Student Name __________________
1.
From a view looking down on a U.S. Gulf-coast hurricane, which part of the storm is probably the most dangerous? a.
Left front b.
Left side c.
Right front d.
center, or eye e.
None of the above
Hurricanes, like most mid-latitude storms (northern hemisphere) exhibit low atmospheric pressure, rising air currents, high humidity (latent heat) and winds moving in a counter-clockwise or cyclonic direction. Most U.S. hurricanes come from the East and generally move in some combination of westward and northward.
2.
For any location in the storm path, what is the maximum length of time that a 340-mile wide hurricane should be overhead if the storm’s forward movement is 15 mph? a.
Less than half a day b.
About one day c.
At least two days d.
About two and one half days e.
There is no way to make a reasonable estimate
With a forward speed of 15 miles an hour, the whole storm should pass by any given location in no more than about 23 hours, even if the widest part of the storm passes diretly overhead. 340/15 = about 23 (hours). If just a corner of the storm passes a given location, then the storm will last much less time.
3.
Engineering structures designed to protect a beach may eventually destroy it. Many investors consider coastal zones too valuable to protect.
True _ X __ False ___
Coastal zones exhibit constantly changing stress from currents, waves and winds. These forces are far more powerful and more regional than anything humans can build. To protect our investments in buildings and other structures, we build more structures and often ‘nourish’ a beach to make it last longer or make it more attractive.
4.
What climate pattern dominates the region that includes Chicago and Toronto? a.
H, Highland b.
B, Sub-tropical c.
C, Continental, Mild d.
D, Continental, Severe e.
None of the above
Divide the USA in half – the east is humid (wet), the west is dry. Then cut the nation in half again – the north is cold, the south is warm. So, we have four quarters: cold/dry, cold/wet, warm/wet and warm/dry.
The northern half of our continent is ‘severe’ while the southern half is more mild.
Even if you don’t know that Chicago has severe winter weather, it should be easy to guess that Toronto (in
Canada) does have severe weather: that whole region is far from oceans (that make climates more mild) and they have warm, humid summers and cold, humid winters. Cold/wet weather is very uncomfortable, and so is warm/wet weather -- continental—severe climate zone.

5.
What two climate zones prevail in Utah? a.
A and B only b.
B and C only c.
C and D d.
B and H e.
E and A, with no H
A handy way to summarize climates:
A = Tropical. Near the Equator – sunny, warm, rainy, lush vegetation.
The tropics are directly under the rising-air end of Hadley cells. The ITCZ hovers close by.
B = Dry - the zones directly above and below the Equator, at about 30 degrees north and south of the
Equator. Usually desert, these regions are directly underneath the high-pressure end of
Hadley cells)
C = Mild Continental. Relatively easier or more comfortable climate, not high latitude, not far from ocean, not high elevation, not too dry, not too wet, not too cold, not too hot.
D = Severe Continental. Larger annual swings in temperature, higher latitudes, associated with
big continental land masses, often higher elevation, and/or far from prevailing on-shore ocean breezes.
E = Polar. Very high latitude.
H = Highland. Mountains have a climate all their own. Wide swings in temperature and precipitation, even daily.
6.
The fact that never before in the history of the Earth have we had a billion automobiles, a billion cows and 100,000 power plants probably means that humans have no effect on the Earth’s atmosphere.
True ____ False _ X ___
Does the teacher sound a little sarcastic on this one? People around us all have an opinion as well. The theory of “anthropomorphic climate change” is a theory, but is backed by evidence that many scientists consider overwhelmingly conclusive -- that humans are now a factor in ‘climate forcing’ or induced change.
7.
“Global warming” could mean that some of the Earth’s glaciers and ice sheets could be adding volume or moving faster.
True _ X ___ False ____
Consider that warm air can hold more moisture than cold air, and precipitation (including snow) requires latent heat. Consider also that the weather forecast often calls for the “warm before the storm.” How might those factors affect the size or movement of ice sheets and glaciers? Could climate change include more than just hotter weather and shorter winters? See page 430 in the textbook, first column, last paragraph.
8.
During an “El Nino” event, waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean do not move westward as much as normal. The result is that some drier places on Earth receive much more precipitation than usual, while many wetter places experience relative drought.
True _ X ___ False ____
9.
In general, average sea level varies directly or positively with ocean water temperature.
True __ X __ False ____
Substances that are warmer experience more molecular movement or agitation, so they expand in volume per unit weight. Less density means more volume, even for water as a liquid.
Meanwhile, increasing air temperature tends to result in more evaporation, more precipitation and the melting of ice. Conversion of white ice to dark water ought to result in more absorption of solar energy and therefore rising water temperature over time.

On one hand, floating ice that melts will become more dense; however, if land ice melts it will go into the ocean, adding much more volume than was lost when floating ice contracted in volume.
10.
Fighting fires at night may be easier than during the day because relative humidity goes down during the daytime.
True _ X ___ False ____
During the day, temperatures rise. A hot day is hard enough for firefighters, but it also makes for a hotter fire.
Fires depend on heat to get started, and grow stronger with higher temperatures. Also important is the fact that as air temperature rises, the capacity of the air to hold water (as latent, hidden heat or humidity) also goes up.
So, the hotter the day, the bigger the ‘bucket.’ If the ‘bucket’ gets bigger, but no water is added, then humidity goes does because there is more empty space in the air ‘bucket’ to hold water.
Conversely, at night the air temperature generally goes down, so the capacity of the air to hold water goes down. As such, the ‘bucket’ gets smaller, which means the bucket gets closer to being full.
Example: if air temperature can be compared to the size of the ‘bucket’ then notice how relative humidity changes with air temperature. No additional water is added:
At 80 degrees, with four units of water in the air, the relative humidity level is 50%

At 100 degrees, with four units of water in the air, the relative humidity drops to 40%
4/8.

4/10
High humidity can provide a coating of water over a fuel source (such as dry wood) so that air cannot reach the fuel as easily. In addition, cooler air temperature tends to provide less support for fire propagation, compared to hotter air. Finally, having water available can provide cooling by evaporation.
So, fire fighters are happy to have any additional water show up during a fire. Even without added water, at night it is often easier to fight fires because the air is relatively more humid, and therefore relatively less inclined to support combustion.
“Late Bloomer” Essay Option for Extra Credit (up to FIVE points): Last Fall, a Sugarhouse family was injured by carbon monoxide poisoning at home. That same weekend, the weather report indicated that prevailing high pressure conditions in Salt Lake valley caused surface evaporation to stay near the ground. What relationship could be drawn between these facts?
____________________________________________________________________________________
Sample Answer:
High pressure atmosphere tends to involve either a “thermal” high or a “dynamic high”: thermal, or temperature high pressure is typically due to colder air. Cold air is heavier than warm air, and also tends to be more dry, which makes it yet heavier than humid, or wet air.
Therefore, high pressure air tends to either be stable (not moving) or descending, which tends to result in stale or stagnant air. As such, exhaust gases from a furnace may not be able to escape the chimney or flue if higher pressure air is above them in the pipe. Stagnant or still air also does not provide a ‘wick’ or ‘drafty’ condition that would help ‘pull’ exhaust gases up the chimney or flue pipe.

To these factors can be added the weather report saying that humidity at the ground level was not rising as it normally would – humid air is less dense than surrounding dry air so it ought to rise, but didn’t.
Taken together, these factors suggest that poisonous exhaust gases would be less likely to leave the house than otherwise. This may be especially true during weather cold enough to take the heat out of slow-moving flue gases. As hot exhaust goes up the chimney or flue pipe, it will be exposed to cold outdoor air, causing it to cool down. If that occurs with outdoor high pressure, then exhaust gas might cool down so much that it loses buoyancy and goes back down the chimney or flue pipe and back into the house.
A final note: during cold weather it is also more likely that building occupants would be using relatively more hot water, or furnace heat. As such, more exhaust gases might do better at pushing up against cold outside air, but if they do not succeed, then there would be even more poisonous gas coming back down the chimney than during warmer weather when less combustion is needed for building heat and hot water. Unfortunately, late at night people are usually asleep, so the water heater is probably not putting out enough hot exhaust to push past the outdoor inversion or high pressure condition.