Deck 15: Light, Color, and Atmospheric Optics

Question 1

Clouds appear white because the cloud droplets scatter all the visible wavelengths of sunlight about equally. This is largely due to the ____ of the cloud droplets.

A) composition
B) concentration
C) size
D) shape

Answer 1

C

Question 2

On a summer evening at middle latitudes, twilight adds about how much extra time of light to the evening?

A) two minutes
B) five minutes
C) thirty minutes
D) two hours

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A bright, yellow-orange sunset will occur when the atmosphere ____.

A) is loaded with dust particles
B) contains many fine particles larger than air
C) contains sulfur ash
D) is fairly clean

Answer 3

D

Question 4

What color would the sky be if air molecules selectively scattered only the longest wavelengths of visible light?

A) white
B) blue
C) red
D) black

Question 5

When no visible radiation strikes the rods or cones in the human eye, a surface will appear ____.

A) blue
B) black
C) white
D) gray

Question 6

Red sunrises and sunsets over the oceans may be produced by light ____.

A) scattering by small suspended salt particles
B) diffraction by water molecules
C) reflection off water molecules
D) refraction by small suspended salt particles

Question 7

Red sunsets, blue moons, and milky-white skies are primarily the result of light ____.

A) refraction
B) dispersion
C) reflection
D) scattering

Question 8

When sunlight bounces off a surface at the same angle at which it strikes the surface, the light is ____.

A) scattered
B) reflected
C) refracted
D) diffracted

Question 9

Scattered light is also referred to as ____.

A) refracted light
B) reflected light
C) diffracted light
D) diffuse light

Question 10

White light is a ____ of electromagnetic radiation.

A) single long wavelength
B) single short wavelength
C) mixture of all visible wavelengths
D) mixture of all wavelengths

Question 11

A blue sun or blue moon occurs when the size of suspended particles in the atmosphere is ____ the wavelength of visible light.

A) smaller than
B) similar to
C) larger than
D) variable to

Question 12

The "blue" of the Blue Ridge Mountains is an example of ____.

A) sundogs
B) glories
C) halos
D) haze

Question 13

The setting sun appears red. What can you conclude?

A) The sun's surface temperature has cooled somewhat at the end of the day.
B) Only the longest waves of visible light are striking your eye.
C) The next day's weather will be stormy.
D) You will not be able to see the moon that night.

Question 14

A cloud appears dark because it ____ more light than it ____.

A) scatters; absorbs
B) scatters; refracts
C) absorbs; scatters
D) absorbs; refracts

Question 15

Haze-scattered light from a rising or setting sun produces bright lightbeams called ____.

A) an inferior mirage
B) crepuscular rays
C) glories
D) corona

Question 16

An object that we see as red ____ all visible radiation except red.

A) refracts
B) absorbs
C) reflects
D) diffracts

Question 17

If light was not scattered in the earth's atmosphere, the sky would appear ____ during the day.

A) white
B) black
C) red
D) blue

Question 18

The blue color of the sky is due to ____.

A) selective scattering of visible light by air molecules
B) the filtering effect of water vapor in the earth's atmosphere
C) reflection of sunlight off the earth's oceans
D) transmission of visible light through the ozone layer in the earth's stratosphere

Question 19

The ____ in the human eye allow(s) for the perception of colors in the visible light spectrum.

A) iris
B) cones
C) rods
D) cornea

Question 20

As a cloud grows larger and taller, ____ sunlight is reflected from it and ____ light can penetrate all the way through it.

A) more; more
B) less; more
C) more; less
D) less; less

Question 21

When a beam of white light passes through a glass prism, it is separated into its component colors. What is this called?

A) diffraction
B) dispersion
C) selective scattering
D) iridescence

Question 22

A wet-looking road surface on a clear, hot, dry day is an example of a ____.

A) mirage
B) halo
C) Fata Morgana
D) parhelia

Question 23

The bending of light that occurs when it enters a substance of different density at an angle is called ____.

A) diffraction
B) reflection
C) refraction
D) scattering

Question 24

Sunlight reflecting off ice crystals produces ____.

A) crepuscular rays
B) halos
C) sun pillars
D) sun dogs

Question 25

At sunset in the middle latitudes, look for a rainbow toward the ____.

A) north
B) south
C) east
D) west

Question 26

The bending of light as it passes around objects is referred to as ____.

A) dispersion
B) diffraction
C) refraction
D) reflection

Question 27

Secondary rainbows occur when ____.

A) two internal reflections of light occur in each raindrop
B) light refracts through ice crystals
C) a single internal reflection of light occurs in each raindrop
D) light refracts through a cloud of large raindrops

Question 28

Light that travels from a less-dense to a more-dense medium bends ____ the normal.

A) away from
B) toward
C) adjacent to
D) parallel to

Question 29

The green flash sometimes seen during a rising or setting sun is best viewed ____.

A) at the poles
B) in the tropics
C) in the middle latitudes
D) at the equator

Question 30

A ring of light encircling the sun or moon could be either ____.

A) a rainbow or a halo
B) a halo or a sundog
C) a halo or a corona
D) a sundog or a crepuscular ray

Question 31

The Fata Morgana is actually a(n) ____.

A) mirage
B) ice-crystal cloud
C) rainbow
D) sundog

Question 32

Halos are caused by ____.

A) refraction of light passing through raindrops
B) scattering of light by ice crystals
C) refraction of light passing through ice crystals
D) diffraction of light by cloud droplets

Question 33

Cloud iridescence is caused mainly by ____.

A) refraction
B) reflection
C) diffraction
D) dispersion

Question 34

To see a sundog at sunrise, you should look toward the ____.

A) north
B) south
C) east
D) west

Question 35

A mirage is caused by ____.

A) scattering of light by air molecules
B) the bending of light by air of different densities
C) a thin layer of moist air near the ground
D) reflection of light from a hot surface

Question 36

Because of atmospheric refraction, a rising star seen near the earth's horizon is actually ____.

A) slightly higher than it appears
B) slightly lower than it appears
C) much dimmer than it appears
D) much further away than it appears

Question 37

The appearance of a star to twinkle, or flicker, is caused by ____ of light through regions of different densities.

A) reflection
B) refraction
C) diffraction
D) scattering

Question 38

If the temperature was constant at the surface of the atmosphere, conditions would be ____ for viewing a mirage.

A) good
B) excellent
C) average
D) poor

Question 39

This can only be seen when the sun is to your back and it is raining in front of you.

A) sundog
B) halo
C) rainbow
D) sun pillar

Question 40

You would most likely see a halo or sundog with which of the following cloud types?

A) altostratus
B) cirriform
C) nimbostratus
D) cumulus

Question 41

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. A(n) INFERIOR | SUPERIOR mirage can sometimes be seen in the distance while standing on a snow surface during winter.

Question 42

Mirages, halos, and rainbows are all optical phenomena produced by the refraction of light.

Question 43

How does the density of a material affect light?

Question 44

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. The sun often appears redder as it sets, which means that MORE | LESS blue light is scattered as the sunlight passes through the atmosphere.

Question 45

Describe the terms "reflected" and "scattered" as they relate to light.

Question 46

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. When white light passes through a glass prism, RED | VIOLET light bends the least.

Question 47

A sky with a deep blue color indicates high humidity.

Question 48

How does light create a rainbow?

Question 49

Mirages can be produced by either a very cold or very hot layer of air next to the ground.

Question 50

Where does a halo occur, and what does one look like?

Question 51

What is meant by the term dispersion?

Question 52

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. To see a rainbow in the morning, you should look TOWARD | AWAY FROM the sun.

Question 53

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. A tangent arc may sometimes be seen above a HALO | SUN PILLAR.

Question 54

The primary rainbow is produced by raindrops falling below a cloud; the secondary bow is produced by frozen precipitation.

Question 55

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. The sky appears blue because air molecules are LARGER | SMALLER than the wavelength of visible light and selectively scatter the shorter wavelengths.

Question 56

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Because of the bending of sunlight by the atmosphere, the sun will appear to rise about two minutes EARLIER | LATER than it would if there were no atmosphere.

Question 57

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. The most common type of halo is the 22° | 46° halo.

Question 58

Because of refraction, a star appears to be higher in the sky than it actually is.

Question 59

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. To see a sundog or halo, it is important that the cloud be composed of ICE CRYSTALS | WATER VAPOR.

Question 60

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. To see the secondary rainbow, you should look ABOVE | BELOW the primary rainbow.

Question 61

Why does adding particles to the atmosphere affect visibility?

Question 62

Distinguish between the processes of reflection, refraction, and scattering of light. Give an example of an atmospheric phenomena produced by each one. Which of these processes produces dispersion?

Question 63

Illustrate with a sketch the refraction and dispersion of light as it passes through a glass prism.

Question 64

Sketch the path that a ray of light follows as it passes through a raindrop and forms a primary rainbow. How is the path of a ray forming the secondary rainbow different?

Question 65

What causes a cloud to appear dark?