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Midterm Review

Total questions: 50

Worksheet time: 25mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere?

a)

oxygen

b)

nitrogen

c)

carbon dioxide

d)

hydrogen

2.

Most important weather phenomena occur in the ____.

a)

stratosphere

b)

mesosphere

c)

troposphere

d)

thermosphere

3.

The tropopause is ____.

a)

the boundary between tropical and polar air masses

b)

the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere

c)

the layer of high ozone concentration

d)

the boundary between Earth’s surface and atmosphere

4.

In general, what is true about places at higher altitudes?

a)

They have cooler temperatures than places at lower altitudes.

b)

They have the same temperatures as places at lower altitudes.

c)

They have warmer temperatures than places at lower altitudes.

d)

They have less predictable temperatures than places at lower altitudes.

5.

Which of the following best describes temperature variations?

a)

Variations are greater over land than over water.

b)

Variations are greater over water than over land.

c)

Variations are the same over water and land.

d)

Variations over water cannot be determined.

6.

Air that has reached its water-vapor capacity is said to be ____.

a)

dry

b)

unstable

c)

stable

d)

saturated

7.

What is true about warm, saturated air?

a)

It contains less water vapor than cold air.

b)

It contains more water vapor than cold air.

c)

It contains the same amount of water vapor as cold air.

d)

It does not contain any water vapor.

8.

Orographic lifting is associated with ____.

a)

mountains

b)

rivers

c)

flat plains

d)

fronts

9.

Which of the following would NOT be associated with stable atmospheric conditions?

a)

widespread fog

b)

afternoon thunderstorms

c)

temperature inversion

d)

buildup of pollutants

10.

What is true about stable air?

a)

It tends to rise.

b)

It tends to resist rising.

c)

It is associated with severe storms.

d)

It is never associated with precipitation.

11.

Which of the following is an example of condensation nuclei?

a)

dust

b)

smoke

c)

salt particles

d)

all of the above

12.

Which clouds are often associated with thunder and lightning?

a)

cirrostratus

b)

altostratus

c)

cumulonimbus

d)

nimbostratus

13.

What type of cloud is associated with hail?

a)

A. cirrocumulus

b)

B. cumulonimbus

c)

C. nimbostratus

d)

D. altostratus

14.

A cold, dry air mass that moves over warm, tropical waters will likely become ____.

a)

B. warmer and drier

b)

A. colder and drier

c)

C. colder and wetter

d)

D. warmer and wetter

e)

E. warmer and more humid

15.

An mT (Maritime tropical) air mass is best described as ____.

a)

A. cold and dry

b)

B. warm and dry

c)

C. cold and wet

d)

D. warm and wet

16.

The boundary that separates different air masses is called a(n) ____.

a)

A. front

b)

B. cyclone

c)

C. anticyclone

d)

D. storm

17.

On a weather map, which type of front is shown by a line with triangular points on one side?

a)

warm

b)

cold

c)

stationary

d)

occluded

18.

What type of front forms when the surface position of the front does not move?

a)

warm

b)

cold

c)

stationary

d)

occluded

19.

When an active cold front overtakes a warm front, ____.

a)

the fronts cancel each other out

b)

cloud formation ceases

c)

an occluded front form

d)

a stationary front form

20.

Hurricanes are classified according to intensity using the ____.

a)

Richter scale

b)

Doppler scale

c)

Saffir-Simpson scale

d)

Fujita scale

21.

What causes a hurricane to lose energy when it moves onto land?

a)

friction

b)

lack of warm, moist air

c)

heating from below by land

d)

both a and b

22.

What two factors are used to classify climate in the Köppen climate classification system?

a)

temperature and air pressure

b)

elevation and latitude

c)

temperature and precipitation

d)

precipitation and location

23.

Polar climates are characterized by ____.

a)

low rates of evaporation

b)

heavy precipitation

c)

warm summers

d)

thick vegetation

e)

intense solar radiation

24.

Which climate experiences seasonal periods of perpetual night?

a)

humid tropical

b)

humid mid-latitude

c)

highland

d)

polar

25.

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 into the atmosphere.

26.

Which is a long-term climate change?

a)

fall

b)

an ice age

c)

El Nino

d)

summer

27.

Which of the following has NOT been suggested as a factor in global warming?

a)

deforestation

b)

burning of fossil fuels

c)

industrial emissions

d)

El Nino

28.

El Nino develops because of a weakening of what?

a)

the polar front

b)

the trade winds

c)

the prevailing westerlies

d)

the jet streams

29.

A heat island is an example of which type of climate?

a)

tropical climate

b)

microclimate

c)

dry climate

d)

polar climate

30.

This is a climatic change that occurred as a result of a sunspot.

a)

microclimate

b)

macroclimate

c)

Maunder minimum

d)

Maunder maximum

31.

Which best describes the climate on the leeward side of the mountain?

a)

warm and dry

b)

warm and wet

c)

cool and dry

32.

Earth’s wobble over 26,000 years, rotating between the stars Polaris and Vega, determines

a)

the timing of the ice ages

b)

the timing of the seasons

c)

the amount of sunspots that occur

d)

ice sheet growth

33.

Intense, self-sustaining thunderstorms are known as

a)

air mass thunderstorms

b)

super cells

c)

tornadoes

d)

downbursts

34.

Which does NOT describe a type of damaging thunderstorm wind?

a)

downburst

b)

microburst

c)

land breeze

d)

macroburst

35.

What phrase describes a stepped leader?

a)

return stroke

b)

partially charged air

c)

positive charge

d)

down draft

36.

Which does NOT play a key role in the development of hail?

a)

supercooled water

b)

freezing temperatures

c)

strong updrafts

d)

warm ocean water

37.

Heat waves involve high-pressure systems that cause air to sink and warm by which process?

a)

compression

b)

conduction

c)

evaporation

d)

condensation

38.

Which weather hazard involves a lack of moisture?

a)

hail

b)

flood

c)

drought

d)

storm surge

39.

Which would work against the development of a thunderstorm?

a)

rising air

b)

stable air

c)

moisture

40.

More lives are lost during a hurricane’s _____________ than from its winds.

a)

weather

b)

heat wave

c)

storm surge

d)

down burst

41.

At which point did the above hurricane begin to lose strength and why? State your answer briefly.

a)

18N & 60W due to a change in direction

b)

16N & 67W due to a decrease in latitude

c)

20N & 82W due to a change of direction

d)

25N and 84W due to movement over land

42.

Which of the above are probably the cold air masses?

a)

maritime polar

b)

continental polar

c)

maritime tropical

d)

continental tropical

43.

A ___________ is used to measure relative humidity.

a)

hygrometer

b)

barometer

c)

thermometer

d)

anemometer

44.

Which location on Earth receives the most solar radiation in any given year?

a)

the poles

b)

the oceans

c)

the tropics

d)

the continents

45.

Lines of equal pressure on a weather map are called

a)

anemometers

b)

isobars

c)

digital forecast

d)

station models

46.

Which is an example of climate?

a)

today’s high temperature

b)

yesterday’s rainfall

c)

tomorrow’s highest wind speed

d)

average rainfall over 30 years

47.

Which type of front is illustrated above?

a)

cold front

b)

occluded front

c)

precipitation front

d)

warm front

48.

The deflection of air due to Earth’s rotation is called the ___________.

a)

Coriolis effect

b)

Doppler effect

c)

radiosonde

d)

jet stream

49.

Meteorologist’s use special radar, which is based on the ___________, to plot the movement of precipitation.

a)

jet stream

b)

radiosonde

c)

Doppler effect

d)

Coriolis effect

50.

What is true about warm, saturated air?

a)

It contains less water vapor than cold air.

b)

It contains more water vapor than cold air.

c)

It contains the same amount of water vapor as cold air.

d)

It does not contain any water vapor.