Deck 19: Moisture, Clouds, and Weather

Question 1

____________________ occur in low-pressure regions with accompanying surface winds that spiral inward.

Answer 1

Cyclones

Question 2

____________________ fog occurs when warm, moist air from the sea blows onto cooler land.

Answer 2

Advection

Question 3

____ is the mass of water vapor in a given amount of air expressed in grams per cubic meter (g/m ³ ).

A) Relative humidity
B) Absolute humidity
C) Dew point
D) Partial humidity

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The ____ is the temperature at which the relative humidity of air reaches 100%.

A) saturation point
B) absolute humidity
C) dew point
D) partial humidity

Question 5

____________________ represent(s) a visible concentration of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in air.

Question 6

____________________ are small, short-lived, funnel-shaped storms that protrude from the base of a cumulonimbus cloud.

Question 7

____ clouds are horizontally layered with a broad sheet-like appearance.

A) Cirrus
B) Stratus
C) Cumulus
D) Cumulonimbus

Question 8

The rate at which air that is neither rising nor falling cools with elevation is called the ____ lapse rate.

A) dry adiabatic
B) wet adiabatic
C) normal
D) frontal

Question 9

____________________ is the horizontal movement of air in response to differences in air pressure.

Question 10

Points of equal air pressure connected by weather map lines are called ____________________.

Question 11

____________________ clouds are fluffy clouds with flat bottoms and billowy tops.

Question 12

____________________ are seasonal winds caused by uneven heating and cooling of land and sea.

Question 13

When relative humidity exceeds 100%, the air becomes ____________________.

Question 14

Water becomes ____________________ when it has cooled below its freezing point but remains liquid.

Question 15

When air blows against a mountainside, it is forced to rise by a process called ____________________.

Question 16

____________________ is the amount of water vapor in air relative to the maximum it can hold at a given temperature.

Question 17

____________________ form when warm air masses are trapped between two colder air masses.

Question 18

A process called ____________________ occurs when a moving mass of cool, dense air slides under a warm air mass and forces the warm air upward.

Question 19

____ is a condition in which water droplets in air do not freeze even when the air cools below the freezing point.

A) Saturation
B) Supersaturation
C) Supercooling
D) Dew

Question 20

____________________ occur in high-pressure regions with outward spiraling surface winds.

Question 21

During adiabatic warming, the air warms up because ____.

A) of the lapse rate
B) moisture is removed
C) heat is added
D) work is done

Question 22

Condensation happens when moist air ____.

A) gains heat by radiation and warms
B) loses heat by radiation and cools
C) warms adiabatically as it sinks to a lower elevation
D) cools adiabatically as it sinks to a lower elevation

Question 23

____ forms when rain falls on subfreezing surfaces.

A) Sleet
B) Glaze
C) Hail
D) Snow

Question 24

When air cools as it rises along a land surface, ____ fog forms.

A) advection
B) radiation
C) evaporation
D) upslope

Question 25

The base of a(n) ____ cloud forms at the altitude at which the rising air cools to its dew point and condensation starts.

A) altostratus
B) stratus
C) cirrus
D) cumulus

Question 26

In an El Niño year, the trade winds will ____.

A) decrease
B) increase
C) change direction
D) completely stop

Question 27

Which statement about atmospheric humidity is correct?

A) Dew forms when warm, moist air comes in contact with cool surfaces.
B) Rain or fog is likely to occur when cool, moist air is heated.
C) Cold air can hold more moisture than warm air.
D) Fog occurs when warm, moist air from the ocean blows over warmer land surfaces.

Question 28

Which process would lower the relative humidity of a parcel of air?

A) The air moves over a lake where water is evaporating.
B) The air is heated, and no water enters or leaves the system.
C) The air cools, and no water enters or leaves.
D) Dust blows into the air, but no other changes occur.

Question 29

The desert in Death Valley formed as a result of ____.

A) high evaporation rates
B) orographic lifting
C) a constant high pressure
D) dehydration

Question 30

Sinking air exerts a downward force to form ____ regions.

A) high-pressure
B) low-pressure
C) rainy
D) cyclonic

Question 31

The air's temperature during an adiabatic change will ____.

A) rise or fall as air pressure changes
B) be cooled by water loss
C) cool by evaporation
D) be heated by more solar radiation

Question 32

What causes a monsoon?

A) drastic swings in temperature
B) low pressure systems on the oceans
C) high pressure systems on land
D) uneven heating of land and air

Question 33

The process where intense low-pressure forming over warm oceans can create ____.

A) storm surges
B) tropical cyclones
C) water spouts
D) tropical anticyclones

Question 34

Water vapor in supersaturated air does not freeze because the air is ____.

A) particulate-rich
B) too cold
C) particulate-free
D) supercooled

Question 35

Since warm air can hold more moisture than cold air, clouds generally do not form over ____ regions.

A) low-pressure
B) mountainous
C) high-pressure
D) coastal

Question 36

High-altitude clouds composed of ice crystals are called ____ clouds.

A) cirrus
B) stratus
C) cumulus
D) cumulonimbus

Question 37

The air in a warm front will adiabatically ____ and as a result, will generate clouds and precipitation.

A) decline
B) warm
C) cool
D) raise

Question 38

Evaporation fog is common in ____.

A) late fall and early winter
B) deserts
C) high temperature areas
D) the mountains

Question 39

When air stops rising before it cools to its dew point, ____.

A) no clouds will form
B) clouds will form
C) precipitation will likely occur
D) supersaturation will happen

Question 40

Which condition is likely to lead to rain?

A) Warm air makes contact with cool surfaces.
B) Cool, moist air falls.
C) Warm, moist air rises.
D) Moist air sinks as it passes over the leeward side of a mountain.

Question 41

Many scientists think that El Niño affects weather patterns for nearly three-quarters of Earth.

Question 42

Warm and dry air is regarded as unstable.

Question 43

Frost will occur when the dew point is below freezing.

Question 44

Tropical cyclones form over ____.

A) warm land with moist air
B) cold ocean water that encounter warm air
C) warm oceans
D) warm and moist air masses

Question 45

Frontal weather patterns are determined by the types of air masses that collide and their relative speeds and directions.

Question 46

Lightning is possibly caused by friction between intense winds and ice crystals as well as ____.

A) charged aerosols in the atmosphere
B) cosmic rays bombarding the tops of cloud and producing ions
C) photon charging from incoming solar radiation
D) electron transfer to an excited state within water molecules

Question 47

The eye is the most intense and dangerous part of a storm.

Question 48

Hail falls only from cirrus clouds.

Question 49

In many clouds, water vapor initially forms ice crystals rather than condensing as tiny droplets of supercooled water.

Question 50

In today's tropical rainforests, local rainfall has decreased by as much as 50 % when the forests were cut and replaced by farmland or pasture.

Question 51

During an El Niño year the moisture from the equatorial Pacific Ocean causes unusual amounts of rain to fall in ____.

A) Australia
B) California
C) South America
D) South China

Question 52

The three mechanisms cause air to rise are orographic lifting, frontal wedging, and convection-convergence.

Question 53

Wind speed is determined by the magnitude of the pressure difference over distance.

Question 54

Storms that form at an occluded front are commonly short-lived because the warm air mass is cut off from its supply of moisture evaporating from Earth's surface.

Question 55

The Coriolis effect will alter a wind's ____.

A) pressure gradient
B) speed
C) direction
D) intensity

Question 56

Frost is simply dew that freezes.

Question 57

In the Southern Hemisphere, the Coriolis effect deflects wind to the right and creates a clock-wise spiral.

Question 58

A portion of the atmosphere that becomes warmer than surrounding air will ____.

A) contract and fall
B) form a high pressure center
C) cause clouds to disappear
D) expand and rise

Question 59

Rising air will cool adiabatically.

Question 60

Wind near Earth's surface always flows from high-pressure toward low-pressure regions.

Question 61

Define relative humidity.

Question 62

Describe stratocumulus, cumulonimbus, nimbostratus, and altostratus.

Question 63

Where does evaporation fog and upslope fog occur?

Question 64

What is the difference between humidity and absolute humidity?

Question 65

Define normal lapse rate.

Question 66

What happens to water when the relative humidity reaches 100 % ?

Question 67

Describe how a warm front and cold front forms.

Question 68

What are the three atmospheric processes that cool air to its dew point and cause condensation?

Question 69

During the night water vapor condenses on the cool objects, what is the condensation called? What if it reaches freezing point, what is it called?

Question 70

Describe cirrus, stratus, and cumulus clouds in terms of their appearances.

Question 71

What is convection?

Question 72

What are the three mechanisms that cause air to rise?

Question 73

Describe the deflection patterns for the Coriolis effect in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Question 74

What does cirrus clouds look like? At what elevation do they form?

Question 75

Define fog.

Question 76

What is the difference between absolute humidity and relative humidity?

Question 77

Describe a cyclone and anticyclone-what is their spin pattern in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres?

Question 78

Summarize orographic lifting, frontal wedging, and convection-convergence.

Question 79

Explain the difference between advection fog and radiation fog.

Question 80

What is the size of hailstones in terms of diameter and weight?