Deck 19: Light, Color, and Atmospheric Optics

Question 1

White light is ____ of electromagnetic radiation.

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

Answer 1

C

Question 2

On the average,as a cloud grows thicker (taller),which below does not occur?

A) More sunlight is reflected from the cloud.
B) Less sunlight is transmitted through the cloud.
C) Less sunlight is absorbed by the cloud.
D) More light is scattered by the cloud.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Another name for diffuse light is

A) scattered light.
B) refracted light.
C) dispersion of light.
D) transmitted light.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following would be true if the earth did not have an atmosphere?

A) There would be fewer hours of daylight.
B) The sky would always be black.
C) The stars would be visible in the sky during the day.
D) all of the above

Question 5

The sky will begin to turn milky white

A) when the concentration of ozone begins to reach dangerous levels.
B) when small particles such as dust and salt become suspended in the air.
C) when the relative humidity decreases below about ten percent.
D) on an oppressively hot day of the year.

Question 6

Which of the following are capable of producing a red sunrise or sunset?

A) small suspended salt particles
B) volcanic ash
C) small suspended dust particles
D) all of the above

Question 7

Imagine that this piece of paper is illuminated with white light and appears red.You see red light because

A) the paper absorbs red and reflects other visible wavelengths.
B) the paper emits red light.
C) the paper reflects red and absorbs other visible wavelengths.
D) the paper disperses white light.

Question 8

When the sun is near the horizon,the intensity of visible radiation reaching the earth's surface appears to be less than when the sun is directly overhead.Actually,the intensity of the visible radiation reaching the earth's surface is always the same.
a.
true
b.
false
c.
only at the equator

Question 9

If the earth did not have an atmosphere,the sky would appear ____ during the day.

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

Question 10

Red sunsets,blue moons,and milky-white skies are mainly the result of

A) refraction.
B) dispersion.
C) reflection.
D) scattering.
E) diffraction.

Question 11

Stars are not visible during the day because

A) the scattered light coming from the sky is too bright to be able to see the weaker light from stars.
B) the earth is pointed away from the center of the galaxy.
C) the light from the stars is absorbed and scattered by the atmosphere and does not reach the ground.
D) all of these

Question 12

The sky is blue because air molecules selectively ____ blue light.

A) scatter
B) absorb
C) diffract
D) disperse
E) emit

Question 13

Air molecules selectively scatter visible light because

A) air molecules are smaller than the wavelength of visible light.
B) air molecules are much larger than the wavelength of visible light.
C) air molecules are the same size as the wavelength of visible light.
D) the electrons that orbit around the nucleus of atoms have a blue color.

Question 14

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 15

The blue color of distant mountains is due primarily to

A) diffraction of light.
B) scattering of light.
C) refraction of light.
D) emission of light.
E) absorption of light.

Question 16

Refraction of light by the atmosphere is responsible for

A) scintillation of starlight.
B) mirages.
C) causing the sun to appear to flatten-out on the horizon.
D) increasing the length of daylight.
E) all of the above

Question 17

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 18

On a foggy night,it is often difficult to see the road when the high beam lights are on because of ____ of light by the fog.

A) absorption
B) scattering
C) transmission
D) refraction
E) diffraction

Question 19

If the setting sun appears red,you may conclude that

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 20

Which of the following phenomena is not produced by refraction?

A) halos
B) crepuscular rays
C) mirages
D) sundogs
E) none of the above

Question 21

Which of the following processes must occur in a raindrop to produce a rainbow?

A) refraction,reflection,and dispersion of sunlight
B) refraction,reflection,and scattering of sunlight
C) reflection,scattering,and dispersion of sunlight
D) transmission,reflection,and dispersion of sunlight
E) refraction,transmission,and scattering of sunlight

Question 22

Which of the following would you most likely observe over snow-covered ground in the winter?

A) superior mirage
B) sun pillars
C) crespuscular rays
D) shimmering

Question 23

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 24

This phenomena can sometimes be seen near the upper rim of a setting or rising sun:

A) sun pillar
B) the glory
C) a corona
D) the green flash

Question 25

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.
E) reflection of light by ice crystals.

Question 26

The green flash is largely an example of ____ of light by the earth's atmosphere.

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

Question 27

Secondary rainbows occur when

A) two internal reflections of light occur in raindrops.
B) light refracts through ice crystals.
C) a single internal reflection of light occurs in raindrops.
D) light refracts through a cloud of large raindrops.
E) the sun disappears behind a cloud and then reappears.

Question 28

An atmospheric phenomenon that causes objects to appear inverted is called

A) a superior mirage.
B) an inferior mirage.
C) scintillation.
D) dispersion.

Question 29

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 30

You would most likely see a tangent arc with a

A) halo.
B) sundog.
C) rainbow.
D) glory.
E) corona.

Question 31

Because of atmospheric refraction,a 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 32

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

A) a superior mirage.
B) scintillation.
C) diffraction.
D) condensation.
E) none of the above

Question 33

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

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

Question 34

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

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

Question 35

To see a sundog,you should look about 22 degrees

A) to the right or left of the sun.
B) above the sun.
C) below the sun.
D) all of the above

Question 36

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
E) corona

Question 37

If the temperature was constant in the lowest 1,000 meters of the atmosphere,conditions would be ____ for viewing a mirage.

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

Question 38

Clouds in the tropics tend to move from east to west.Consequently,which rhyme best describes a rainbow seen in the tropics?

A) Rainbow at the break of dawn,means,of course,the rain is gone.
B) Rainbow at the break of day,means that the rain is on the way.
C) Rainbow with a setting sun,means that sailors can have some fun.
D) Rainbow in the morning,means that sailors should take warning.

Question 39

Which of the following are caused by the bending of light through ice crystals?

A) rainbows and halos
B) halos and the green flash
C) halos and sundogs
D) sundogs and sun pillars
E) mirages and sundogs

Question 40

Sunlight reflecting off ice crystals produces which of the following?

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

Question 41

Give examples of atmospheric phenomena produced by reflection,refraction and scattering of light.

Question 42

Why do distant mountains appear blue?

Question 43

Which of the following is not involved in the formation of a rainbow?

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

Question 44

How might you demonstrate the phenomenon of light scattering using a glass tank filled with water,a flashlight,and some milk?

Question 45

Which of the following is true about rainbows?

A) The rainbow will be seen in the west when the sun is setting.
B) Rainbows form when rays from the sun are scattered.
C) The brightest rainbows are seen around noon.
D) To see a rainbow at sunrise,you should look toward the west.

Question 46

Which atmospheric phenomenon below is produced by the diffraction of light around small water droplets?

A) halo
B) inferior mirage
C) corona
D) Heiligenshein
E) sun pillar

Question 47

How does adding particles to the atmosphere affect visibility?

Question 48

Which of the following is not caused by diffraction of light?

A) glory
B) cloud iridescence
C) brocken bow
D) corona
E) tangent arc

Question 49

Distinguish between the processes of reflection,refraction and scattering of light.

Question 50

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 51

Write a set of instructions for observing a rainbow.Include the meteorological conditions to look for,the time(s)of day,and the direction(s)in which to look.

Question 52

Cloud iridescence is caused mainly by

A) refraction.
B) reflection.
C) diffraction.
D) dispersion.
E) scattering.

Question 53

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

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

Question 54

Suppose you took a color photograph of clouds at night,with your camera adjusted so that the shutter stayed open long enough to allow enough the same amount of light that would enter the camera during a daytime photograph.On the resulting photograph,the clouds should look

A) dark.
B) black and white.
C) about the same as clouds look during a daytime photograph.

Question 55

Which below is not true concerning a secondary rainbow?

A) It is usually fainter than the primary rainbow.
B) It is seen above the primary rainbow in the sky.
C) The order of its colors is reversed compared to the primary rainbow.
D) The raindrops which produce the secondary rainbow are larger than the raindrops producing the primary bow.

Question 56

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

Question 57

Why aren't stars visible in the sky during the day?

Question 58

Sun pillars are most commonly seen

A) in very cold weather.
B) in very hot weather.
C) when it's raining.
D) in the tropics.

Question 59

With a sketch,show why the setting sun will often appear red to an observer on the ground.Why does the sun appear white at noon and red at sunrise and sunset?

Question 60

It is ____ to produce an artificial rainbow with a garden hose.

A) very easy
B) almost impossible
C) can't say;it depends on the type of hose.

Question 61

What phenomena cause a road surface to appear to be wet on a hot,clear,dry day? Why does the road appear to be wet? How would the road appear if it really were wet?

Question 62

Would you expect to see a halo under clear or cloudy conditions? What does a halo tell you about upper atmospheric conditions?

Question 63

What produces a sundog? Where and at what time of day should you look to try to see a sundog?

Question 64

Using a diagram,if necessary,show why an inferior mirage produces an inverted image.

Question 65

Describe the changes in appearance of a late-afternoon rainbow as the sun sinks toward the horizon.