Multiple Choice/True-false (Knowledge/Recall/Comprehension)

1. The Coriolis effect controls the direction of the wind, while the wind's speed is controlled mainly by the pressure gradient.

True  or  False
 

2. The Coriolis effect is greatest towards _____.

A) the equator,
B) the poles,
C) the East,
D) the west,
E) All of these,
F) None of these.

 
3. The Coriolis effect is greatest when the wind velocity is

A) high,
B) small,
C) zero,
D) fluctuating,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

4. Which of the following statements about the Coriolis effect are true?
 
A) the Coriolis is not a true force, only an effect, since it gets its entire magnitude from the pressure gradient,
B) objects separated from the surface in the Northern Hemisphere curve to the right while moving,
C) objects separated from the surface in the Southern Hemisphere curve to the left while moving,
D) the Coriolis effect is responsible for the sense of rotation of any air masses,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

5. The sense of curvature due to the Coriolis effect in the Northern Hemisphere is:

A) to the right,
B) to the left,
C) upwardly curving,
D) downwardly curving,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

6. The sense of curvature due to the Coriolis effect in the Southern Hemisphere is:

A) to the right,
B) downwardly curving,
C) upwardly curving,
D) to the left,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

7. When looking down at the North Pole from a vantage point in space, the sense of rotation of the earth is _____.
A) to the right,
B) horizontally,
C) to the left,
D) vertically,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

8. When looking up at the South Pole from a vantage point in space, the sense of rotation of the earth is _____.

A) to the right,
B) horizontally,
C) to the left,
D) vertically,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

9. The Coriolis effect exists because _____.

A) geostrophic force and gravity are balanced,
B) gravity exists,
C) friction and pressure gradient are balanced,
D) the Earth rotates,
E) All of these,
F) None of these

 
Multiple Choice/True-false, Open Format (Analysis/Synthesis/Evaluation)

10. An observer in space, who could only see a moving air mass and not the earth underneath, would see that air mass _____.

A) curve to the right,
B) travel in a straight line,
C) curve to the left,
D) cease all movement,
E) All of these,
F) None of these

 
11. Geostrophic winds are winds that blow parallel to isobars. Since wind speed and direction is a result of the interplay between pressure gradient, friction, and Coriolis effect, geostrophic wind must be due to an interaction and balance between ____.

A) pressure gradient and friction,
B) friction and Coriolis effect,
C) pressure gradient and gravitational forces,
D) pressure gradient and Coriolis effect,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

12. In which situation would Coriolis effect be GREATEST?

A) low wind speeds, low latitude,
B) low wind speeds, high latitude,
C) high wind speeds, high latitude,
D) high wind speeds, low latitude,
E) All of these,
F) None of these because the Coriolis effect is a constant
 

Multiple Choice/True-false (Knowledge/Recall/Comprehension)

13. Most surface winds in the Tropics:

A) blow from an easterly direction,
B) originate in the Sahara desert,
C) blow from a westerly direction,
D) originate in the Amazon basin,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

14. The key element in the global distributions of heat and cold over the earth's surface is _____.

A) latitude,
B) ocean currents,
C) The general global circulation,
D) topographic relief,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

15. The "horse latitudes" are zones of very light winds that are associated with _______.

A) Subtropical high,
B) Trade winds,
C) Westerlies,
D) Polar Easterlies,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

16. The region in which the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) can be found is _______.

A) near the North Pole
B) near the Prime Meridian,
C) near the South Pole,
D) near the Equator,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

17. The earth's energy budget is more or less balanced, with the amount of energy coming in over the course of a year balanced by the amount of energy leaving.

True  or  False
 

18. The earth's energy budget is unbalanced by latitude, with the higher latitudes receiving more energy than the lower latitudes.

True  or  False
 

19. The city of Chicago, at 42°N, is within which part of the global circulation?

A) Trade winds
B) Subtropical High
C) Polar Easterlies
D) Westerlies,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

20. The Intertropical Convergence Zone may be found far ____ of the equator in January.

A) North,
B) East,
C) South,
D) west,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

Multiple Choice/True-false, Open Format (Analysis/Synthesis/Evaluation)

21. The belt of maximum solar energy input swings back and forth ______.

A) between 0^o through 90^o North or South,
B) between 23.5^o N and 23.5^o S,
C) through the area of energy deficit
D) between 66.5^o and 23.5^o North or South,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

22. The main reason(s) why wind and the global circulation pattern exist is _____.

A) the unequal heating of the Earth
B) the Coriolis effect
C) because atmospheric gases change density in response to temperature changes,
D) because of the earth's rotation,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

23. Most of the large-scale air movements that comprise the general circulation of the earth's atmosphere are _____.

A) vertical,
B) jet streams,
C) adiabatic
D) horizontal,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

24. The earth's energy budget is vertically unbalanced, with more energy closer to the ground and less energy at the top of the atmosphere, closer to the sun.

True  or  False
 

25. The hottest part of the day is in the afternoon, after the sun has passed its highest point in the sky. The hottest part of the year is in August, after the sun has passed the point where it is highest in the sky for the longest period of time. Why?

A) the suns rays are stronger in the afternoon and in August,
B) the earth is closer to the sun during these times,
C) the total mass of the earth, water, and atmosphere takes a long time to heat up,
D) the angle of the sun's rays during these times,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

26. What do the following lines from the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, refer to? "Down dropt the breeze, /the sails dropt down, /'Twas sad as sad could be: /And we did speak only to break /The silence of the sea! /All in a hot and copper sky, /The bloody Sun, at noon, /Right up above the mast did stand, /No bigger than the Moon. /Day after Day, day after day, /we stuck, nor breath nor motion; /As idle as a painted ship /Upon a painted ocean."

A) Westerlies,
B) Doldrums,
C) Easterlies,
D) Trades,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

27. The major global wind and pressure systems ____.

A) shift with the seasons and angle of the sun,
B) are controlled by earth/sun distance,
C) stay in just about in the same place the entire year,
D) are found mainly in the Northern Hemisphere,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

Multiple Choice/True-false (Knowledge/Recall/Comprehension)

28. The contact zone of warm tropical and cold Polar air is known as the

A) subtropical high
B) Polar easterly
C) Polar front
D) Intertropical Convergence Zone,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

29. Most hurricanes originate in the zone 5° to 15^o N and S of the Equator.

True  or  False
 

30. All tropical depressions develop into tropical storms.

True  or  False
 

31. All tropical storms develop into hurricanes.

True  or  False
 

32. Most of the winter snowstorms that affect North America originate in _____.

A) the Gulf of Mexico,
B) the Gulf of California,
C) the Gulf of Alaska,
D) the Gulf of Maine,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

33. The term "front" refers to ______.

A) the zone of conflict within an air mass,
B) the zone of conflict at the contact between two dissimilar air masses,
C) the zone of conflict on the eastern edge of an air mass,
D) the zone of conflict at the contact between two similar air masses,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

34. Atmospheric pressure _____.

A) decreases with height,
B) increases with height,
C) is caused by an interaction between the earth and the sun,
D) is not related to weather systems,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 
 
35. The characteristics of an air mass from northern Canada would likely be _____.

A) very cold and moist,
B) very warm and dry,
C) very cold and dry,
D) very warm and moist,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

Multiple Choice/True-false, Open Format (Analysis/Synthesis/Evaluation)

36. The polar front and subtropical jet streams are similar in that ______.

A) both are high-altitude, relatively high speed winds,
B) the are very slow but steady winds,
C) neither has a large influence on weather patterns,
D) both flow towards the west,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

37. In a cyclone in the Southern Hemisphere, winds spiral

A) clockwise and inward
B) clockwise and outward
C) counterclockwise and inward
D) counterclockwise and outward
E) to the west
 

38. "Comma-shaped" clouds on a satellite image usually indicate _____.

A) uplift, cooling, and cloud formation,
B) the presence of a low pressure cell,
C) frontal uplift,
D) cyclonic air flow,
E) All of these,
F) None of these

39. A Northern Hemisphere extratropical cyclone is likely to have ______.
 
A) a cold front trailing off to the southwest,
B) strongly convergent winds,
C) winds rotating counterclockwise,
D) high relative humidity and cloudy skies,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

40. Which of the following does not belong to this group?

A) thunderstorm,
B) hail,
C) stratus cloud,
C) instability,
D) short lived, intense, showery precipitation,
E) All of these belong in the group,
F) None of these are related

41. Based on your understanding of winter storms as shown on satellite images, which of the following conditions would match up with clear blue skies in the northern tier of USA states, southern tier of Canadian provinces in January?

A) warm and humid air,
B) cold and humid air,
C) warm and dry air,
D) cold and dry air,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

42. The most likely cause of an inverted temperature vs. elevation plot (inversion) is ____.

A) a mistake in reading the temperature gauges,
B) localized adiabatic heating caused by sinking, high pressure air,
C) the presence of an upper level warm front,
D) localized release of latent heat,
E) All of these,
F) None of these
 

43. Which of the following best describes the process involved in the wind chill factor?

A) latent heat storage,
B) latent heat release,
C) adiabatic cooling,
D) lapse rate cooling,
E) All of these,
F) None of these