Deck 3: Air Temperature

Question 1

The "normal" high temperature for a given day is determined from the ____.

A) 20 year averaged high temperature for that day
B) 30 year averaged high temperature for that day
C) weekly averaged high temperature for that day
D) monthly averaged high temperature for that day

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Maximum air temperature in a given day usually occurs ____.

A) during maximum solar heating
B) 2-4 hours after maximum solar heating
C) before maximum solar heating
D) 12-14 hours after maximum solar heating

Answer 2

B

Question 3

In clear weather, the air next to the ground is usually ____ than the air above it at night, and ____ than the air above it during the day.

A) cooler; warmer
B) colder; colder
C) warmer; colder
D) warmer; warmer

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which of the following would contribute to higher surface air temperatures?

A) moist loamy soil
B) moist loamy soil with high vegetation
C) dry sandy soil with little vegetation
D) dry loamy soil with high vegetation

Question 5

The minimum daily temperature typically occurs at ____.

A) midnight
B) sunset
C) 3:00 am
D) sunrise

Question 6

In a hilly region, the best place to plant crops that are sensitive to low temperatures is ___.

A) on the valley floor
B) along the hillsides
C) on the top of the highest hill
D) in any dry location

Question 7

Cold and cloudy nights are warmer than cold and clear nights (other factors being equal) because ____.

A) of strong radiation inversions
B) clouds reflect sunlight
C) of thermal belts
D) clouds absorb outgoing infrared energy and radiate it back to the surface

Question 8

During the afternoon, the greatest temperature difference between the surface air and the air a meter or so above occurs on a ____.

A) sunny, calm day
B) sunny, windy day
C) cloudy, calm day
D) cloudy, windy day

Question 9

One would expect near-ground temperatures to be coldest when the night is ___.

A) clear, damp, and windy
B) cloudy
C) clear, dry, and calm
D) clear, dry, and windy

Question 10

The diurnal range of temperature is greatest ____

A) 100 feet above the ground
B) 2 feet above the ground
C) 100 cm below ground
D) 500 feet above the ground

Question 11

Nighttime radiation inversions occur on most ____.

A) clear, windy nights
B) rainy, windy nights
C) clear, calm nights
D) rainy, calm nights

Question 12

Assuming that the night will remain clear, calm, and unsaturated, the predicted minimum temperature is 32°F. Suddenly, the wind speed increases and remains gusty throughout the night. The minimum temperature will most likely be ____.

A) about the same as predicted, but will occur earlier in the night
B) higher than predicted due to the release of latent heat
C) much lower than predicted due to radiational cooling
D) higher than predicted due to mixing

Question 13

Lines on a map connecting points of equal temperature are called ____.

A) isobars
B) isotherms
C) thermals
D) thermographs

Question 14

The temperature of the soil is strongly influenced by solar radiation. At what depth within the soil would you expect to find the smallest annual variation in temperature?

A) 1 centimeter
B) 2 centimeters
C) 5 centimeters
D) 10 centimeters

Question 15

Over the earth as a whole, one would expect to observe the smallest variation in temperature from day to day and from month to month ____.

A) at the North Pole
B) in the center of a large land mass
C) along the Pacific coast of North America
D) on a small island near the equator

Question 16

Thermal belts are ____.

A) pockets of warm air resting in a valley during the afternoon
B) pockets of cold air resting on a valley floor at night
C) warmer hillsides that are less likely to experience freezing temperatures
D) cold, below-freezing air found at the top of a mountain

Question 17

How many cooling degree-days would there be for a day with a maximum temperature of 95°F and a minimum temperature of 65°F? (Assume a base temperature of 65°F)

A) 30
B) 20
C) 15
D) 0

Question 18

Which of the following areas would you expect to find warmer night temperatures (assuming all other factors are equal)?

A) airports located in rural areas
B) prairies
C) downtown areas in cities
D) deserts

Question 19

Which of the following would you expect to have smaller diurnal temperature ranges (assuming all other factors are equal)?

A) coastal cities
B) inland cities
C) inland prairies
D) high deserts

Question 20

Orchard heaters and wind machines are most useful in preventing damaging low temperatures from occurring next to the ground on ____.

A) clear, windy nights
B) cloudy, windy nights
C) rainy nights
D) clear, calm nights

Question 21

Suppose peas are planted in Indiana on May 1. If the peas need 1200 growing degree-days before they can be picked, and if the mean temperature for each day during May and June is 70°F, in about how many days will the peas be ready to pick? (Assume a base temperature of 40°F.)

A) 11
B) 30
C) 40
D) 70

Question 22

An ideal shelter for housing a temperature-measurement instrument should be ____.

A) white
B) black
C) green
D) yellow

Question 23

Hypothermia is most common in ____.

A) hot, humid weather
B) cold, wet weather
C) hot, dry weather
D) cold, dry weather

Question 24

The wind-chill index ____.

A) relates body heat loss with wind to an equivalent temperature with no wind
B) indicates the temperature at which water freezes on exposed skin
C) takes into account humidity and air temperature in expressing the current air temperature
D) determines how low the air temperature will be on any given day

Question 25

We are likely to feel colder on a cold, rainy day than on a cold, dry day because water ____ heat away from the body better than air does.

A) condenses
B) convects
C) advects
D) conducts

Question 26

Which of the following is usually a liquid-in-glass thermometer?

A) radiometer
B) thermistor
C) electrical resistance thermometer
D) minimum thermometer

Question 27

What is used as an index for fuel consumption?

A) growing degree-days
B) consumer price index
C) heating degree-days
D) mean annual temperature

Question 28

In calm air, the air temperature is -10°F. If the wind speed should increase to 30 mi/hr (with no change in air temperature), the thermometer will indicate ____.

A) a much higher temperature than -10°F
B) a much lower temperature than -10°F
C) a temperature of -10°F
D) a temperature of -30°F

Question 29

An astronaut walking in space at an altitude of 300 km and properly shielded from the sun would feel cold when the temperature is 500°C as a result of ____.

A) high air density
B) low air density
C) high air pressure
D) temperature inversion

Question 30

On a calm, cold day, the sensible temperature is often ____ than the thermometer reading.

A) lower
B) higher
C) about the same
D) much lower

Question 31

A thermometer with a small constriction just above the bulb is a(n) ____.

A) maximum thermometer
B) minimum thermometer
C) electrical thermometer
D) bimetallic thermometer

Question 32

Which instrument obtains air temperature by measuring emitted infrared energy?

A) radiometer
B) bimetallic thermometer
C) electrical resistance thermometer
D) thermograph

Question 33

Which area of the human body would be most likely suffer from frostbite first before the others?

A) chest
B) toes
C) legs
D) arms

Question 34

How many heating degree-days would there be for a day with a maximum temperature of 30°F and a minimum temperature of 20°F? (Assume a base temperature of 65°F.)

A) 65
B) 45
C) 40
D) 35

Question 35

A liquid thermometer that is held in direct sunlight will ____.

A) accurately measure the air temperature
B) measure a much higher temperature than that of the air
C) measure a much lower temperature than that of the air
D) measure the temperature of the sun rather than the air

Question 36

The thermometer most likely to contain alcohol is the ____.

A) minimum thermometer
B) radiometer
C) maximum thermometer
D) thermograph

Question 37

The thermometer that has a small dumbbell-shaped index marker in the bore is called a(n) ____.

A) bimetallic thermometer
B) maximum thermometer
C) electrical thermometer
D) minimum thermometer

Question 38

The largest annual range of temperatures are found at ____.

A) polar latitudes over land
B) polar latitudes over water
C) middle latitudes near large bodies of water
D) the equator

Question 39

Which condition would be equivalent to an air temperature of 45°F, a wind speed of 30 mi/hr, and a wind-chill equivalent temperature of 15°F?

A) a 15°F air temperature and 0 mi/hr winds
B) a 30°F air temperature and 45 mi/hr winds
C) a 30°F air temperature and 15 mi/hr winds
D) a 15°F air temperature and 30 mi/hr winds

Question 40

An instrument that measures temperature and records it on a piece of record paper is called a ____.

A) minimum thermometer
B) thermistor
C) thermograph
D) maximum thermometer

Question 41

Where in California was the highest temperature ever recorded in the world (134°F)?

Question 42

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. If you use liquid-in-glass thermometers to record temperatures below -50°C, you will need one that uses ALCOHOL | MERCURY as a liquid.

Question 43

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. In windy weather, thermals and turbulent eddies typically INCREASE | DECREASE daytime temperature differences between the ground and the air a few feet above the ground.

Question 44

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Would you expect to observe the smallest variation in temperature from day to day in the middle of a(n) OCEAN or LAND MASS?

Question 45

Hypothermia is a serious medical condition brought on by higher than normal human body temperature.

Question 46

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Farmers can protect crops from cold temperatures at night by planting crops at the BOTTOM or on the HILLSIDES of valleys.

Question 47

The world's cold temperature record (-129°F) was set on July 21, 1983 in Antarctica. List two factors that probably contributed to this extremely cold reading.

Question 48

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. On a calm, cold day the temperature we perceive is often HIGHER | LOWER than the thermometer reading.

Question 49

On a windy day, you would expect to record warmer daytime and warmer nighttime temperatures than on a day with calm winds.

Question 50

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Incoming sunlight energy is usually most intense at noon. Would you expect to record the daytime maximum temperature BEFORE or AFTER noon?

Question 51

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. The radiosonde uses a RADIOMETER | THERMISTOR to measure temperatures in the atmosphere.

Question 52

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. The largest diurnal temperature ranges would usually be observed in a(n) RURAL | URBAN area.

Question 53

The ground is a better emitter of infrared radiation and cools more quickly than air.

Question 54

What is the common name given to the rising bubbles of air that transport heat from the ground to the air above?

Question 55

The Great Lakes are large enough to affect the climate of the surrounding area.

Question 56

Two cities can have the same mean annual temperature but different mean annual ranges of temperature.

Question 57

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. Temperatures near water have a LARGER | SMALLER diurnal variability as compared to inland locations.

Question 58

What are contour lines on a map that connect points with equal temperatures called?

Question 59

Instructions: Choose one answer from each pair of selections. In a radiation inversion, is the air next to the ground COLDER or WARMER than the air higher up?

Question 60

In what kind of nighttime cooling are ground-level temperatures colder than temperatures above the ground?

Question 61

Explain how two cities in similar latitudes with the same mean annual temperature can have different climates.

Question 62

Why should air temperature measurements be made in the shade?

Question 63

How do wind machines protect crops from a damaging frost?

Question 64

How does humidity affect the diurnal temperature range?

Question 65

Why aren't any of the world's record low temperatures observed over the ocean?