed the polar front
If you were between 40
and 50
north latitude, and you wanted to stand with the average winds blowing in your face you would stand facing
a) west
b) south
c) north
d) east
a) west
The portion of streamflow that consists of groundwater is known as
a) base flow
b) surface runoff
c) saturated flow
d) overland flow
a) base flow
If precipitation and soil moisture are inadequate to meet potential evapotranspiration demands, the moisture condition is described as
a) soil moisture utilization
b) a surplus
c) a deficit
d) actual evapotranspiration
c) a deficit
Out of all the water present in the Earth systems, _________ is stored in the atmosphere
a) 15%
b) approximately 2%
c) a variable amount, but averaging 50%
d) less than 0.03%
D) less than 0.03%
The Coriolis force
a) drives air from areas of higher to lower barometric pressure
b) is the only force acting on flows of air in the upper troposphere
c) causes the apparent deflection of winds from a straight
d) decreases with height above the surface
c) causes the apparent deflection of winds from a straight path
___________ are waving undulations within the upper- air westerly wind flow
a) the trade winds
b) rossby waves
c) monsoons
d) hadley cells
b) rossby waves
At saturation, the further addition of water vapor or a decrease in temperature results in _________
a) sublimation
b) evaporation
c) freezing
d) condensation
d) condensation
Clouds that have vertical development and produce thunderstorms are called
a) cumulus
b) nimbostratus
c) cumulonimbus
d) stratocumulus
c) cumulonimbus
Which of the following is TRUE of tornadoes in the United States
a) they develop within cP air masses
b) the peak months are May and June
c) they occur in every month except March and April
d) the peak months are November and December
b) the peak months are May and June
Which of the following is associated with an ENSO event?
a) higher pressure over the western Pacific and lower pressure over the eastern Pacific
b) enhanced upwelling in the Humboldt (Peru) current
c) cooler than normal sea surface temperatures along the
a) higher pressure over the western Pacific and lower pressure over the eastern Pacific
The intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is associated with
a) the equatorial low- pressure trough
b) subtropical high- pressure development
c) cooler than normal sea surface temperatures along the western South American coast
d) increased thermocline in
a) the equatorial low- pressure trough
Earth's oceans possess
a) about the same amount of water as is in the atmosphere
b) ninety- seven percent of Earth's waters
c) fifty percent of Earth's waters
d) most of the fresh water on Earth
b) ninety- seven percent of Earth's waters
The normal range for air pressure at sea level is
a) 1060- 2010 mb
b) 980- 1050 mb
c) 100 to 650 mb
d) 500 to 1000 mb
b) 980- 1050 mb
The Saffir- Simpson scale estimates potential property damage from
a) tropical depressions
b) hurricanes
c) storm surges
d) tornadoes
b) hurricanes
The intertropical convergence zone is characterized by
a) convergence and subsidence of cold surface air
b) divergence and uplift of warm surface air
c) divergence and subsidence of cold surface air
d) convergence and uplift of warm surface air
d) convergence and uplift of warm surface air
The general term that refers to the tendency of a parcel of air to either remain in place or change its initial position
a) conditional instability
b) stability
c) adiabatic
d) stasis
b) stability
The line of contact between the zone of aeration and the zone of saturation is known as the
a) aquiclude
b) influent line
c) saturation contact
d) water table
d) water table
Which part of a hurricane consists of dry, subsiding air?
a) easterly trade winds
b) eye wall (collar clouds)
c) eye
d) spiral bands
c) eye
What type of cloud that has a thin wispy appearance, consists of ice crystals, and often precedes a warm front?
a) cumulonimbus
b) cirrus
c) stratocumulus
d) altostratus
b) cirrus
Normal sea level pressure has a value of
a) 1013.2 millibars
b) 500 mb
c) 20.8 inches of lead
d) 32.01 millibars of mercury
a) 1013.2 millibars
An isoline of equal pressure plotted on a weather map is known as an
a) isotherm
b) isobar
c) isohyet
d) equilibrium line
b) isobar
The Aleutian low and Icelandic low are
a) dominant in the spring and fall and weaken or disappear in the summer and winter
b) dominant year- round, but tend to be strongest in the summer
c) dominant in the winter and weaken or disappear in the summer
d) d
c) dominant in the winter and weaken or disappear in the summer
Which of the following is TRUE of deep water currents associated with thermohaline circulation?
a) they are deep currents caused by differences in temperature salinity
b) they are largely wind driven
c) due to their depths, they carry limited volumes of w
a) they are deep currents caused by differences in temperature and salinity
Drawdown refers to
a) the aquifer recharge area
b) the lowering of an aquifer from overuse
c) the potentiometric surface of an aquifer
d) effluent conditions where groundwater feed streamflow
b) the lowering of an aquifer from overuse
The downslope, unchannelized flow of watercress the surface is known as
a) infiltration
b) stem flow
c) overland flow
d) throughfall
c) overland flow
A fog that develops when warm, moist air blows over a cold current (such as the California Current) is an example of __________ fog
a) advection
b) radiation
c) convection
d) evaporation
a) advection
The movement of water into the atmosphere from plants is
a) precipitation
b) transpiration
c) subloimation
d) evaporation
b) transpiration
In the water budget, _________ is the major "receipt" and _________ is the major "expenditure"
a) outgassing; dissociation
b) insolation; radiative cooling
c) precipitation; evapotranspiration
d) evapotranspiration; precipitation
c) precipitation; evapotranspiration
The hydrologic cycle
a) involves the continuous movement of water in all its states throughout the lower atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere
b) is limited to freshwater circulation in the hydrosphere
c) is the groundwater component of the
a) involves the continuous movement of water in all its states throughout the lower atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere
Upper tropospheric winds that flow parallel to isobars are called
a) NE trades winds
b) geostrophic winds
c) easterlies
d) westerlies
b) geostrophic winds
The most prominent movement in the upper- level westerly geostrophic wind flows are the
a) cyclones
b) katabatibc waves
c) jet streams
d) anticyclones
c) jet streams
The wind converging at the equatorial low are known as
a) trade winds
b) doldrums
c) polar easterlies
d) westerlies
a) trade winds
Water enters the soil in a process called _______, and then moves downward through the soil in a process called ________
a) throughfall; percolation
b) percolation; throughfall
c) infiltration; percolation
d) percolation; infiltration
c) infiltration; percolation
When water condenses, it _________ heat energy and _________ the surrounding air
a) absorbs; heats
b) releases; heats
c) absorbs; cools
d) releases; cools
b) releases; heats
When a cold front approaches, air pressure will initially _______ due to the displacement and uplift of ________ air
a) increase; cold
b) decrease; warm
c) decrease; cold
d) increase; warm
b) decrease; warm
Sea- breezes
a) involve onshore (toward the land) air flows that develop in the afternoon
b) result from water heating and cooling faster than land surfaces
c) form because of higher pressure over the land than the sea
d) occur because warmer air is dense
a) involve onshore (toward the land) air flows that develop in the afternoon
The density of pure ice is
a) the same as water
b) greater than that of water
c) less than that of water
d) highly variable
c) less than that of water
If there is a steeper pressure gradient, wind will be _________ than areas with a gradual pressure gradient
a) warmer
b) cooler
c) stronger
d) lighter
c) stronger
The wet adiabatic rate is _______ than the dry adiabatic rate because
a) greater; condensation heats the air
b) greater; condensation cools the air
c) less; condensation cools the air
d) less; condensation heats the air
d) less; condensation heats the air
The difference between the dry adiabatic rate and the moist adiabatic rate is on account of
a) the latent heat of condensation
b) altitudinal temperature differences
c) less atmospheric pressure
d) the specific heat of water
a) the latent heat of condensation
If you visited Mount Shasta City (elevation 900 m [3000 ft.]) and found the outside air temperature to be 27
C (81
F), what would be the air temperature at the summit of Mount Shasta (elevation 4200m [14,000 ft.]) at that moment- assuming that the tempera
c 5.9
C (42.5
F)
The tropical atmospheric circulation associated with rising winds along the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and descending air in the subtropics are called
a) polar cells
b) rossby waves
c) hadley cells
d) ferrel cells
c) hadley cells
Which of the following is TRUE regarding freshwater on Earth?
a) most of it is frozen in glaciers and ice caps
b) most of it is in large lakes
c) most of it is in freshwater lakes, rivers, and streams
d) most of it is groundwater
a) most of it is frozen in glaciers and ice caps
Major ecosystems determined largely by climate regions and classified largely based on predominant vegetations are called?
a) biomes
b) climate zones
c) associations
d) zoogeographic regions
...
The water in wetlands is
a) always freshwater
b) always saltwater
c) either freshwater or saltwater
d) too polluted to use as a water resource
...