Atmospheric Science and Weather Phenomena, Exams of Social Sciences

Download Atmospheric Science and Weather Phenomena and more Exams Social Sciences in PDF only on Docsity! WX 201 TEST 1 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS In the atmosphere - Answers-Cold air sinks and warm air rises Weather - Answers-State of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, moisture, pressure, etc. Climate - Answers-Average or generally prevailing conditions Most abundant gases - Answers-Nitrogen (78), Oxygen (21), Argon (.93) Which gas has a variable concentration, dependent upon location? - Answers-Carbon dioxide, methane, ozone, water vapor What are the most common greenhouse gases? - Answers-CO2, Methane, Ozone How do the following quantities change with height; Density - Answers-More molecules near the surface How do the following quantities change with height; Pressure - Answers-Decreases as you go up in the atmosphere How does temperature change with height in each layer? - Answers-Mesosphere: As the altitude increases, the air temperature decreases. Troposphere layer, has a decrease in temperature with altitude increase. Thermosphere: As the altitude increases, the air temperature increases What is the relationship between temperature and kinetic energy? - Answers- Temperature is the measure of a substance's average KE. Faster motion=warmer temperature. How is air temperature related to density? - Answers-Cold air is more dense than warm air Heat Capacity - Answers-Amount of heat energy absorbed by a substance Specific Heat - Answers-Heat capacity per unit mass Heat capacity/specific heat; How do they relate to the temperature variations of water and air? - Answers-Water has am much higher heat capacity than ice, soil, or air. Water can store a large amount of energy with only a small temperature change. 6 different phase changes of water - Answers-Sublimation, melting, evaporation, deposition, condensation, freezing Which phase changes warm the environment? - Answers-Deposition (water vapor--> ice) Condensation (water vapor--> liquid water) Freezing (liquid water--> ice) Conduction - Answers-Transfer of heat from molecule to molecule within a substance. How do the following quantities change with height; Temperature - Answers-Decreases as you go up in the atmosphere Lapse rates and temperature inversions - Answers-Rate at which the air temperature decreases with height Negative lapse rate/temperature inversion - Answers-Temperature increases with height Positive lapse rate - Answers-Temperature decreases with height Four layers of the atmosphere - Answers-Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesophere, Thermosphere Four layers of the atmosphere; Which layer is the warmest? - Answers-Thermosphere Four layers of the atmosphere; Which layer is the coldest? - Answers-Mesosphere Which phase changes cool the environment? - Answers-Sublimation (ice-->water vapor) Melting (ice--> liquid water) Evaporation (liquid water--> water vapor) Convection - Answers-Transfer of heat by the movement of a fluid. Radiation - Answers-Process in which energy is emitted as particles or waves Why is conduction not effective in the atmosphere? - Answers-Air is not a good conductor How does convection work? Warm air rises, cold air sinks - Answers-Warm less dense air rises, as air rises it expands and cools. Cold more dense air sinks, as air sinks it compresses and warms. What is the Stefan-Boltzmann law? - Answers-As the temperature of an object increases, it emits more radiation. Superior Mirage - Answers-An object that appears to be higher than it actually is. Inferior Mirage; Why do they happen? - Answers-Air near the ground is much warmer, less dense, than air above it. Superior Mirage; Why do they happen? - Answers-Air near the ground is much colder, more dense, than air above it. (temp inversion) Inferior Mirage; What are the typical temperature profiles that cause each? - Answers- Desert Superior Mirage; What are the typical temperature profiles that cause each? - Answers- Cold Halos (Refraction); Identify visually and explain? - Answers-Ring of light circles 22 degrees from the sun or moon. How are halos formed? - Answers-Form when light is refracted through a column shaped ice crystal. Sundogs (Refraction); Identify visually and explain? - Answers-A brightly colored spot on one side of the sun that usually occur in pairs. What are sundogs caused by? - Answers-Caused by the refraction of light through plate shaped ice crystals. Tangent Arcs (Refraction); Identify visually and explain the formation and causes of? - Answers-Occur when light is refracted through column column shaped ice crystals with the long axis horizontal. Sun Pillars (Reflection); Identify visually and explain? - Answers-Vertical shaft of light extending upward or downward from the sun. How are sun pillars caused? - Answers-Caused by reflection. Rainbows (Refraction/Reflection); Identify visually and explain the formation and causes of and colors of? - Answers-Occur when sunlight enters raindrops and is redirected towards us. Rain is falling in one part of the sky and the sun is shining in another. Sun to your back. Coronas (Diffraction); Identify visually and explain the formation and causes of and colors of? - Answers-Bright ring of light around the moon or sun due to the bending of light around a cloud droplet or raindrop. Diffraction - Answers-Bending of light around objects Cloud Iridescence (Diffraction); Identify visually and explain the formation and causes of and colors of? - Answers-A distorted corona usually seen on top of cirrus clouds. Glory (Diffraction); Identify visually and explain? - Answers-Set of colored rings around the shadow of an aircraft. How a glory forms? - Answers-Unclear but believed that sin enters a cloud droplet along its edge and is refracted within the droplet twice. Condensation (cold temp) - Answers-Water vapor molecules return to liquid Evaporation (warm temp) - Answers-Liquid water molecules escape to water vapor Saturation - Answers-For every molecule that evaporates, one molecule condenses Absolute humidity - Answers-Mass of water vapor within a volume of air. Why is absolute humidity not used in meteorology? - Answers-If volume changes due to expansion and compression then absolute humidity changes even if the amount of water vapor has not changed. Specific humidity - Answers-Ratio of the mass of water vapor within an air parcel to the total mass of the air parcel Mixing ratio - Answers-Ratio of mass of water vapor in an air parcel to the mass of dry air within the air parcel Relative humidity - Answers-The amount of water vapor in the air at any given time is usually less than that required to saturate the air. Vapor pressure - Answers-Actual water vapor content Saturation vapor pressure - Answers-Water vapor capacity Variations in relative humidity; Day vs. night - Answers-RH is larger at night when temp decreases. RH is smaller during the day when temp increases. Variations in relative humidity; Geographical - Answers-RH requires a temperature change. Dewpoint - Answers-Temperature in which air would have to be cooled for saturation to occur. Dewpoint vs. relative humidity - Answers-Dew point is the temperature at which the air is saturated. Relative humidity is the percent of saturation at a given temperature; it depends on moisture content and temperature Why is dewpoint often a better measure of how humid it is outside? - Answers-It does not vary with temperature. How does dewpoint generally vary with location? - Answers-Polar air generally has a lower dewpoint than tropical air. Why are deserts considered "dry"? - Answers-Desert air generally has a huge gap between temperature and dewpoint, low relative humidity. Why are polar regions considered "dry"? - Answers-Polar air generally has a lower dewpoint than tropical air. How does dew form?; What conditions are favorable for their formation? - Answers- Liquid water that forms on surfaces when the temperature cools to the dewpoint. Clear, calm nights How does frost form?; What conditions are favorable for their formation? - Answers- When the dewpoint is below freezing and saturation is reached water vapor changes directly to ice. Difference between frost and freeze - Answers-Frost typically appears as a branching pattern. Freeze is below freezing temperatures but still higher than the dewpoint. Condensation nuclei; Definition and sources? - Answers-Particles that vapor condenses on. Radiation fog; Formation, maintenance, dissipation, and favorable conditions - Answers- Fog that occurs mainly at night due to radiational cooling. Advection fog; Formation, maintenance, dissipation, and favorable conditions - Answers-Forms due to warm moist air moving over a cool surface. Upslope fog; Formation, maintenance, dissipation, and favorable conditions - Answers- Forms as moist air flows up mountains. Mixing fog; Formation, maintenance, dissipation, and favorable conditions - Answers- Two unsaturated parcels from two different regions of air. Climatology: Where in North America does each type of fog occur most often? - Answers-Steam fog= arctic ocean or hot springs Which questions should you ask yourself when evaluating if it will be foggy? - Answers- How close is the temperature to the dewpoint? What time of day is it? What is the local geography? Rainbows will always occur with the sun located _____? - Answers-At your back To an observer on the ground, which color appears on top of a primary rainbow? - Answers-Red Coronas are different from halos because? - Answers-They are caused by diffraction not refraction, they involve water droplets, not ice crystals, and coronas are visible much closer to the sun/moon than halos The process of liquid water changing to water vapor is called? - Answers-Evaporation Saturation occurs when? - Answers-The rate of evaporation equals the rate of condensation. Which of the following is not commonly used as a measure of humidity in meteorology? - Answers-Absolute humidity Which of the following is entirely dependent on temperature? - Answers-Saturation vapor pressure Which of the following does not measure moisture/humidity in the air? - Answers- Barometer Compared to RH, dewpoint is considered a more useful measure of how humid it feels outside because? - Answers-It does not depend on temperature and it measures the air's actual water vapor content Polar regions generally have? - Answers-Less actual water vapor content than deserts. When sunlight hits the ocean, it causes water to? - Answers-Evaporate The air temperature is 40°F and the relative humidity is 100%. What is the dewpoint temperature? - Answers-40°F Stratocumulus are not clouds of - Answers-Vertical development? Mammatus clouds are caused primarily by? - Answers-Sinking air Fog and clouds both form due - Answers-To the same physical process. All other factors being equal, radiation fog is most likely to form in the presence of which of the following surface wind conditions? - Answers-Slight breeze (2-4 knots) Which cloud type prefix means "middle"? - Answers-Alto Which of the following cloud types is NOT associated with turbulence? - Answers- Altostratus Which of the following conditions is NOT favorable for radiation fog formation? - Answers-Strong winds Which of the following can enhance precipitation (mixing) fog during winter? - Answers- Snow on the ground If temperature increases with increasing height, it is called a ____. - Answers- Temperature inversion/negative lapse rate Orlando's mean June rainfall is 7.58", an example of Orlando's (climate or weather?) - Answers-Climate, not weather. The key word is "average", which indicates a long-term value of a variable. Which has the highest heat capacity: Air, soil, or water? Why is this important? - Answers-Water. Having a higher heat capacity allows water to store a lot of energy without its temperature changing drastically. This is why water temperatures do not vary that much during an average year and why coastal climates are generally moderate (fewer extremes). Which law states that the energy emitted from an object is proportional to the object's temperature raised to the 4th power? - Answers-Stefan-Boltzmann Law. Warmer objects emit much more energy than colder ones. Given relatively clear and calm conditions, around what time of day would you typically expect the daily minimum temperature to occur? - Answers-Around or just before sunrise. This is when outgoing energy and incoming energy are in balance. Why are Southern Hemisphere summers cooler than Northern Hemisphere summers? - Answers-The Southern Hemisphere is 80% water (compared to approximately 60% of the Northern Hemisphere), which results in more moderate (less extreme) climates. Incoming solar radiation peaks on the Summer Solstice. However, the warmest temperatures usually occur 1-2 months later. Why? - Answers-Because incoming energy exceeds outgoing energy for another 1-2 months. Similar to daily temperatures, seasonal temperatures peak when incoming and outgoing energy are in balance. Sundogs are caused by _______ through ________ shaped ice crystals - Answers- Refraction; plate To an observer on the ground, which color appears on top of a primary rainbow? - Answers-Red, because we see the bottom color from the "upper" raindrops and the top color from the "lower" raindrops. Coronas and glory are caused primarily by: ______. - Answers-Diffraction, i.e., visible light bending *around* water droplets. An inferior mirage occurs due to refraction when the air closest to the surface is ____. - Answers-Less dense (warmer) than the air above. Inferior mirages most commonly occur on hot sunny days, particularly in deserts. The process of water vapor changing directly to liquid water is called ______. - Answers-Condensation Saturation vapor pressure measures ______, while vapor pressure measures ____. - Answers-Air's water vapor capacity (depends on temperature); air's water vapor content (depends on dewpoint). Define saturation - Answers-RH = 100%; air is filled to capacity with water vapor. In which of the following does air have the largest water vapor content? - Answers-Continuously generated by evaporation and removed by condensation. which cloud type prefix means "clouds of vertical development"? - Answers-Cumulo Where in the U.S. does advection fog most frequently occur? - Answers-Near cool bodies of water (such as the California or New England coasts), where warm moist air flows over the cool water, especially during spring and summer. Name two cloud types associated with turbulence. - Answers-TCu, cumulonimbus, mammatus (any cloud associated with thunderstorms); lenticular (mountain wave turbulence); stratocumulus (light to moderate chop) Why are deserts considered 'dry'? - Answers-Because RH is very low in deserts. Due to very warm temperatures, the temperature-dewpoint difference is large, which makes RH very small. However, in terms of actual water vapor content (dewpoint), polar regions usually have less. Which conditions are favorable for the formation of radiation fog? - Answers-Long nights, clear skies, and a light breeze (2-4 knots). The long nights and clear skies allow the temperature to cool to the dewpoint, while the light breeze allows cool surface air to cool the air just above it so that the fog can grow upward.