Chapter 5: Forms of Condensation and Precipitation
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
3) Which type of cloud is most likely to form a halo around the Sun or Moon?
A) altocumulus
B) altostratus
C) cirrostratus
D) cirrus
E) cirrocumulus
4) This cloud sometimes produces mare's tails.
A) cirrostratus
B) cirrus
C) cumulonimbus
D) altostratus
E) nimbostratus
5) Dew point is the temperature at which water vapor in the air begins to condense. The
temperature inside a cloud would therefore be
A) just above the dew point B) way above the dew point
C) below freezing D) about equal to the dew point
7) The ________ cloud may have an "anvil head."
A) cirrostratus
B) altostratus
C) cumulonimbus
D) nimbostratus
E) cirrus
8) When warm moist air moves over a cold surface, ________ fog may result.
A) steam
B) advection
C) radiation
D) upslope
E) precipitation
10) Clouds, dew and frost all form because air has become saturated. This condition of
saturation is usually caused by
A) lack of convective mixing
B) the air being cooled
C) an abundance of condensation nuclei
D) adding water vapor
E) a temperature increase
14) Which one of the fogs listed below may be categorized as an evaporation fog?
A) advection fog
B) upslope fog
C) steam fog
D) radiation fog
E) none of the above fogs are evaporation fogs
16) Relative humidity in cities is usually ________ compared to rural areas.
A) lower B) higher in summer
C) higher D) about the same
17) A cloud type that develops as a consequence of local convection is
A) cumulus
B) cirrus
C) nimbostratus
D) stratus
E) all of the above
19) The most common way for air to be cooled in order that a cloud may form is by
A) sinking and contracting
B) rising and expanding
C) emitting radiation
D) evaporating water
E) reflecting radiation
21) The raindrops that fall to Earth from a warm cloud contain about one million times
the water in a typical cloud droplet. This growth from cloud droplet to raindrop occurs
mainly because of
A) evaporation of water in the cloud
B) condensation of water vapor
C) supercooling of water
D) collision and coalescence
E) hygroscopic action
23) Condensation nuclei may be formed from
A) particles of dust
B) smoke from forest fires
C) salt crystals from the ocean
D) nitric acid particles
E) all of the above
25) The cloud form that is best described as sheets or layers that cover much or all of the
sky is termed:
A) alto
B) stratus
C) cumulus
D) mackerel sky
E) cirrus
27) Why are high altitude clouds always so thin?
A) air layers are stable there
B) very little water vapor is present
C) air layers are unstable there
D) winds are faster at high levels
E) not enough particulates are present
29) This fog results from adiabatic cooling:
A) advection fog
B) precipitation fog
C) radiation fog
D) steam fog
E) none of these
31) In order for water condensation to occur,
A) the air must be saturated
B) there generally must be a surface the vapor can condense on
C) a and b
D) neither a nor b
33) The conditions that persist along the West Coast of the U. S. that are conducive to
fog formation are
A) moist air moving over a cold surface
B) inversions and a warm land surface
C) steep lapse rate and a warm surface
D) inversions and a warm water surface
E) steep lapse rate and cold surface
35) Dew is most likely to form on
A) cloudy windy nights
B) clear windy nights
C) cloudy calm nights
D) clear calm nights
E) both c) and d)
36) Clouds and precipitation form in the air primarily due to
A) moisture being added to the air
B) excessive numbers of condensation nuclei
C) absorption of infrared radiation
D) air being cooled as it rises
E) release of latent heat
44) The most important process for cloud formation in the atmosphere is
A) cooling by expansion of the air
B) cooling by loss of latent heat
C) radiational cooling
D) cooling by contact with the cold ground
E) cooling by compression of the air
45) This fog is found in valleys at night and in the early morning:
A) precipitation fog
B) steam fog
C) radiation fog
D) advection fog
E) none of these
49) This method of frost prevention relies heavily on the release of latent heat of fusion:
A) orchard heaters
B) sprinklers
C) wind machines
D) smudge pots
E) all of these
Answer: B
50) Fog is usually a result of air having been
A) cooled
B) compressed
C) moistened
D) brought near the surface from a higher cloud
E) either a) or c)
56) The process by which a cloud droplet first forms is
A) condensation
B) precipitation
C) collision and coalescence
D) supercooling
E) evaporation
57) Why do clouds represent a source of heat for the atmosphere?
A) evaporation of the droplets absorbs heat
B) cloud formation releases latent heat to the air
C) they conduct heat from the Earth's surface
D) they increase the absorption of solar radiation
E) melting ice crystals in the cloud absorb heat
66) The word 'radiation' in the term radiation fog refers to
A) infrared radiation absorbed by the fog
B) solar radiation
C) radiant energy lost by the ground
D) radiation energy given off by the fog
E) none of these