The Nature of Storms

Practice Test
      
  1.How hot is the air heated by lightning?  
  a.   1 000[superscript degrees] C  
  b.   300[superscript degrees] C  
  c.   100 000 000 [superscript degrees] C  
  d.   30 000[superscript degrees] C  
      
  2.What is the first step of thunderstorm formation?  
  a.   release of latent heat  
  b.   Air must be lifted.  
  c.   The atmosphere where the cloud grows must be unstable.  
  d.   an abundant source of moisture in the lower atmosphere  
      
  3.High-pressure systems usually are associated with __________ and low-pressure systems are associated with __________.  
  a.   fair weather, clouds and precipitation  
  b.   fair weather, fair weather  
  c.   the jet stream, fronts  
  d.   clouds and precipitation, fair weather  
      
  4.What is the convergence of the trade winds from both hemispheres called?  
  a.   the prevailing westerlies  
  b.   the intertropical convergence zone  
  c.   the jet stream  
  d.   the horse latitudes  
      
  5.What type of thunderstorm is caused by advancing cold and warm fronts?  
  a.   air-mass thunderstorms  
  b.   cloud condensing thunderstorms  
  c.   sea-breeze thunderstorms  
  d.   frontal thunderstorms  
      
  6.Use the table to infer something about the climate of this area.

Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri Sat Sun
Average temperature (°C) 23.3 22.2 22.2 15.6 16.7 16.7 17.8
Rainfall (cm) 0 0 3.31 0 0 0 0
Relative humidity 40‰ 60‰ 100‰ 80‰ 60‰ 50‰ 40‰
Air pressure (mb) 1000 998 - - - - -


 
  a.   Rainfall is extremely common.  
  b.   It is often very cold.  
  c.   It is often very hot.  
  d.   It receives occasional rainfall.  
      
  7.According to the figure, how much of the Sun's radiation doesn't even reach Earth's surface?



 
  a.   31 percent  
  b.   25 percent  
  c.   6 percent  
  d.   35 percent  
      
  8.Where do the disturbances that cause tropical storms originate?  
  a.   tornado alley  
  b.   the ITCZ or from tropical waves  
  c.   near the Gulf Stream  
  d.   the Pacific Ocean only  
      
  9.The exchange of heat or moisture between an air mass and the underlying surface is called __________.  
  a.   air mass weather  
  b.   air mass convection  
  c.   air mass modification  
  d.   climate  
      
  10.When condensation takes place, __________ is released and __________ the air.  
  a.   latent particles, warms  
  b.   latent energy, cools  
  c.   latent heat, warms  
  d.   latent heat, decreases the temperature of  
      
  11.__________ is the transfer of energy that fuels atmospheric processes, while __________ is used to measure and interpret that energy.  
  a.   Heat, temperature  
  b.   Temperature, heat  
  c.   Conduction, temperature  
  d.   Heat, dew point  
      
  12.__________ is the transfer of energy that occurs when molecules collide.  
  a.   Radiation  
  b.   Convection  
  c.   Abrasion  
  d.   Conduction  
      
  13.The graph shows the discharge of a river flowing through two cities. A discharge of 3.5 thousand cubic meters per second or more will cause the river to flood. Which city saw more flooding in March 1999?



 
  a.   Frankston  
  b.   They both saw the same amount.  
  c.   Wet Gulch  
  d.   neither one flooded  
      
  14.Which is NOT a characteristic of the Fujita tornado intensity scale?  
  a.   destruction  
  b.   duration  
  c.   wind speed  
  d.   size of funnel cloud  
      
  15.What atmospheric condition increases the likeliness of a flood?  
  a.   friction between updrafts and downdrafts  
  b.   stronger downbursts  
  c.   weak, upper-atmospheric current that moves storms slowly  
  d.   condensation of updrafts  
      
  16.The table shows the water level of the Green River during a thunderstorm. If the flood plain is 3.8 meters, when would this river have flooded?

Time 10:00 A.M. 11:00 A.M. NOON 1:00 P.M. 2:00 P.M. 3:00 P.M.
Water Level (m) 3 3.1 3.4 4.0 5.0 5.2


 
  a.   just after noon  
  b.   just after 10:00 a.m.  
  c.   just after 11:00 a.m.  
  d.   just after 1:00 p.m.  
      
  17.How can a watershed's water quality be measured?  
  a.   measuring the average stream velocity  
  b.   measuring the erosion  
  c.   measuring the concentration of material in solution  
  d.   measuring the water temperature  
      
  18.According to the figure, what is the temperature of the ozone layer in Kelvin?



 
  a.   0  
  b.   -40  
  c.   233  
  d.   40  
      
  19.The constant movement of water between the atmosphere and Earth's surface is called __________.  
  a.   evaporation  
  b.   the water cycle  
  c.   convection currents  
  d.   the rain cycle  
      
  20.What causes the air of a tropical storm to rotate?  
  a.   the Coriolis effect  
  b.   supercells  
  c.   strong downbursts  
  d.   funnel clouds  

 
   
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