Deck 20: An Envelope of Gas: the Earths Atmosphere and Climate

Question 1

According to geological evidence and computer models based on that evidence,which statement about the concentration of oxygen in our atmosphere is correct?

A) No oxygen was present prior to the Cambrian Era; oxygen levels have uniformly risen since,and today's atmosphere is more oxygen rich than at any time in the Earth's history.
B) Oxygen levels were greatest during the Cambrian Era but have been steadily declining ever since; today's atmosphere is less oxygen rich than at any time in the Earth's history.
C) Oxygen levels have generally risen during the Phanerozoic Era but peaked during the Mesozoic Era (Age of Dinosaurs)and declined sharply in the Early Cenozoic Era.
D) Oxygen levels have generally risen during the Phanerozoic Era but peaked during the Late Paleozoic Era (the time of coal swamp forests)and declined sharply in the Early Mesozoic Era.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which layer of the atmosphere has the lowest density?

A) the mesosphere
B) he stratosphere
C) the thermosphere
D) the troposphere

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The overall physical conditions of the atmosphere at a given location at a given time are known as _________.

A) weather
B) climate
C) pressure-temperature conditions
D) thermosphere

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Most atmospheric ozone occurs in which layer of the Earth's atmosphere?

A) the mesosphere
B) the stratosphere
C) the thermosphere
D) the troposphere

Question 5

Which of the following takes place when water condenses?

A) The pressure increases.
B) The pressure decreases.
C) Heat is absorbed.
D) Heat is released.

Question 6

The long-term buildup of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere is a result of ________.

A) volcanic outgassing
B) photosynthesis
C) limestone formation in the ocean
D) solar radiation splitting molecules of ozone in the stratosphere

Question 7

Which layer in the figure below can be thought of as the weather layer?

A) the troposphere
B) the stratosphere
C) the mesosphere
D) the thermosphere

Question 8

Consult the figure below.During which part of the Earth's history was the oxygen saturation in the atmosphere highest?

A) Cambrian and Ordovician
B) Carboniferous and Permian
C) Triassic and Jurassic
D) Tertiary and Quaternary

Question 9

As an air mass rises,it generally experiences ________.

A) an increase in pressure
B) a decrease in pressure
C) no change in pressure
D) either an increase or a decrease in pressure,depending on temperature

Question 10

In which layer of the atmosphere does temperature decrease with altitude because most of its heat is derived from the atmospheric layer immediately below it?

A) the mesosphere
B) the stratosphere
C) the thermosphere
D) the troposphere

Question 11

Which two gases are most important in producing the greenhouse effect on the Earth?

A) nitrogen and oxygen
B) hydrogen and helium
C) carbon dioxide and methane
D) nitrogen and sulfur dioxide

Question 12

As air rises,why do clouds form?

A) Raindrops converge in the lower troposphere.
B) Water vapor heats up and creates steam.
C) The air cools to its dew-point temperature and condenses into liquid water.
D) Snow forms in the upper troposphere and becomes visible as clouds.

Question 13

Which two gases are most abundant within the Earth's modern atmosphere?

A) nitrogen and oxygen
B) hydrogen and helium
C) carbon dioxide and methane
D) water vapor and sulfur dioxide

Question 14

The very first Earth atmosphere,forming with the Earth itself,was probably dominated by the cosmically abundant gases ________ and ________.

A) nitrogen; oxygen
B) hydrogen; helium
C) carbon dioxide; methane
D) water vapor; sulfur dioxide

Question 15

The life-sustaining part of the Earth System is known as the __________.

A) stratosphere
B) troposphere
C) critical zone
D) modern atmosphere

Question 16

Which gas is most abundantly emitted by volcanic activity?

A) nitrogen
B) sulfur dioxide
C) carbon dioxide
D) water vapor

Question 17

Atmospheric convection of heat radiated from the Earth's surface and the variety of phenomena we call weather occur within which layer of the atmosphere?

A) the mesosphere
B) the stratosphere
C) the thermosphere
D) the troposphere

Question 18

As an air mass rises,it generally experiences ________.

A) an increase in temperature because of adiabatic heating
B) a decrease in temperature because of adiabatic cooling
C) an increase in temperature because of increasing proximity to the Sun
D) no change in temperature

Question 19

To an observer traveling outward from the Earth's surface into outer space,the temperature of the atmosphere ________.

A) uniformly decreases because of atmospheric thinning
B) uniformly increases because of increasing proximity to the Sun
C) fluctuates depending on the atmospheric layer
D) remains relatively constant until the very edge of the atmosphere,where the observer would experience the very cold vacuum that is interplanetary space

Question 20

The amount of moisture in the air can be described using the __________ or the __________.

A) relative humidity,latent heat of condensation
B) relative humidity,dew point
C) saturation,dew point
D) saturation,latent heat of condensation

Question 21

In which layer in the figure below will the temperature steadily increase as you move to higher altitudes?

A) the troposphere
B) the stratosphere
C) the mesosphere
D) the thermosphere

Question 22

In global convective circulation,air rises at the ________ and the ________.

A) equator; poles
B) equator; polar fronts
C) horse latitudes; poles
D) horse latitudes; polar fronts

Question 23

Prevailing surface winds are named for the ________.

A) latitudinal belt in which they form
B) direction from which they blow
C) direction to which they blow
D) level of the atmosphere in which they form

Question 24

Laterally,at the surface,winds blow from regions of ________ to regions of ________.

A) high temperature; low temperature
B) low temperature; high temperature
C) high pressure; low pressure
D) low pressure; high pressure

Question 25

Clouds generally form when air ________.

A) is heated
B) rises
C) sinks
D) is devoid of aerosols

Question 26

Because of the Coriolis effect,air that is spread northward from the equator is deflected ________.

A) directly back to the equator
B) to the east
C) to the west
D) upward,to the tropopause

Question 27

Where air sinks,as in the subtropical horse latitudes,the air usually ________.

A) cools as it sinks
B) creates high pressure locally
C) creates low pressure locally
D) increases in relative humidity as it sinks

Question 28

Incoming solar energy is known as ________.

A) latent heat
B) coalescence
C) insolation
D) adiabatic heating

Question 29

When moisture-laden wind is forced over a mountain range,clouds will form because of ________ lifting.

A) frontal
B) convergence
C) convective
D) orographic

Question 30

Winds form where ________.

A) gravity pulls air masses downhill
B) pressure gradients exist
C) convective lifting occurs
D) the Coriolis effect is greatest

Question 31

Compared with warm fronts,cold fronts move ________.

A) more rapidly
B) more slowly
C) at the same rate but in opposite direction
D) at the same rate and in the same direction

Question 32

In global convective circulation,air sinks at the ________ and the ________.

A) equator; poles
B) equator; polar fronts
C) horse latitudes; poles
D) horse latitudes; polar fronts

Question 33

In the figure below,the intertropical surface convergence became known as the doldrums because ________.

A) many horses died of heat exhaustion while being transported
B) the wind moves in the wrong direction for trade ships
C) the winds along the equator are very weak
D) the airflow is mainly downward

Question 34

Lines connecting points of equal atmospheric pressure on a map are termed ________.

A) contour lines
B) isobars
C) isograds
D) isotherms

Question 35

Starting from the equator and moving toward either pole,how many rows of global convection cells are present within the troposphere?

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four

Question 36

The two main mechanisms of rain and snow formation within clouds are ________ and ________.

A) evaporation; precipitation
B) collision and coalescence; precipitation
C) collision and coalescence; the Bergeron process
D) phase change; the Bergeron process

Question 37

The boundary between two bodies of air with differing characteristics (such as temperature,pressure,and relative humidity)is termed a ________.

A) contact
B) front
C) jet stream
D) Gruber surface

Question 38

At zones of divergence and convergence,such as at the equator,the poles,the horse latitudes,and polar fronts,surface winds are generally ________.

A) easterly
B) westerly
C) southerly in the southern hemisphere and northerly in the northern hemisphere
D) calm or weak

Question 39

The development of cyclones and anticyclones in high- and low-pressure regions is a result of the deflection of air currents by ________.

A) solar wind
B) the stratosphere
C) the Coriolis effect
D) ion beams originating in the ionosphere

Question 40

In the figure below,the pressure gradient is the greatest between point ________ and point ________.

A) A; B
B) B; C
C) C; D
D) D; E

Question 41

In the figure below,the area known as tornado alley forms because polar air masses frequently collide with ________.

A) tropical air masses from the Gulf of Mexico
B) dry air masses from the desert southwest
C) moist Pacific air masses
D) dry air masses descending from the Rocky Mountains

Question 42

What is orographic lifting? How does this happen? What is the result?

Question 43

Label the cloud types in the images below using the word bank provided. cumulonimbus cumulus congestus
stratus cirrocumulus
cirrus altocumulus
cumulus nimbostratus

Question 44

Lightning results from ________.

A) an imbalance between electrical charges
B) the crystallization of ice particles in a supercell
C) unusually strong downdrafts
D) adiabatic cooling of warm,moist air

Question 45

Which of the following is an example of a tropical cyclone?

A) tornado
B) tropical depression
C) supercell thunderstorm
D) hurricane

Question 46

Which of the following is a likely consequence of El Niño for the eastern Pacific (the west coast of North and South America)?

A) During El Niño,low pressure cells move westward and the eastward flow stops,so upwelling ceases.
B) During El Niño,low pressure cells move westward and the eastward flow stops,so upwelling increases.
C) During El Niño,low pressure cells move eastward and the westward flow stops,so upwelling ceases.
D) During El Niño,low pressure cells move eastward and the westward flow stops,so upwelling increases.

Question 47

The Earth has had three atmospheres since its formation 4.54 Ga ago.Contrast the Earth's first atmospheric gases with the Earth's current atmosphere.What gas,essential for life,was missing in the first atmosphere? What led to its emergence?

Question 48

Contrast weather and climate.

Question 49

What is the difference between weather and climate?

A) Weather is a long-term average; climate is short-term conditions.
B) Weather represents short-term conditions; climate is the long-term average.
C) Weather measures rain and temperature; climate refers to cycles like El Niño.
D) The two terms are interchangeable.

Question 50

What is the ionosphere? Why is it important for modern communication?

Question 51

Within the troposphere,what happens to pressure and temperature as elevation increases? Is the same true of all atmospheric layers?

Question 52

Lines connecting points of equal temperature on a map are termed ________.

A) contour lines
B) isobars
C) isograds
D) isotherms

Question 53

In the northern hemisphere,how do winds move in a low-pressure system?

A) clockwise rotation
B) counterclockwise rotation
C) from west to east
D) from southwest to northeast

Question 54

Why do we have seasons? What circumstances result in summer in the northern hemisphere?

Question 55

High-pressure systems are associated with weather that is ________.

A) cool and damp
B) extremely wet
C) warm and moist
D) clear and dry

Question 56

Which of these factors is NOT important in controlling the climate of a region?

A) latitude
B) longitude
C) altitude
D) proximity to water

Question 57

Examine the map below.Using the points A-E,label the region with the highest pressure gradient.Draw an arrow showing which direction wind would blow within this region.Explain.

Question 58

Hurricanes pose extreme danger and can cause damage in numerous ways.Explain three ways in which hurricanes cause destruction.

Question 59

After precipitation begins,a thunderstorm has reached the ________ stage.

A) cumulus
B) mature
C) supercell
D) dissipating

Question 60

Hypothesize why someone would feel hotter on a steamy,humid day in Mississippi than on a hot,dry day in the Mojave Desert.