Earth Science - Climate

What is the climate of the top of a mountain like as compared to the bottom of the mountain?

• warmer
• cooler
• drier
• wetter

Which of these is NOT a factor that determines the climate of a place?

• latitude
• wind patterns
• longitude
• elevation

Which sentence best describes the relationship between elevation and air temperatures?

•  LOWER elevation = COLDER temperatures
• HIGHER elevation = COLDER temperatures
• HIGHER elevations = WARMER temperatures
• There is no relationship

Climates are classified according to which two major factors?

• elevation & precipitation
• latitude & temperature
• elevation & latitude
• precipitation & temperature

The biggest factor in determining climate is?

• elevation
• an ocean
• latitude
• mountain

Which factor most likely causes two cities at the same elevation and latitude to have different yearly average temperature ranges?

• rotation of Earth

• duration of insolation

• distance from a large body of water

• direction of prevailing winds

Compared to an inland location, a location on an ocean shore at the same elevation and latitude is likely to have

• cooler winters and cooler summers

• cooler winters and warmer summers

• warmer winters and cooler summers

• warmer winters and warmer summers

Large oceans moderate the climatic temperatures of surrounding coastal land areas because the temperature of ocean water changes

• rapidly, due to water’s low specific heat

• rapidly, due to water’s high specific heat

• slowly, due to water’s low specific heat

• slowly, due to water’s high specific heat

When comparing temperatures of two California regions on the same latitude, students found that the nighttime temperatures dropped significantly at the desert site but only slightly at the coastal site. This difference is most likely caused by

• Lower wind speeds in the desert that at the coast.

• Less water vapor in the desert than at the coast.

• Lower carbon dioxide levels in the desert than at the coast.

• Less vegetation in the desert than at the coast.

Which natural event temporarily slows or reverses surface ocean currents in the equatorial region of the Pacific Ocean, causing a disruption of normal weather patterns?

• monsoons

• volcanic eruptions

• El Niño

• deforestation