FA04 (S2) Test Prep Unified Science Ms. Phillips

If the Earth’s gravitational force were to increase, atmospheric pressure at the ground would:

• remain the same•decrease• increase •divide• cause the universe to

expand vertically

Answer: increase

Which of the following instruments measures pressure?

• thermometer• radiometer•hygrometer•densitometer•barometer

Answer:barometer

The mercury barometer was invented by:

•Galileo Galilei• Evangelista Torricelli• Sir Isaac Newton• James Watt•Vincent van Gogh

Answer:Evangelista Torricelli

The __________ is an apparent force created by the Earth’s rotation.

•pressure gradient force•Coriolis Effect • centripetal force• gravitational force• empire force

Answer:Coriolis Effect

The “force exerted on an object equals its mass times the acceleration produced” is a description of:

•Buys-Ballot’s law• the isobaric law•hydrostatic equilibrium• a biology question•Newton’s second law of

motion

Answer:Newton’s second law of motion

Lines connecting points of equal pressure are called:

•millibars• contours• isotherms• isobars• a coordinate grid

Answer:isobars

The friction of fluid flow is called:

• viscosity • compression• convergence• shear• inertia

Answer:viscosity

Surface winds are generally strongest and most gusty:

• in the early morning• around midnight• in the afternoon• just after sunset• just before sunrise

Answer:in the afternoon

An instrument used to measure wind speed is called a (an):

• sphygmomanometer• anemometer• ceilometer•psychrometer• tachometer

Answer:anemometer

The jet stream flows:

• directly from west to east• directly from east to west• from the equator toward the poles• in a wavy pattern from west to east• in a variety of directions depending

on airplane traffic

Answer:in a wavy pattern from west to

east

During a major El Niño event:• Peruvian fishermen harvest a record

number of fish near Christmas time.• extensive ocean warming occurs over

the tropical Pacific• the Northeast trade winds increase in

strength• California experiences severe drought

conditions• refugees from costal countries enter

the United States illegally

Answer:extensive ocean warming occurs

over the tropical Pacific

The majority of the United States lies within this wind belt:

•westerlies• easterlies•northerlies• trades• southerlies

Answer:westerlies

An air mass is characterized by similar properties of _____ and _____ in any horizontal direction.

• temperature, pressure• pressure, moisture• temperature, moisture•winds, moisture• poverty, uninvited guests

Answer:temperature, moisture

Fronts are associated with:

• poor self-esteem• negative feedback• high pressure• political pressure• low pressure

Answer:low pressure

In winter, thunderstorms are most likely to form along:

•warm fronts• stationary fronts• cold fronts• occluded fronts• cornfields

Answer:cold fronts

The development or strengthening of a middle latitude storm system is called:

• cyclogenesis• convergence• divergence• frontolysis• transparency

Answer:cyclogenesis

An upper-level pool of cold air that has broken away from the main flow is called:

• a shortwave • a wave cyclone• a lee-side low• a cut-off low• a tragedy

Answer:a cut-off low

Developing low pressure areas generally have _____ air near the surface and _____ air aloft.

• diverging, converging• converging, diverging• converging, converging• diverging, diverging• conducting, convecting

Answer:converging, diverging

The least accurate forecast method of predicting the weather two days into the future during changeable weather conditions usually is the:

• trend method• prediction by weather types• persistence forecast• numerical weather prediction• analogue method

Answer:persistence forecast

A weather warning indicates that:

• the atmospheric conditions are favorable for hazardous weather over a particular region• hazardous weather is likely to occur within

the forecast area during the next 24 hours• hazardous weather is either likely or

imminent or occurring within a forecast area• road conditions are expected to be

impassable for the entire time of the warning.• hazardous weather is frequently observed in

a particular region.

Answer:hazardous weather is either

likely or imminent or occurring within a forecast area

When making a forecast, a meteorologist typically examines __________.

• surface charts• upper-air charts• radar displays• satellite imagery• all of the above

Answer:All of the above

A weather watch would probably be issued for which of the following conditions?

• there is a chance of tornadoes tomorrow• Presently, extremely high winds are

occurring at mountain summits• A tornado has been sighted at the

outskirts of town• heavy snow has been falling over the

forecast area• a parade is scheduled in town on Friday

Answer:there is a chance of tornadoes

tomorrow

Which forecasting method assumes that weather systems will move in the same direction and at the same speed as they have been moving?

• persistence forecast• probability forecast• climatological forecast•weather type forecast• steady state (trend) forecast

Answer:steady state (trend) forecast

An accurate forecast:

• never shows skill• requires complex computer

equipment• always shows skill•may or may not show skill • is aired on the local evening news

Answer:may or may not show skill

All thunderstorms require ________.

• rising air• Divergence of the air aloft• surface heating• hot, humid air• lifting along some barrier

such as a mountain or front

Answer:rising air

The initial stage of an ordinary thunderstorm is the __________.

•mature stage• dissipating stage• cumulus stage•multicell stage• adolescent stage

Answer:cumulus stage

Ordinary thunderstorms only last about one hour and begin to dissipate when:

• lightning neutralizes all the electrical charge in a cloud• when all the precipitation particles in the

cloud turn to ice• when solar heating at the ground begins

to decrease• when the downdraft spreads throughout

the cloud and cuts off the updraft.• none of the above

Answer:when the downdraft spreads

throughout the cloud and cuts off the updraft.

An ordinary thunderstorm is a:• scattered or isolated storm

that is not severe• thunderstorm that does not

produce lightening or thunder• thunderstorm that has a tilted

updraft and downdraft• thunderstorm that does not

produce hail• figment of the imagination

Answer:scattered or isolated storm that

is not severe

The most likely time for an ordinary thunderstorm to form is __________.

• just after sunrise• just before sunrise• around midnight• at noon• late afternoon

Answer: late afternoon

Severe thunderstorms are capable of producing __________.

• large hail• tornadoes• flash floods• all of the above• none of the above

Answer:all of the above

Streamlines on a weather map depict __________.

•water temperature•wind flow• pressure• dew point• ocean currents

Answer:wind flow

The strongest winds in a hurricane are found _______________.

• in the eye wall• at the center of the storm• in the rain bands• near the periphery of the

hurricanes• at upper levels, above the

center of the hurricane

Answer:in the eye wall

Hurricane winds rotate in a clockwise direction _______________.

• in the Northern Hemisphere only• in neither hemisphere• at the equator• in the Southern Hemisphere

only• in both the Northern and

Southern Hemispheres

Answer:in the Southern Hemisphere

only

The main reason hurricanes don’t develop over the south Atlantic Ocean adjacent to South America is because:

• the Coriolis force is too small there.• the surface water temperatures are too

cold.• the pressure gradient force is too weak

in that area.• the surface water temperatures are too

warm• the air at the surface is always diverging

Answer: the surface water temperatures

are too cold.

Which below is NOT an atmospheric condition conducive to the formation of hurricanes?

• cold air aloft•moist, humid surface air• strong upper-level winds•warm water• a region of converging surface

winds at the surface

Answer:strong upper-level winds

The main difference between a hurricane and a tropical storm is that ________________.

• hurricanes are larger• tropical storms are more than 500

miles from the US Mainland•winds speeds are greater in a

hurricane• hurricanes have a clearly defined

eye on satellite photographs• none of the above

Answer:winds speeds are greater in a

hurricane