Meteorology Quiz

Which diagram best models the movement of coastal air during the night? 

• A
• B
• C
• D

Warm air rising at the equator and cold air sinking at the poles is one reason for which event? 

• hurricanes
• global convection currents
• earth's rotation
• Coriolis effect

Meteorologists often look at differences in air pressure when they are trying to predict the weather. Why do these differences occur?

• The moon's gravity has different strengths
• The sun heats different places at different rates
• Earth's rotation makes different places move at different speeds
• Volcanoes add different amounts of heat and gas to the air in different places

The air mass shown in the picture above is forming over Mexico. This air mass is called....

• continental polar
• maritime polar
• continental tropical
• maritime tropical

Branson, Missouri, and San Francisco, California, are located at about the same latitude. Branson is completely surrounded by land. San Francisco is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Why is Branson generally warmer than San Francisco?

• water is always cooler than land
• Branson received more sunshine than San Franciso
• areas surrounded by water absorb and radiate more heat than land areas
• areas surrounded by land absorb and radiate more heat than water areas

Which of the following happens to the weather when water evaporates from the ocean and then condenses in the atmosphere? 

• deep ocean currents
• the coriolis effect
• dry weather patterns
• humid weather patterns

Which of these effects generally occurs as the result of warm air mass and a cooler air mass converging at Earth’s surface? 

• the sky becomes clear
• winds die down
• cloud formation decreases
• stormy weather patterns

Which of these BEST explains how wind is formed? 

• uneven heating of Earth's surface
• by the gravitational pull between the Moon and Earth
• movement of tectonic plates
• by the rotation of Earth's axis

Why does Seattle experience much less severe winters than Bismarck? 

• Seattle is slightly closer to the sun during the winter months.
• The Pacific Ocean releases heat and keeps Seattle warmer.
• It is warmer in the central part of the United States.
• Cold air masses settle away from bodies of water.

Which cross section picture best represents how surface winds form by daytime near a shoreline on a hot summer day? 

• Picture 1
• Picture 2
• Picture 3
• Picture 4