Atmospheric Sciences 3 Fall 1999 Exam #1

Choose the correct answer for each question.

1 In the early 1900s, Jacob Bjerknes invented this from observations of the surface weather over large continental regions. Telegraph Radar Computers Polar Front Theory Scientific instrumentation 2 Meteorology did not become a natural science until publication of "Meteorologica" launching of weather satellites invention of computers invention of weather instruments publication of the Polar Front Theory 3 Physical meteorology primarily involves the study of weather forecasting and observations clouds, precipitation , radiation atmospheric circulation climatology 4 Record high temperatures for some area refer to climate middle latitude storms weather daily temperature range 5 After the Earth's Primordial atmosphere dissipated, it was replaced by a secondary atmosphere that was formed by photosynthesis gravitational capture outgassing condensation precipitation 6 The Earth's Primordial atmosphere consisted mainly of nitrogen and oxygen carbon dioxide and water vapor hydrogen and helium sulfur dioxide and neon 7 The atmospheric temperature decreases with increasing altitude in the troposphere and stratosphere troposphere and mesosphere stratosphere and thermosphere stratosphere and mesosphere mesosphere and thermosphere 8 The atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing altitude in which atmospheric layers? stratosphere thermosphere troposphere mesosphere all of these 9 The atmospheric pressure is highest in the mesosphere at the ground at the top of the thermosphere at the top of the stratosphere in the ozone layer 10 The presence of this atmospheric structure is associated with the extrememly high temperatures observed in the thermosphere. ozonosphere ionosphere carbon dioxide layer the sun 11 The concentration of this gas varies with the seasons, particularly where green plants grow in the summer and die back or go dormant in the winter. water vapor ozone carbon dioxide oxygen nitrogen 12 Between the troposphere and the stratosphere lies the mesosphere tropopause ozone layer stratopause ionosphere 13 The transfer of heat by the movement of air from one place to another is conduction convection radiation reflection 14 If you face your palms toward the sun, they will feel warm because of heat transfer via radiation convection conduction 15 As you walk away from a light bulb, the light becomes dimmer. This is a demonstration of Wien's Law radiative equilibrium inverse square law Stefan-Boltzmann Law someone turning down the voltage to the light bulb 16 This type of "heat" is involved in the changing of the physical phase of water substance: latent convective sensible radiative 17 Carbon dioxide and water vapor in Earth's atmosphere _____ visible light and _____ infrared radiation. absorb; absorb absorb; transmit transmit; absorb transmit; transmit transmit; reflect 18 The Stefan-Boltzmann Law states that for a blackbody, the wavelength of maximum radiation emission increases as temperature increases. the wavelength of maximum radiation emission decreases as temperature increases. the rate of emission of radiation increases as temperature increases. the rate of emission of radiation decreases as temperature increases. the intensity of radiation decreases as your distance from the radiation source increases. 19 If a blackbody absorbs less radiation than it emits, its temperature will increase decrease remain the same 20 To an observer in space, the Earth appears to be radiating like a blackbody with a temperature of ___ K. 188 255 288 330 21 The Earth's surface temperature is higher with an atmosphere than without because the atmosphere absorbs sunlight reflects sunlight slows the conduction of heat away from the ground absorbs and emits infrared radiation 22 Due to the presence of the atmosphere, the amount of infrared radiation emitted by the Earth's surface is _____ the amount of visible sunlight absorbed. greater than less than equal to 23 If the amount of clouds covering Earth decreases, the Earth-atmosphere albedo increases decreases remains constant 24 Planet Y is illuminated by the same amount of sunlight as Earth. But Y's planetary albedo is higher than Earth's, so its temperature is going to be _____ Earth's. higher than lower than equal to 25 Rank from high to low amounts the following types of "heat" used in the Earth's energy balance model. radiation, latent, sensible radiation, sensible, latent latent, radiation, sensible sensible, latent, radiation sensible, radiation, latent 26 The whole Earth-atmosphere system maintains a constant temperature over time because of atmospheric and oceanic circulation Stefan-Boltzmann Law Wien's Law inverse square law radiative equilibrium 27 In the Northern Hemisphere, this day has the fewest hours of daylight. Summer Solstice Winter Solstice Spring Equinox Autumnal Equinox 28 In the Southern Hemisphere, on the day of the Autumnal Equinox, the number of hours of daylight at about 30 deg S latitude is 0 10 12 14 24 29 The sun shines directly over the Equator on (about) January 3 March 21 June 20 July 4 December 21 30 Which of the pictures depicts the Winter Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere? (The open circle represents the spot the sun is shining directly down upon.) 31 If the tilt of the Earth increases to 30 deg, the insolation during the summer months in the Northern Hemisphere middle latitudes (30 to 60 deg N) will increase due to a(n) ______ of the angle the sunlight hits the ground and a(n) _____ of the length of the daylight hours. increase; decrease decrease; increase increase; increase decrease; decrease 32 At night, the temperature decreases because the ground radiates infrared radiation to space. the vertical temperature profile inverts. the sun absorbs back the radiation it used to heat the Earth. cold air likes to sit next to the ground. 33 In most areas, the warmest time of the day about 1.5 m above the ground occurs when the sun is just about to set. at noon at midnight in the mid-morning in the mid-afternoon 34 The effect of wind is to _____ the daily range between maximum and minimum temperatures. increase decrease cause no change to 35 Clouds tend to _____ the nighttime temperatures because they ______. decrease; conduct heat from the ground. decrease; transmit IR radiation. decrease; remove heat from the ground by conduction. increase; reflect sunlight. increase; absorb and emit IR radiation. 36 Due to the presence of a surface with _____ specific heat, the ______ usually observes the smallest daily range of temperatures. high; inland deserts high; coastline low; inland deserts low, coastline 37 The warmest nighttime temperatures would occur on a ______ night. clear, windy cloudy, calm clear, calm cloudy, windy 38 Which figure represents a thermometer that can register both the maximum and minimum temperatures? 39 When the air is _____, there will be more condensation than evaporation above a surface of liquid water. subsaturated supersaturated saturated 40 The relative humidity is the amount of vapor needed for saturation divided by the actual amount of vapor in the air. the humidity relative to the needs of the hydrologic cycle. a relationship between the amount of water precipitated from the air and the amount of vapor left behind in the air. the actual amount of vapor in the air divided by the amount of vapor needed for saturation.