Science Benchmark review

Which types of winds cause weather in North Carolina?

• polar easterlies
• prevailing westerlies
• prevailing easterlies

The local weather station is predicting that a warm front will pass through Charlotte, NC in two days. How will Charlotte’s weathermost likely be affected by the passing of a warm front?

• The temperature will be cooler.
• The temperature will be humid.
• The temperature will be warmer.
• The temperature will be unchanged.

Which best explains what type of weather the Gulf Stream usually brings to North Carolina?

• increased wind speed
• increased air pressure
• increased temperature
• increased evaporation

What type of cloud is usually associated with thunderstorms?

• cirrus
• stratus
• cumulus
• cumulonimbus

Which best describes a characteristic of the jet stream?

• It forms a boundary between a cold air mass and a warm air mass.
• It creates the high winds around the eye of a hurricane.
• It forces the hot air along the equator to rise to areas in North America.
• It causes high pressure air masses to rotate clockwise.

Why do air temperatures vary over bodies of water and land masses?

• because water can hold more heat than land
• because water receives more sunlight than land
• because winds move faster over land than over water
• because water temperatures are colder than land temperatures

Which will be the effect of a warm front moving into an area? 

• Light precipitation will begin as the front arrives and remain after the front is gone.
• Light precipitation will begin as the front arrives and clear after the front is gone.
• Skies will clear as clouds are moved by the front and grow cloudy after the front is gone.
• Skies will clear as clouds are moved by the front and remain clear after the front is gone.

Which will most likely result from a low-pressure weather system?

• warm temperatures
• cloudy conditions
• clear conditions
• cool temperatures

Global atmospheric patterns are responsible for most local weather. Which causes these patterns to exist?

• mountain ranges
• greenhouse gases
• holes in the ozone layer
• unequal heating of Earth

Low-pressure systems moving along the East Coast during winter months will have which effect?

• low temperatures and clear skies
• calm winds and heavy precipitation
• increased wind speed and clear skies
• increased wind speed and heavy precipitation