Earth Science Practice Questions
Course Introduction
Earth Science is an interdisciplinary field that explores the physical processes and systems of our planet, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere. This course covers topics such as rocks and minerals, plate tectonics, weather and climate systems, oceanography, and natural hazards. Students will gain an understanding of Earths materials, its dynamic surface, and the interactions that shape our environment. Emphasis is placed on scientific inquiry, real-world applications, and the role of Earth science in addressing contemporary environmental challenges.
Recommended Textbook
Extreme Weather and Climate 1st Edition by C. Donald Ahrens
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15 Chapters
633 Verified Questions
633 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Turbulent Atmosphere
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40 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the relationship between gravity and weight. Answer: no answer
Q2) In a volume of air near the earth's surface,__________ occupies 78 percent And __________ nearly 21 percent.
A)nitrogen,oxygen
B)hydrogen,oxygen
C)oxygen,hydrogen
D)nitrogen,water vapor
E)hydrogen,helium
Answer: A
Q3) The earth's atmosphere is divided into layers based on the vertical profile of:
A)air pressure.
B)air temperature.
C)air density.
D)wind speed.
Answer: B
Q4) Under what circumstances might a person breathe stratospheric air? How often is it likely to happen in a student's lifetime?
Answer: no answer
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Chapter 2: Energy That Drives the Storms
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49 Verified Questions
49 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The cold feeling that you experience after leaving a swimming pool on a hot,dry,summer day represents heat transport by:
A)conduction.
B)convection.
C)radiation.
D)latent heat.
Answer: D
Q2) Describe the atmospheric greenhouse effect.Is there any difference between the way the atmospheric greenhouse effect works on a clear night and on a cloudy night?
Answer: no answer
Q3) The latitude 90S1U1P1oS1S1P0 N is closer to the earth's axis than the latitude 40S1U1P1oS1S1P0N.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) During an equinox,the days and nights are of equal length except at the poles. A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Temperature and Humidity Extremes
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39 Verified Questions
39 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) At what time during a 24-hour day would a radiation temperature inversion best be developed?
A)at sunset
B)near sunrise
C)toward the end of the morning
D)between 2 and 5 pm when the air temperature reaches a maximum
Answer: B
Q2) Suppose last night was clear and calm.Tonight low clouds will be present.From this you would conclude that tonight's minimum temperature will be:
A)higher than last night's minimum temperature.
B)lower than last night's minimum temperature.
C)the same as last night's minimum temperature.
D)above freezing.
Answer: A
Q3) An ideal shelter for housing a temperature-measurement instrument should be white and in the shade.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Condensation in the Atmosphere
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Sample Questions
Q1) When viewed from the surface,the smallest individual cloud elements (puffs)are observed with which cloud?
A)stratocumulus
B)cumulus
C)cirrocumulus
D)altocumulus
E)cumulonimbus
Q2) Frost forms when water vapor changes into ice without first becoming a liquid.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Suppose the sky is completely covered with a thin,white layered-type cloud.You look at the ground and see that objects cast a distinct shadow.From this you conclude that the cloud type must be:
A)stratus.
B)nimbostratus.
C)cirrostratus.
D)stratocumulus.
Q4) List one or more key identifying features for each of the ten basic cloud types.Which cloud types might have fairly similar appearances and thus be difficult to identify?
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Chapter 5: Clouds and Stability
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Sample Questions
Q1) Based on atmospheric stability considerations,do you think it would be best to burn agricultural debris in the early morning or in the afternoon?
Q2) Would you expect clear skies to accompany stable,unstable,or neutral stability conditions? Explain your answer.
Q3) Which of the following environmental lapse rates would represent the most unstable atmosphere in a layer of unsaturated air?
A)3<sup>o</sup> C per 1,000 m
B)6<sup>o</sup> C per 1,000 m
C)9<sup>o</sup> C per 1,000 m
D)11<sup>o</sup> C per 1,000 m
Q4) Air which resists vertical displacements is considered to be stable.
A)True
B)False
Q5) If a parcel of unsaturated air with a temperature of 30<sup>o</sup> C rises from the surface to an altitude of 1,000 m,the unsaturated parcel temperature at this altitude would be about 10<sup>o</sup> C warmer than at the surface.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 6: Precipitation Extremes
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the main difference between a raindrop and a cloud droplet?
Q2) Radar gathers information about precipitation in clouds by measuring the: A)energy emitted by the precipitation particles.
B)absorption characteristics of falling precipitation.
C)amount of energy reflected back to a transmitter.
D)amount of sunlight scattered off the precipitation.
E)amount of solar energy passing through the cloud.
Q3) If you observe large raindrops hitting the ground,you could probably say that the cloud overhead was __________ and had __________ updrafts.
A)thick,weak
B)thick,strong
C)thin,weak
D)thin,strong
Q4) Would you expect the heaviest snowfall to occur on an unusually cold night or a night when the temperature was just a little below freezing?
Q5) Thunderstorm cloud bases are generally higher above the ground in Arizona than in Florida.Why?
Q6) Explain why it is much more difficult to measure snowfall amount than rainfall amount.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Atmospheric Motions
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Sample Questions
Q1) We can generally expect the air to be __________ above areas of surface low pressure and __________ above areas of surface high pressure.
A)rising,rising
B)rising,sinking
C)sinking,sinking
D)sinking,rising
Q2) The force that would cause a stationary parcel of air to begin to move horizontally is called the:
A)Coriolis force.
B)pressure gradient force.
C)centripetal force.
D)frictional force.
Q3) Low __________ on a constant height chart corresponds to low __________ on a constant pressure chart.
A)pressures,pressures
B)pressures,heights
C)heights,pressures
D)heights,heights
Q4) Under what conditions (if any)might you record a station pressure of 750 mb?
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Chapter 8: Wind Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) An extremely strong downslope wind that occurs in parts of Antarctica would be considered a Santa Ana wind.
A)True
B)False
Q2) At any given time,only one jet stream can be found in the atmosphere.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The wind's speed generally increases with height above the earth's surface because:
A)only the lowest layer of air rotates with the earth.
B)air temperature normally decreases with height.
C)wind instruments are not accurate at the earth's surface.
D)friction with the earth's surface slows the air near the ground.
E)air parcels expand and become less dense as they rise above the surface.
Q4) Would you expect a well-developed sea breeze circulation to cause clouds to form over the land or over the ocean?
Q5) Explain how Florida's sea breezes can increase the potential for wildfires.
Q6) Summertime weather forecasts for cities on the shores of the Great Lakes often contain the phrase "cooler near the lake".Explain the relevance of this phrase.
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Chapter 9: Air Masses and Fronts
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Sample Questions
Q1) The greatest contrast in both temperature and moisture will occur along the boundary separating which air masses?
A)cP and cT
B)mP and mT
C)mP and cT
D)mT and cP
E)cT and mT
Q2) Explain how,using no meteorological instruments other than your eyes,you could identify the passage of an occluded front.
Q3) During the spring,a mP air mass would most likely bring record-breaking high temperatures to the eastern half of the United States.
A)True
B)False
Q4) An upper-air front involves downward motion of the:
A)tropopause.
B)stratopause.
C)low-level jet.
D)both a and c
Q5) When a warm and cold air mass collide,why is the warm air is forced upward?
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Chapter 10: Mid-Latitude Cyclonic Storms
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Sample Questions
Q1) A 'building anticyclone' means the central pressure is increasing.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Strong storms that develop over water,poleward of the polar front,are called:
A)nor'easters.
B)upslope lows.
C)lee-side lows.
D)polar lows.
E)none of the above
Q3) Lee-side lows are thermal lows that form due to surface heating over deserts.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The type of weather system known as a "mid-latitude cyclone" cannot form over the tropical ocean because:
A)surface temperature contrasts are not large.
B)the ocean surface has a lot of waves.
C)the Coriolis force is weak in the tropics.
D)both (a)and (b)
E)both (a)and (c)
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Chapter 11: Thunderstorms
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is a squall line? Where would you expect squall lines to form?
Q2) Strong vertical wind shear inhibits the formation of severe thunderstorms. A)True
B)False
Q3) Ordinary thunderstorms only last about one hour and begin to dissipate when:
A)lightning neutralizes all the electrical charge in the cloud B)when all the precipitation particles in the cloud turn to ice C)when the downdraft spreads throughout the cloud and cuts off the updraft D)when solar heating at the ground begins to decrease
Q4) List and describe the sequence of events that occur during a cloud-to-ground lightning discharge.
Q5) List and discuss some of the atmospheric conditions that are needed for a thunderstorm to develop.
Q6) Why is the weather so violent inside a supercell thunderstorm?
Q7) The low-level jet stream reaches its maximum strength at night. A)True B)False
Q8) Where do thunderstorms form most frequently in the US? Why is this the case? Is this also where most tornadoes occur? Explain.
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Chapter 12: Tornadoes
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Sample Questions
Q1) About equal numbers of clockwise- and counterclockwise-rotating tornadoes are observed in the United States every year.
A)True
B)False
Q2) ____________ measures the speed at which precipitation is moving toward or away from an observer.
A)A radiosonde
B)An anemometer
C)A psychrometer
D)Doppler radar
Q3) In a region where severe thunderstorms with tornadoes are forming,one would not expect to observe:
A)a strong ridge of high pressure over the region.
B)a dry tongue of cold air between the 700 and 500 mb levels.
C)the polar jet stream above the region.
D)moist warm air moving north at about the 850 mb level.
Q4) The wind speed of a tornado is greater on one side than on the other.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Why is wind shear important in tornado formation?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Hurricanes
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Sample Questions
Q1) Hurricanes have strong divergence at their tops.
A)True
B)False
Q2) How might the path of a hurricane,moving toward the west from Africa,be affected by the Bermuda High as the hurricane approaches the United States?
Q3) The strongest winds in a hurricane heading westward toward Florida would most likely be found on the __________ side.
A)northern
B)southern
C)eastern
D)western
Q4) The vertical structure of the hurricane shows an upper-level __________ of air,and a surface __________ of air.
A)outflow,inflow
B)outflow,outflow
C)inflow,outflow
D)inflow,inflow
Q5) Why can't hurricanes form in the midlatitudes?
Q6) What is a storm surge? How does a storm surge form?
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Chapter 14: Weather Forecasting
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Sample Questions
Q1) Modern computer forecasting models with very small grid spacing can only resolve large-scale features like jet streams and large highs and lows.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The forecasting of weather by a computer is known as numerical weather prediction.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What local signs would you look for to predict the approach of a low pressure center or a weather front?
Q4) For a forecast to show skill it must:
A)be better than one based on persistence or climatology.
B)be accurate to within 2 <sup>o</sup>C of the predicted temperature.
C)be accurate for over more than 90% of the forecast area.
D)use the analogue method of forecasting.
E)use a probability.
Q5) With all other factors being equal,will a cloudy day have a higher or lower maximum temperature then a clear day? How about the minimum temperature during a cloudy vs.clear night? Explain.
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Chapter 15: The Earths Changing Climate
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50 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Large volcanic eruptions with an ash veil that enters the stratosphere,tend to __________ at the surface.
A)increase temperatures
B)increase precipitation
C)decrease temperatures
D)have no effect
Q2) Studies reveal that during colder glacial periods,CO<sub>2</sub> levels were lower than during warmer interglacial periods.
A)True
B)False
Q3) If the earth were in a warming trend,which of the processes below would most likely act as a negative feedback mechanism?
A)increasing the water vapor content of the air
B)increasing the snow cover around the earth
C)decreasing the amount of cloud cover around the globe
D)increasing the carbon dioxide content of the air
Q4) Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have been increasing steadily since the beginning of the industrial revolution and may double before the end of the current century.Why is this of concern?
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