Sample Quiz

At the same surface air pressure, which one of the following air masses is least dense?
Answer
| | maritime tropical | | | arctic | | | maritime polar | | | continental tropical | | | continental polar |

Air pressure drops more rapidly in a column of
Answer
| | cold air. | | | warm air. |

Scientists predict that the American Southwest will experience ____________ in precipitation over the present century.
Answer
| | a decrease | | | an increase | The Santa Ana wind is an example of a
Answer
| | chinook-type wind. | | | katabatic wind. | | | mountain breeze. | | | valley breeze. | | | sea breeze. |

A squall line contains which type of clouds?
Answer
| | cirrus |
| | stratus | | | cumulonimbus | | | cirrostratus | | | None of these is correct. |

An anticyclone features
Answer
| | formation of a uniform air mass. | | | cold and warm fronts. | | | generally fair skies. | | | All of the above are correct. | | | Only a and c are correct. |

Ocean waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic are source regions for which type of air mass?
Answer
| | A | | | mP | | | mT | | | cP | | | cT |
A monsoon climate typically features
Answer
| | wet summers and dry winters. | | | wet summers and wet winters. | | | dry summers and wet winters. | | | dry summers and dry winters. | | | |

Overrunning occurs when warm, humid air flows up and over a(n) ____________ air mass.
Answer
| | colder | | | even warmer |

In which type of front does warm air advance and cold air retreat?
Answer
| | warm front | | | cold front | | | stationary front |

What is the shorthand designation for a warm and humid air mass?
Answer
| | A | | | mP | | | mT | | | cP | | | cT |

Viewed from above in the Northern Hemisphere, surface winds in an extratropical cyclone blow
Answer
| | clockwise and inward. | | | clockwise and outward. | | | counterclockwise and inward. | | | counterclockwise and outward. |

Which property defines a front?
Answer
| | differences in temperature and/or humidity | | | wind shift | | | convergence of winds | | | trough in the pressure pattern | | | All of the above are correct. |

Warm fronts typically travel ____________ cold fronts.
Answer
| | faster than | | | slower than | | | at the same speed as |

A sea breeze is strongest
Answer
| | around sunrise. | | | in the middle afternoon. | | | around sunset. |

A land breeze is caused by the
Answer
| | land cooling more than the water at night. | | | water cooling more than the land at night. | | | Coriolis Effect. |

Synoptic climatology examines how __________ influence regional and local climate.
Answer
| | air masses | | | fronts | | | cyclones | | | anticyclones | | | All of the above are correct. |

Pacific air flowing eastward over the Rocky Mountains typically emerges ____________ on the Great Plains.
Answer
| | colder and less humid | | | colder and more humid | | | warmer and less humid | | | warmer and more humid |

During frontogenesis, the difference in density between adjacent air masses
Answer
| | decreases. | | | stays the same. | | | increases. |
Circulation in the semi-permanent subtropical anticyclones ____________ with increasing altitude.
Answer
| | weakens | | | remains the same | | | strengthens |

A ____________ air mass undergoes the greatest temperature change between winter and summer.
Answer
| | maritime tropical | | | maritime polar | | | continental tropical | | | continental polar |