Atmosphere Sample Test
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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1. Which of the following best describes the infrared wavelengths of radiation emitted by Earth’s surface?
a. longer and carrying less energy than the visible radiation emitted by the sun
b. shorter and carrying more energy than the visible radiation emitted by the sun
c. about the same as the visible radiation emitted by the sun
d. none of the above
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2. Occuring alongside other weather phenomena, rainbows in the sky are formed when water drops suspended in
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the _____________ act like tiny prisms and separate the white incoming light into the visible spectrum.
a. stratosphere
b. troposphere
c. hydrosphere
d. mesopause
The form of oxygen we breathe is ______ which is a(an) ___________ bond involving the sharing of valence
electrons, while _______ is a source of air pollution in the troposphere.
a. O2, covalent, O3
b. O2, ionic, O3
c. a mixture, metallic, lead
Most extreme weather phenomena such as tornadoes, hail storms, and lightening storms occur in the ___.
a. exosphere
b. mesophere
c. troposphere
d. thermosphere
At night, clouds act as a blanket by ____.
a. absorbing incoming solar radiation
b. absorbing outgoing radiation from Earth and then emitting some of it back to Earth.
c. reflecting incoming solar radiation and increasing temperatures on cloudy days.
d. none of the above
Which term describes the conversion of a solid directly to a gas, without passing through the liquid state, such
as when you use dry ice on Halloween?
a. evaporation
b. sublimation
c. condensation
d. deposition
Relative Humidity. . . . ?
a. indicates how near the air is to saturation and as such indicates the imminence of rain.
b. indicates the actual quantity of water vapor in the air.
c. is the ratio of actual water vapor to water vapor capacity.
d. Answers a and c are both correct.
e. All answer choices are correct.
Which of the following refers to the temperature to which air would have to be cooled to reach saturation?
a. dew point
b. vapor
c. thermal energy
d. relative point
When two temperatures read nearly the same on a psychrometer after you have twirled them for several
minutes, you can conclude that ____.
a. the barometric pressure is high because sling psychrometer measure barometric pressure.
b. the wind speed is high, which can also be measure by an anemometer.
c. the dew point temperature is very low
d. the air has a high relative humidity because the water on the wet cloth did not evaporate
very much and cause the temperature on the wet bulb to drop.
In Figure 19-1, the lines on the weather map that connect points of equal pressure are ____.
a. isobars
b. isogrids
c. contour lines
d. isotherms
A non-moving front that is bringing continual precipitation over a large region is most likely a __?
a. stationary front
b. high pressure cell c. tropical air mass
d. anticyclone
What is the ultimate energy source for most wind?
a. Earth’s rotation
b. Precession
c. solar radiation
d. tides
Which instrument is used to measure wind speed?
a.
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b. barometer
c. thermometer
d. all of the above
anemometer
What causes winds?
a. the Coriolis effect arising from Earth’s rotation
b. gravity that pulls air molecules down to Earth’s surface
c. pressure differences resulting from unequal heating of Earth’s surface
d. friction from Earth’s land features
Which of the following is NOT a force that influences wind?
a. Coriolis effect
b. magnetic field
c. pressure gradient d. friction
Fast-moving currents of high-altitude, high-velocity “rivers” of air that occur above the friction layer are _.
a. wind trains
b. mesocyclones
c. sea breezes
d. jet streams
A wind that consistently blows more often from one direction than from any other is called a ________.
a. local wind
b. prevailing wind
c. land breeze
d. jet stream
Winds are labeled according to the ______________?
a. air mass to which they are associated.
c. region in which they can be found.
b. direction from which they blow.
d. none of the above
The temperature of a body of water or a tract of land influences the air above it, so that if the water or land is
heated up then the ____.
a. temperature of the air above it goes up.
c. both a and b
b. air pressure of the air above it goes down d. neither a nor b
Global winds move warm air away from the ____ and are important because. . . . .
a. equator, they spread warmth into more areas which increases biodiversity.
b. oceans, otherwise oceans would get too hot dut to water’s latent heat capacity.
c. atmosphere, pollutants can then escape up through the exosphere.
d. poles, otherwise we would have more global warming.
What is the relationship between fossil fuels and the greenhouse effect?
a. Burning fossil fuels decreases incoming solar radiation.
b. Burning fossil fuels decreases the absorption capacity of greenhouse gases.
c. Burning fossil fuels lowers the greenhouse effect.
d. Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.
How might albedo feedback explain part of the process that we are currently experiencing in the North Pole
with decreasing ice caps.
a. Ice has a high albedo capacity, so more ice leads to colder temperatures.
b. Water has less albedo than ice, so melting of ice caps leads to more melting of ice caps.
c. The albedo feedback loop is the opposite of the insolation feedback loop.
d. Albedo means solar radiation absorbed.
CFC’s break up the ozone in the _____________ which ___________?
a. troposphere, helps decrease ozone pollution
b. thermosphere, happens for long periods of time because Chlorine has a long life.
c. stratosphere, helps with ozone pollution in the troposphere.
d. stratosphere, decreases the ozone’s ability to reflect UV Rays and could increase cases of
skin cancer.
What is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere?
a. Oxygen
b. Nitrogen
c. Carbon Dioxide
d. Water Vapor
The fuel for nuclear fission in nuclear reactors that undergoes radioactive decay is ____.
a. petroleum
b. carbon
c. hydrogen
d. uranium
What does a barometer measure?
a. Wind direction
b. Air pressure
c. Dew Point
d. Wind speed
Which of the following is a problem associated with the increased use of nuclear energy?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
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cost of building safe nuclear facilities
major hazards involved in nuclear waste disposal
air pollution
both a and b are correct
all answer choices are correct
The ________ is the most important law passed to deal with air pollution and has resulted in _____ than
before 1970?
a. Clean Water Act, cleaner water
b. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, worse air pollution
c. Clean Air Act, cleaner air
d. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, less lawsuits
Which of the following is true about equinoxes?
a. They occur in June and December.
b. The sun’s vertical rays are striking either 23.5 S or 23.5 N.
c. Days and nights are equal in length everywhere.
d. The length of daylight in the Arctic and Antarctic Circles is 24 hours.
When energy is transferred to air, what happens to the particles of air?
a. They move slower.
c. They cool down.
b. They move faster.
d. none of the above
What causes heat, or the transfer of energy from one object to another?
a. differences in pressure
c. high albedos
b. differences in temperature
d. low albedos
Which electromagnetic waves have the longest wavelengths and are used to communicate to areas on the
other side of the globe by reflecting signals off of the ionosphere?
a. radio
b. infrared
c. gamma
d. ultraviolet
Earth receives energy from the sun through what method of heat transfer?
a. conduction
b. convection
c. radiation
d. solar wind
The two most important heat-absorbing gases in the lower atmosphere are ____.
a. oxygen and nitrogen
c. argon and hydrogen
b. ozone and chlorofluorocarbon
d. water vapor and carbon dioxide
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
a. All objects, at any temperature, emit radiant energy.
b. The hottest radiating bodies produce the shortest wavelengths of maximum radiation.
c. Hotter objects radiate more total energy per unit area than do colder objects.
d. Objects that are good absorbers of radiation are good reflectors as well.
Which gas is most important for understanding atmospheric processes?
a. oxygen
b. ozone
c. water vapor
d. carbon dioxide
If the water-vapor content of air remains constant, lowering air temperature causes a(n) ____.
a. decrease in relative humidity
c. increase in evaporation
b. increase in relative humidity
d. temperature inversion
Which of the following best describes the temperatures of a city located along a windward coast?
a. warmer summer temperatures than an inland location at the same latitude
b. cooler summer temperatures than an inland location at the same latitude
c. summer temperatures that are very similar to an inland location at the same latitude
d. colder winter temperatures than an inland location at the same latitude
Air that has reached its water-vapor capacity is said to be ____.
a. dry
b. unstable
c. stable
d. saturated
What is true about warm, saturated air?
a.
b.
c.
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It contains less water vapor than cold air.
It contains more water vapor than cold air.
It contains the same amount of water vapor as cold air.
It does not contain any water vapor.
Earth’s seasons are caused when____.
a. Earth rotates.
b. Earth’s highly elliptical orbit makes the Earth come closer to the Sun during summer.
c. the hemisphere tilted towards the sun recieves more direct rays than when it is tilted away
from the sun and thus experiences summer versus winter.
d. the hemsiphere tilted towards the sun is closer to the sun and experiences summer.
High-pressure systems are usually associated with which of the following?
a. descending air
b. clear weather
c. dry conditions
d. all of the above
A sea breeze usually originates during the ____.
a. evening and flows toward the land
c. evening and flows toward the water
b. day and flows toward the land
d. day and flows toward the water
A land breeze usually originates during the ____.
a. evening and flows toward the land
c. evening and flows toward the water
b. day and flows toward the land
d. day and flows toward the water
Which two properties characterize an air mass that it gets from its source region?
a. temperature and location
c. temperature and moisture
b. temperature and pressure
d. moisture and pressure
In Figure 20-1, which type of air mass originates in northern Canada, labeled B?
a. mT = Maritime Tropical
c. mP = Maritime Polar
b. cP - Continental Polar
d. cT = Continental Tropical
What is the relationship between elevation and climate?
a. The higher the elevation is, the colder the climate.
b. The lower the elevation is, the colder the climate.
c. The higher the elevation is, the warmer the climate.
d. There is no relationship between elevation and climate.
Why is plant transpiration so important?
a. It releases oxygen into the air
b. It pulls water from the soil and releases it into the air so that it can rain.
c. It absorbs carbon dioxide into the tree as a carbon storage site.
d. It releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each night so it will be available for
photosynthesis the next day.
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49. Which of the following may cause long-term changes in climate?
a. volcanic eruptions
c. changes in ocean circulation
b. changes in the shape of Earth’s orbit
d. solar flares
50. The rain shadow effect is associated with ____.
a. oceans
b. rivers
c. latitude
d. mountains
51. Which of the following is NOT true of the relationship between vegetation and climate?
a. Vegetation influences ocean currents.
b. Vegetation influences cloud formation.
c. Vegetation influences rates of solar absorption versus albedo.
d. Vegetation influences regional precipitation patterns.
52. The difference between radioactive isotopes and the ions that are found in the ionosphere is that ____.
a. isotopes have a different number of protons than orbiting electrons.
b. ions have a different number of protons than orbiting electrons.
c. ions have a different number of protons than neutrons.
d. their mass numbers are different.
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53. Which of the following is NOT true of greenhouse gases?
a. They absorb Earth’s radiation.
b. They are produced solely by human activities.
c. They are natural mechanisms for ensuring that Earth is warm enough to support life.
d. They include carbon dioxide and water vapor.
54. What type of air mass is most likely causing the rainy, warm front found at the point labeled C on Figure 20-2.
a. Continental Polar
b. Continental Tropical c. Maritime Tropical
d. Maritime Polar
55. In Figure 20-2, which point is experiencing the coldest weather?
a. A
b. B
c. C
d. D
e. E
56. Which of the following is NOT true of latitude?
a. Latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
b. Latitude lines measure north or south of the equator.
c. Latitude lines measure east or west.
d. Higher latitude lines receive less direct solar radiation than the Equator.
57. Which of the following terms best describes air?
a. element, that is all air is made up of the same atoms
b. compound, that is all of the air is combined into molecules of the same combination
c. mixture, an uncombined situation where single elements and compounds exist of different
compositions
d. none of the answer choices are correct
58. On a map showing temperature distributions, what are the lines connecting points of equal temperature.
a. Isobars
b. Isolines
c. Isotherms
d. Both b and c
59. When a hurricane reaches land, its intensity decreases as the result of ______.
a. increase in pressure and temperature.
c. successive updrafts into the eye wall.
b. lack of cold, dry air to fuel the storm.
d. friction and the lack of warm, moist air.
60. In Figure 19-1, the center of low pressure is called a(an) ____ and the air is moving _________.
a. anticyclone, out at ground level
c. jet stream, parallel to the isobars
b. air mass, to the East
d. cyclone, in at ground level
61. In Figure 19-1, widely spaced lines depict _______________ and indicate __________ .
a. a steep pressure gradient, high winds
c. a weak pressure gradient, light winds
b. a small change in elevation, prairies
d. anticyclonic winds, rainy weather
62. How are the safety actions that you should take different for Tornadoes than Thunderstorms with Lightening?
a. In both situations it is usually best to stay in your car with your seat belt fastened.
b. In Thunderstorms you should find shelter under the nearest stand of trees and with Tornadoes you
should lay in a ditch.
c. You should always try to outrun a Tornado with your car but in Thunderstorms you should park
your car.
63. What happens to the intensity of solar energy as latitude increases?
a. It stays the same. b. It increases.
c. It decreases.
d. It doubles.
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64. What two factors are used to classify climate in the Köppen climate classification system?
a. temperature and air pressure
c. temperature and precipitation
b. elevation and latitude
d. precipitation and location
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65. According to the source of primary pollutants in Figure 4-2, which area needs the most innovations to decrease these
pollutants?
a. solid waste disposal
c. stationary source fuel combustion
b. transportation
d. industrial processes
66. Why is biodiversity important?
a. It decrease in areas of desertification.
b. Biodiversity is the same as the Biosphere.
c. Biodiversity means varied life.
d. Biodiversity makes the gene pool stronger and better able to adapt.
67. Our oceans, Earth’s largest “carbon sink”, absorb much of the Carbon Dioxide from our atmosphere, and __ .
a. the CO2 causes the pH of the Oceans to go down.
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b. if estuaries become more acidic then benthic shelllife could be affected.
c. the process of storing this CO2 back into stable rock takes thousands of years.
d. all of the above
NOAA satellites are important because____________.
a. they are recording data to help us track our weather.
b. the can spot natural disasters such as floods or fires that need our help.
c. they can show global environmental issues such as melting glaciers and huge dust storms
d. Answers a, b, and c are all correct.
e. NOAA satellites are not important and their cost far outweighs their benefits.
Global Warming is ____________.
a. the average increase of temperatures on Earth and it is happening based on the data.
b. not a serious issue because we have always had periods of warming on the Earth.
c. not really happening because we have had several really cold winters in the past several years.
d. is an area of concern because it is happening over a much shorter time period than in the past based
on data gained from ice core samples.
e. Both answer a and d are correct.
The phase of the moon that we see depends on ____________.
a. whether we are in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere.
b. how much of the sunlit side of the moon is facing Earth.
c. how much of the moon’s total surface is being lit by the sun.
d. whether or not an eclipse is occurring.
Based on Appendix E, which of the following statements is true?
a. It is windier in Jacksonville, Fla than Charleston, S.C.
b. It is partly cloudy in Boston, Massachusetts.
c. It is going to continue to rain in Detroit, Michigan.
d. All of the above.
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72. The soils of the rain forest have proved to be very poor while those of the temperate grasslands are very fertile
with deep A Horizons due the difference in _________ which is the most dominant of the 5 soil forming
factors.
a.
climate
b.
organic material
c.
time of formation
d.
topography
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73. Shoreline erosion and coastal flooding are two consequences of ____.
a. increased rates of evaporation
c. volcanic eruptions
b. a global rise in sea level
d. the greenhouse effect
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74. Which Biome is most likely associated with the Climatograph shown in Figure 21-3?
a. Rainforest
b. Tundra
c. Temperate Forest d. Desert
Essay
75. How is Earth like an “island” in space and what are some of the factors on Earth that make it possible for life
on our planet that other planets like Venus, Mars, or Jupiter do not have. (Try to list at least 10 points in bullet
form, but be sure to include why they are necessary for life on our planet.)