Texas A&M University (TAMU) ATMO 201 Weather and Climate Exam 1 Practice

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• Which cloud type is typically low, near the surface up to about 2 km?
• If the UV wavelength is longer, the energy carried is
• Which type of cloud is most likely to produce rain?
• What is the approximate value of the solar constant and what does it represent?
• Saturation depends on
• What is Hadley circulation and where is it located?
• What is saturation vapor pressure and how does temperature affect it?
• What is a geostrophic wind and when is this approximation valid?
• Latent heat is defined as which of the following?
• Which object illustrates a good absorber and emitter according to Kirchhoff's Law?
• Which cloud type is described as a rainy, layered cloud?
• Vapor to ice is called
• Which of the following is NOT a major determinant of temperature, given the primary controls?
• Vapor-to-ice is deposition.
• Energy is defined as?
• Which statement best reflects Kirchhoff's Law?
• What are the main factors driving diurnal temperature cycles?
• Climate normals are commonly based on:
• The solar constant is approximately what value and what does it represent?
• What is adiabatic cooling and what drives it in rising air?
• Standard sea level pressure is
• What is another name for the pileus cap?
• How do climate anomalies relate to climate normals?
• What best differentiates frostbite from hypothermia?
• How does latent heat release during condensation affect a rising air parcel?
• Which cloud type is described as most likely to produce rain in this material?
• If the environmental lapse rate is steeper than the dry adiabatic lapse rate, the atmosphere is:
• What drives everyday weather patterns?
• The mean temperature is defined as:
• Relative humidity is highest when which condition holds?
• Which cloud type has vertical development?
• What is the atmospheric radiation budget at the top of the atmosphere?
• Which of the following is NOT a primary mechanism that causes air to lift and form clouds?
• What does albedo refer to in the context of Earth's energy balance?
• Which statement is true about dew point and moisture content?
• What is humidity?
• Distinguish specific humidity, mixing ratio, and relative humidity.
• What is the Coriolis effect and why is it important for large-scale weather?
• Which statement best describes the greenhouse effect in simple terms?
• Which term describes a hat-like cloud atop another cloud?
• When dew point and temperature are equal, there is ________.
• The term 'diurnal' most closely means:
• Why are there seasons?
• What is the formula for relative humidity?
• Which gas makes up the largest portion of Earth's atmosphere?
• Which type of energy is described as energy due to an object's position or state that can do work?
• When is the geostrophic wind approximation invalid?
• Mixing ratio is defined as
• What instruments measure surface wind speed and direction in standard weather stations?
• In radiative equilibrium, which statement best describes the relationship between outgoing and incoming radiation?
• Which instrument uses a wet-bulb and a dry-bulb to measure humidity?
• Which statement correctly describes the vertical temperature structure of the troposphere and stratosphere?
• Which set of factors controls temperature?
• Cirrus is Latin for which phrase?
• Which term describes a condition where temperature increases with altitude?
• What is the difference between radiative forcing and climate feedback?
• Which process is described by a solid transforming directly into a gas?
• Which statement best describes how winds relate to isobars?
• Which layer is closest to Earth's surface?
• How is relative humidity calculated from actual vapor pressure and saturation vapor pressure?
• How is the Earth's atmosphere commonly described?
• If a body absorbs more energy than it emits, what happens to its temperature?
• Which condition most directly indicates the air contains more water vapor?
• A relative scale tells you
• Which statement about moisture and dew point is correct according to the material?
• The Latin term 'altus' translates to which descriptor?
• What color does nitrogen give off?
• Which cloud type is typically found at high altitude?
• How do warm and cold fronts differ in weather patterns?
• Define the moist adiabatic lapse rate (MALR) and why it differs from the DALR.
• Summarize the key differences between weather and climate in terms of predictability and timescales.
• What is the scientific method?
• Which cloud type forms at middle altitudes?
• Which sequence lists the atmospheric layers from lowest to highest as given in the material?
• Hypothermia is defined as:
• As air rises, it ______ and ______.
• Cumulonimbus is described as which of the following?
• List atmospheric layers from closest to furthest based on temperature order
• Which set correctly pairs a cloud type with its typical altitude range?
• Albedo is defined as the fraction of incident solar radiation reflected by a surface; which statement correctly lists high albedo surfaces and low albedo surfaces?
• Which gases dominate Earth's atmosphere by abundance and approximate fractions?
• Ice to vapor is called
• Which of the following is true about the greenhouse effect as described?
• How do cloud droplets form when air is saturated, and what role do condensation nuclei play?
• Relative humidity when dew point equals temperature?
• Define the dry adiabatic lapse rate (DALR) and why it applies to rising unsaturated air.
• What factor increases the saturation capacity of air for water vapor?
• Latent heat is defined as
• Advection is the transfer of heat by which mechanism?
• Distinguish condensation from deposition and their associated energy changes.
• Stratus is Latin for which word?
• Potential energy is best described as?
• Which statement correctly defines pressure?
• What does hydrophobic describe a substance as being?
• How do warm sea surface temperatures influence regional atmospheric circulation and rainfall?
• What is the typical wavelength range of longwave infrared radiation emitted by the Earth?
• Which statement is true about relative humidity?
• Frostbite occurs when:
• Which statement best defines mean temperature in weather terms?
• Which statement is true about solar flares and prominences?
• Nimbostratus cloud is described as which of the following?
• Which statement best describes radiation?
• Meteorology is defined as?
• Which gases are most abundant in Earth's atmosphere?
• Which cloud type is typically found at altitudes above about 6 km?
• What is the process described by the environmental lapse rate and the dry adiabatic lapse rate, and where is the latter typically about 9.8°C per kilometer?
• What is an isotherm and what information do isotherms convey on weather maps?
• The wind chill index describes:
• How does increasing humidity affect the likelihood of cloud formation?
• During a dry adiabatic ascent, which property of the air parcel is assumed to remain constant?
• The core temperature of the Sun is estimated to be about?
• Which cloud type is high and layered and is most often associated with rain in this material?
• If an object absorbs more energy than it emits, it will
• How does surface albedo influence the Earth's energy budget and climate feedbacks?
• Radiation fog is best described as which of the following?
• The core temp of the sun is estimated to be?
• What is the typical precipitation pattern associated with a warm front?
• If air is saturated at a higher temperature, what happens to the maximum water vapor content it can hold?
• Pressure is defined as
• Which statement best describes an absolute scale?
• Which condition corresponds to the greatest number of water vapor molecules in the air?
• The air is saturated when
• Which measurement describes the perceived temperature considering wind?
• Low clouds are scientifically classified as which type?
• Descending air warms and compresses due to adiabatic processes. Which pair of changes best describe this?
• The vertical profile obtained by a radiosonde includes measurements of which properties, enabling calculation of which parameter?
• Kinetic energy is the energy of?
• In radiative equilibrium, the net radiative energy flux is zero because
• Which cloud type refers to vertically developed clouds?
• Which statement correctly describes advection?
• Solar radiation is primarily classified as shortwave radiation because it is composed of which portion of the spectrum?
• Which lifting mechanism involves air rising as it encounters mountainous terrain?
• Conduction is heat transfer by?
• What is dew point and why is it a good moisture indicator?
• Which statement about wavelength depends on temperature?
• The photosphere is the layer of the Sun that is visible in the light we see from Earth, with a temperature around 6,000 C. Which of the following best describes it?
• Dew point forms when the air is cooled to what condition?
• Temperature is defined as?
• What is a solstice?
• Northern hemisphere
• To emit radiation, an object must be at what temperature?
• What is the best conductor of heat?
• How are climate normals used in interpreting weather data?
• The photosphere temperature (what we see) is estimated to be?
• Conduction, convection, and radiation are forms of?
• Provide the latent heats for fusion and vaporization of water, and indicate the sign when phase changes occur.
• In Hadley circulation, which wind system is associated with the tropical trade winds?
• Which type of energy is associated with motion?
• An absolute scale tells you
• What percentage of the atmosphere lies within about 20 miles of the Earth's surface?
• Outgoing radiation from the Earth is also called
• The higher the relative humidity, the less ___ occurs.
• Which is an example of a climate feedback involving albedo?
• What type of objects emit radiation?
• What color does oxygen give off?
• Is it 100% RH when it is raining?
• Which statement best describes how relative humidity can change?
• Which term is defined as the number of molecules in a given space?
• Cumulus is Latin for which word?
• In a standard cooperative station thermometer installation, which description best matches the recommended placement?
• Cirrus is Latin for which term?
• What determines atmospheric stability in terms of lapse rates?
• Which cloud type is described as a rainy, heaped cloud?
• What is hydrostatic balance and its governing equation?
• As air descends, it ______ and ______.
• Explain the concept of diurnal temperature range and its primary controls.
• When the dew point equals the air temperature, the air is saturated.
• Which cloud type is high altitude?
• The photosphere temperature is about which value?
• What are two common precipitation formation processes in clouds?
• Warm clouds emit more energy, which type?
• What is a radiosonde and what measurements does it provide?
• Relative humidity reaches 100 percent when which condition occurs?
• Which statement correctly describes shortwave and longwave radiation and their typical wavelength ranges?
• Which cloud type is typically found from low to middle altitudes around 1–6 km?
• What are temperature inversions and what issues can they cause?
• Why is sea level pressure used on weather maps?
• Sunspots are?
• The stratosphere warms with height primarily due to which mechanism?
• Relative humidity is at its highest when which condition holds?
• Define Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) and its relation to convection.
• Distinguish radiative forcing from climate feedback.
• As UV wavelength decreases, the energy carried by the radiation does what?
• Oxygen gives off which color?
• What term describes the daily cycle of temperature?
• Which gas is the most abundant in Earth's atmosphere?
• Nimbus is Latin for which word?
• Which condition is primarily an external tissue effect?
• Which statement best describes the difference between the dry adiabatic lapse rate and the moist adiabatic lapse rate?
• What condition indicates the highest amount of actual water vapor in the air?
• Which phenomenon can trap pollutants and lead to fog or haze due to suppressed vertical mixing?
• If an object emits more energy than it absorbs, it will
• How do weather and climate differ in terms of timescale and variability?
• What happens to a rising dry air parcel at the rate of expansion?
• According to the material, incoming radiation from the Earth is aka
• Which process releases latent heat when water vapor condenses into liquid water?
• What are condensation nuclei and why are they important?
• Stratus is Latin for which word?
• Solar radiation is also called which type of radiation?
• Convection transfers heat primarily through
• Southern hemisphere
• Over what approximate timescale is climate typically defined?
• Which statement best describes albedo?
• Solar flares and prominences are?
• Which factors primarily explain the large diurnal temperature range in deserts?
• The statement 'each surface has a different albedo' implies that
• Convection is heat transfer by what means?
• Normal temperature refers to:
• Which of the following are major components of the energy balance at the top of the atmosphere?
• Which factor tends to reduce the diurnal temperature range?
• What depends on temperature alone?
• Dew point temperature is defined as
• Relative humidity can be changed by
• What is albedo?
• Which type of UV radiation is most responsible for sunburns?
• Weather and climate play a vital role in
• Altus means which descriptor in Latin?
• Density in atmospheric terms is best described as
• Which process is heat transfer by direct contact between substances?
• Anything that emits radiation also does what?
• Which lapse rate is applied to a rising dry air parcel?
• What is an equinox?
• Distinguish between weather forecasts and climate projections.
• Hygroscopic means