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Instructor: Prof. Seiberling
PHYSICS DEPARTMENT
MET 1010
3rd Midterm Exam
Name (print, last ¯rst):
December 9, 2002
Signature:
On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this examination.
YOUR TEST NUMBER IS THE 5-DIGIT NUMBER AT THE TOP OF EACH PAGE.
(1) Code your test number on your answer sheet (use 76{80 for the 5-digit number). Code your name on your
answer sheet. DARKEN CIRCLES COMPLETELY. Code your student number on your answer sheet.
(2) Print your name on this sheet and sign it also.
(3) Do all scratch work anywhere on this exam that you like. At the end of the test, this exam printout is to be turned in.
No credit will be given without both answer sheet and printout with scratch work most questions demand.
(4) Blacken the circle of your intended answer completely, using a #2 pencil or blue or black ink. Do not make
any stray marks or the answer sheet may not read properly. If you believe there is no correct answer listed, leave the
answer spaces blank.
(5) The answers are rounded o®. Choose the closest to exact.
There is no penalty for guessing.
>>>>>>>>WHEN YOU FINISH <<<<<<<<
Hand in the answer sheet separately.
There are 32 multiple choice questions. Clearly circle the one best answer for each question. If more than one answer is
marked, no credit will be given for that question, even if one of the marked answers is correct. Guessing an answer is better
than leaving it blank. All questions are worth 3 points each, except for four questions, which are worth 4 points each. The
points for each 4-point question are indicated by each problem. Go od Luck!
1. The downdraft in an ordinary thunderstorm is intensi¯ed by:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
electrical attraction between the cloud and ground
the release of latent heat as water in the cloud freezes
evaporating raindrops that make the air cold and heavy
upper level wind motions
the melting of snow in the anvil
2. The strongest winds in a hurricane are found:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
at the center of the storm
at upper levels, above the center of the hurricane
near the periphery of the hurricane
in the rain bands
in the eye wall
3. Tornadoes are usually observed:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
ahead of cold fronts
near large bodies of water
behind cold fronts
on the windward side of mountains
along occluded fronts
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4. Atmospheric shortwaves usually move
than longwaves, and
when they move through a longwave trough.
(1) slower, they are not a®ected (2) faster, strengthen (3) slower, strengthen (4) slower, weaken (5) faster, weaken
5. Thunder is caused by:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
the rapid heating of air surrounding a lightning channel
the explosion that occurs when + and - charges collide
turbulent wind motions inside the thunderstorm
charged particles moving faster than the speed of sound
the ripping apart of air particles due to high electric ¯elds
6. Hurricanes do NOT form:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
along the ITCZ
along the equator
when the surface water temperature exceeds 25± C
with an easterly wave
when the trade wind inversion is weak
7. A weak trough of low pressure found in the tropics, along which hurricanes occasionally form, is called:
(1) an open wave
(2) an easterly wave
(3) a cyclonic wave
8. Studies reveal that during colder glacial periods, CO2 levels
(4) a permanent wave
(5) a baroclinic wave
during warmer interglacial periods.
(1) were more variable than (2) were higher than (3) were about the same as (4) were lower than (5) were less variable
than
9. Which of the following is NOT true?
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
the nucleus of oxygen 18 contains two more neutrons than the nucleus of oxygen 16
water made from oxygen 18 is heavier than water made from oxygen 16
oxygen 16 and oxygen 18 are found in roughly equal amounts in ocean water
oxygen 16 evaporates more readily from the ocean than oxygen 18
both oxygen 16 and oxygen 18 are found in the shells of marine organisms
10. (4 pts) In her lecture on hurricanes presented to our class, Kate Dollen focused on:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
the
the
the
the
the
conditions that determine whether a hurricane will make landfall
conditions that were responsible for the 2002 hurricane season being mild
conditions in Africa that impact hurricane intensity in the north Atlantic
use of computer simulations to study the formation of hurricanes
role of El Nino/La Nina in hurricane formation
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11. Which is NOT true about precession of the earth's axis?
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
precession refers to the change in direction of the earth's axis with time
the period of the precession cycle is about 23,000 years
far in the future, the earth will be closer to the sun in July and further from the sun in January
precession is accounted for in the Milankovitch theory of climate change
in roughly 45 Million years, the spin axis of the earth will shift from 23.5± to about 90±
12. Who was the person interviewed in our tornado/hurricane movie who surveyed the damage done by Hurricane Andrew
and drew an analogy with vortices in tornadoes?
(1) Dr. Tor Bergeron (2) Dr. William Gray (3) Dr. Edmond Hadley (4) Dr. Ted Fujita (5) Dr. Maria Sa±r-Simpson
13. By examining a surface map or upper level chart, the movement of a surface low pressure area is NOT generally predicted
based upon the:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
region of greatest pressure decrease
dew point sounding just behind the front
movement of the surface low during the previous 6 hours
wind direction at 500 mb
orientation of the isobars in the warm sector
14. A building anticyclone means:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
a region of upper-level divergence exists above the anticyclone
separate anticyclones are merging
the anticyclone is moving toward the east coast
the anticyclone is causing a middle latitude storm to form
the central pressure is increasing
15. (4 pts) When a deep upper-level trough is located to the east of a surface anticyclone, the surface anticyclone will tend
to move toward the:
(1) northwest
(2) southeast
(3) east
(4) southwest
(5) northeast
16. The main reason hurricanes don't develop over the eastern south Paci¯c Ocean adjacent to South America is because:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
the air at the surface is always diverging
the Coriolis force is too small there
they do form, but there is no nearby land that is impacted
the pressure gradient force is too weak in that area
the surface water temperatures are too cold there
17. If the earth were in a cooling trend, which process below would most likely act as a positive feedback mechanism?
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
increasing the carbon dioxide content of the air
decreasing the amount of cloud cover around the globe
increasing the snow cover around the earth
increasing the water vapor content of the air
decreasing the snow cover around the earth
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18. If global temperatures were to rise enough so that all of the glaciers on the earth melted, sea level would rise by
approximately:
(1) 2000 ft
(2) 200 ft
(3) 20 ft
(4) 2 ft
(5) 1000 ft
19. (4 pts) The strongest winds in a hurricane heading westward toward Florida would most likely be found on the
side.
(1) northern
(2) eastern
(3) southern
(4) southeastern
(5) western
20. One would expect a cP air mass to be:
(1) cold, moist and unstable (2) cold, dry and stable (3) cold, moist and stable (4) warm, moist and unstable (5) cold,
dry and unstable
21. A stationary front does not move because:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
the winds blow against each other and are of equal strength
an occlusion blocks air °ow behind the front
the front is between high and low pressure
the winds blow parallel to the front
winds on both sides of the front are calm
22. Ordinary thunderstorms only last about one hour and begin to dissipate when:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
the thunderstorm cloud moves over a saturated ground surface
solar heating at the ground begins to decrease
the downdraft spreads throughout the cloud and cuts o® the updraft
lightning neutralizes all the electrical charge in the cloud
all the precipitation particles in the cloud turn to ice
23. On a surface weather map that shows an open wave cyclone, the warm sector can be observed:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
ahead of an advancing warm front
behind an advancing cold-occluded front
ahead of an advancing cold-occluded front
behind an advancing cold front
ahead of an advancing cold front
24. The formation of continental glaciers over vast areas of North America is most favorable when Northern Hemisphere
summers are
and winters are
.
(1) warm, extremely cold
(2) warm, mild
(3) cool, mild
(4) cool, extremely cold
(5) very warm, cool
25. The greatest contrast in both temperature and moisture will occur along the boundary separating which air masses?
(1) mP and mT in summer (2) cP and mT in summer (3) cP and cT in summer (4) mP and mT in winter (5) cP and
mT in winter
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26. When comparing an \average" cold front to an \average" warm front, which of the following is NOT correct?
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
generally, cold fronts have steeper slopes
generally, precipitation covers a much broader area with a cold front
winds shift by about 90± during either a cold or warm front passage
generally, cold fronts move faster than warm fronts
especially in winter, cumuliform clouds are more often associated with cold fronts
27. A Mesoscale Convective Complex is actually:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
individual thunderstorms that grow into a large, long-lasting weather system
another name for a suction vortex
a rapidly rotating tornado cyclone inside a massive thunderstorm
a family of tornadoes that do a great deal of damage
a complex display of lightning from distant thunderstorms
28. For this and the following question, refer to the Table provided. The Table is a printout from the UF Physics weather
station showing weather data for Nov. 19, 2000. Between what hours did a cold front pass through Gainesville for the
data shown?
(1) 2pm - 3pm
(2) 9am - 10am
(3) 5pm - 6pm
29. During the passage of the front, the winds shifted from
(1) WSW to NE
(2) S to NNE
(4) 11am - noon
to
(3) NE to SW
(5) 6am - 7am
.
(4) W to N
(5) SW to NW
30. (4 pts) What weather conditions would be forecast based on the following observations? Cloudiness and rain associated
with a weak surface low pressure system, zonal conditions on the 500 mb chart.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
the
the
the
the
the
low
low
low
low
low
will
will
will
will
will
stay weak and move toward the north
intensify and move toward the south
intensify and move toward the east
intensify and move toward the north
stay weak and move toward the east
31. Which forecasting method assumes that weather systems will move in the same direction and at the same speed as they
have been moving?
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
persistence forecast
climatological forecast
probability forecast
weather type forecast
steady state (trend) forecast
32. Which of the following is NOT associated with rising air motions?
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
overrunning
convergence of air at the surface
an unstable atmosphere
warm advection
convergence of air aloft
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