Atmosphere Structure and Temp Practice Test

What is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere?
a. oxygen c. carbon dioxide b. nitrogen d. hydrogen

b

Which of the following terms best describes air?
a. element c. mixture
b. compound d. none of the answers

c

The form of oxygen that combines three oxygen atoms into each molecule is called ____.
a. argon
b. thermopause
c. chlorofluorocarbon
d. ozone

d

What is the lowest layer of the atmosphere?
a. thermosphere
b. troposphere
c. stratosphere
d. mesosphere

b

Most important weather phenomena occur in the ____.
a. stratosphere c. troposphere b. mesosphere d. thermosphere

c

Fifty percent of the gases that make up the atmosphere are found below ____.
a. 16.2 kilometers c. 10.4 kilometers
b. 12.8 kilometers d. 5.6 kilometers

d

The tropopause is ____.
a. the boundary between tropical and polar air masses
b. the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere
c. the layer of high ozone concentration
d. the boundary between Earth’s surface and atmosphere

b

When do the sun’s rays strike latitude 23.5°S at an angle of 90 degrees?
a. June 21 c. September 21
b. March 21 d. December 21

d

When does the summer solstice occur in the Northern Hemisphere?
a. June 21 c. September 21
b. March 21 d. December 21

a

When does the autumnal equinox occur in the Southern Hemisphere?
a. June 21 c. September 21
b. March 21 d. December 21

b

On which date does the Antarctic Circle have 24 hours of daylight?
a. June 21 c. September 21
b. March 21 d. December 21

d

Which of the following is true about equinoxes?
a. They occur in June and December.
b. The sun’s vertical rays are striking either 23.5S or 23.5N.
c. Days and nights are equal in length everywhere.
d. The length of daylight in the Arctic and Antarctic Circles is 24 hours.

c

At which latitude would you expect the sun to be directly overhead at noon on April 21?
a. 0 c. 8N
b. 8S d. 23.5N

c

At noon on February 21, the sun is overhead at ____.
a. some point between 23.5S and the equator, heading north
b. the equator
c. some point between 23.5S and the equator, heading south
d. 23.5N

a

All matter is composed of atoms or molecules that have energy of motion, also known as ____.
a. potential energy c. kinetic energy
b. solar energy d. radiation

c

When air transfers energy to a cooler object, what happens to the air temperature?
a. It increases. c. It stays the same.
b. It decreases. d. It fluctuates.

b

When energy is transferred to air, what happens to the particles of air?
a. They move slower. c. They cool down.
b. They move faster. d. none of the above

b

What causes heat, or the transfer of energy from one object to another?
a. differences in pressure c. high albedos
b. differences in temperature d. low albedos

b

Which electromagnetic waves have the longest wavelengths?
a. radio c. gamma
b. infrared d. ultraviolet

a

What process describes the transfer of heat through matter by molecular activity?
a. conduction c. radiation
b. convection d. evaporation

a

Which process involves mass movement within a substance?
a. conduction c. radiation
b. convection d. reflection

b

Electromagnetic waves travel through space at a speed of ____.
a. 3000 kilometers per second c. 300,000 kilometers per second
b. 30,000 kilometers per second d. 3,000,000 kilometers per second

c

A metal spoon becomes hot after being left in a pan of boiling water. This is an example of ____.
a. convection c. radiation
b. conduction d. reflection

b

The heating of the lower layer of the atmosphere from radiation absorbed by certain heat-absorbing gases is called ____.
a. the adiabatic effect c. the photosynthesis effect
b. the greenhouse effect d. smog

b

On average, how much of the sun’s energy that reaches Earth’s outer atmosphere is reflected back into space?
a. 10 percent c. 30 percent
b. 20 percent d. 50 percent

c

Earth receives energy from the sun through what method of heat transfer?
a. conduction c. radiation
b. convection d. none of the above

c

On average, how much of the sun’s energy is absorbed by Earth’s atmosphere and clouds, without reaching Earth’s surface?
a. 20 percent c. 40 percent
b. 30 percent d. 50 percent

a

Which of the following best describes the primary wavelengths of radiation emitted by Earth’s surface?
a. longer than those emitted by the sun
b. shorter than those emitted by the sun
c. about the same as those emitted by the sun
d. none of the above

a

The two most important heat-absorbing gases in the lower atmosphere are ____.
a. oxygen and nitrogen c. argon and hydrogen
b. ozone and chlorofluorocarbon d. water vapor and carbon dioxide

d

What is NOT true about radiation?
a. It needs a medium through which to travel.
b. It travels out in all directions from its source.
c. It is one of three methods of heat transfer.
d. It can travel through a vacuum.

a

Which of the following statements is NOT true?
a. All objects, at any temperature, emit radiant energy.
b. The hottest radiating bodies produce the shortest wavelengths of maximum radiation.
c. Hotter objects radiate more total energy per unit area than do colder objects.
d. Objects that are good absorbers of radiation are good reflectors as well.

d

Which of the following is associated with weak light rays that travel in different directions?
a. reflection c. scattering
b. conduction d. convection

c

Which of the following is NOT a temperature control?
a. geographic position c. nitrogen
b. ocean currents d. cloud cover

c

In general, what is true about places at higher altitudes?
a. They have cooler temperatures than places at lower altitudes.
b. They have the same temperatures as places at lower altitudes.
c. They have warmer temperatures than places at lower altitudes.
d. They have less predictable temperatures than places at lower altitudes.

a

Which of the following best describes the temperatures of a city located along a windward coast?
a. warmer summer temperatures than an inland location at the same latitude
b. cooler summer temperatures than an inland location at the same latitude
c. summer temperatures that are very similar to an inland location at the same latitude
d. winter temperatures that are less mild than an inland location at the same latitude

b

Which of the following is true?
a. Land heats less rapidly than water.
b. Land heats more rapidly than water.
c. Land reaches higher temperatures than water.
d. both b and c

d

City A in the Southern Hemisphere and City B in the Northern Hemisphere are located at the same latitude. Which of the following is likely true about these cities?
a. City A has the larger annual temperature range.
b. City B has the larger annual temperature range.
c. Both cities likely have the same annual temperature range.
d. Both cities should have nearly identical winter temperatures.

b

Why are annual temperature ranges in the Southern Hemisphere generally smaller than those in the Northern Hemisphere?
a. Earth is closest to the sun during the Southern Hemisphere summer.
b. Less area is covered by desert in the Southern Hemisphere.
c. There is a greater percentage of water surface in the Southern Hemisphere.
d. There is a greater proportion of mountainous land in the Southern Hemisphere.

c

Which of the following best describes temperature variations?
a. Variations are greater over land than over water.
b. Variations are greater over water than over land.
c. Variations are the same over water and land.
d. Variations over water cannot be determined.

a

Isotherms are lines that connect points of equal ____.
a. latitude c. elevation b. temperature d. pressure

b

Which of the following best describes the general air temperature on a cloudy night?
a. lower than on a clear night c. the same as on a clear night
b. higher than on a clear night d. less predictable than on a clear night

b

Many clouds have a high albedo and therefore tend to ____.
a. absorb sunlight
b. reflect sunlight
c. transmit sunlight
d. radiate sunlight

b

At night, clouds act as a blanket by ____.
a. absorbing incoming radiation
b. absorbing outgoing radiation
c. reflecting incoming radiation
d. reflecting outgoing radiation

b

The gases ____________________ and ____________________ make up 99 percent of the volume of clean, dry air.

nitrogen, oxygen

47. Ozone is concentrated in the layer of the atmosphere called the ____________________.

stratosphere

48. ____________________ are airborne particles and gases that occur in concentrations large enough to endanger the health of organisms.

air pollutants

49. Water vapor is the source of all clouds and ____________________.

precipitation

50. ____________________ is the movement of Earth in its orbit around the sun.

revolution

51. ____________________ is the spinning of Earth about its axis.

rotation

52. Earth’s axis is tilted ____________________ degrees from the perpendicular.

23.5

53. Temperature is a measure of the average ____________________ of the individual atoms or molecules in a substance.

kinetic energy

54. Heat flows from matter with ____________________ temperatures to matter with ____________________ temperatures.

higher, lower hotter, colder warmer, cooler

55. For the atmosphere as a whole, ____________________ is the least important mechanism of heat transfer.

conduction

56. ____________________ occurs when light bounces off an object.

reflection

57. A(n) ____________________ is any factor that causes temperature to vary from place to place and from time to time.

temperature control

58. A city near an ocean would likely have ____________________ summers than a city at the same latitude located farther inland.

cooler

59. Albedo is the fraction of the total ____________________ that is reflected by any surface.

radiation