1W051A Volume 3 Unit Review Questions

Front 1

When conducting a METWATCH, as a minimum you must consider timing,

Back 1

location, and forecast values.

Front 2

A major difference between a METWATCH and MISSIONWATCH is that a

Back 2

METWATCH focuses on a broad area, with general interest.

Front 3

When a weather flight conducts a METWATCH, which of the following tools best identifies weather patterns that normally cause poor weather conditions?

Back 3

Regional Analysis and Forecast Program (RAFP).

Front 4

Regarding a weather warning for winds greater than 50 knots, which of the following statements best defines the term minimum desired lead time?

Back 4

The amount of advanced notice a customer requires before the event occurs.

Front 5

Which organization is responsible for monitoring weather conditions for warning-meeting criteria while weather units are closed and unmanned?

Back 5

Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA).

Front 6

How much energy does the sun manufacture per second?

Back 6

3.85 × 10^26 watts.

Front 7

The basic energy source for the sun is

Back 7

the fusion of hydrogen into helium.

Front 8

Which layer of the sun contains one-half of the solar mass?

Back 8

Core.

Front 9

In which of the sun’s layers do large temperature gradients form because atoms absorb
energy?

Back 9

Convection zone.

Front 10

Which layer of the sun is visible from earth when we look at the sun with our eyes?

Back 10

Photosphere.

Front 11

The continual, outward flow of energetic charged particles from the sun is called the solar

Back 11

wind.

Front 12

The name given to the darkest area at the center of a sunspot is

Back 12

umbra.

Front 13

Generally, solar bursts are most common during

Back 13

solar maximum.

Front 14

What is the prime cause of solar activity?

Back 14

Solar flares.

Front 15

Which solar features are ribbon-like, suspended above the chromosphere by the magnetic
field, and comparable to clouds on earth?

Back 15

Filaments.

Front 16

When is the greatest potential for large solar flares to occur?

Back 16

2 to 3 years following a solar maximum.

Front 17

The overall polarity of the sun’s northern and southern hemispheres reverse every

Back 17

11 years.

Front 18

The unit of measurement used to identify the strength of a magnetic field is the

Back 18

gauss.

Front 19

Clouds of gases suspended above the chromosphere which appear as dark, ribbon-like
features on the solar disk are called

Back 19

filaments.

Front 20

Which solar feature is formed by the condensation of material from the hot corona?

Back 20

Loop prominence.

Front 21

How many discrete (fixed) frequencies can the radio telescope simultaneously sample for radio emissions from the chromosphere and corona?

Back 21

8.

Front 22

The solar radio spectrograph (SRS) monitors solar emissions over a megahertz (MHz) frequency range of

Back 22

25 to 180 MHz.

Front 23

On what part of the electromagnetic spectrum does the most intense energy fall?

Back 23

Visible.

Front 24

The type of radiation that causes ionization of molecules in the upper atmosphere is

Back 24

X-ray.

Front 25

Which type of radiation causes ionization of upper atmospheric atoms and molecules and results in the heating of the upper atmosphere?

Back 25

Ultraviolet

Front 26

Which type of radiation has the least application in the space environment?

Back 26

Ultraviolet

Front 27

What is the term used to identify the area between the sun and the planets?

Back 27

Interplanetary medium.

Front 28

The tails of comets that always point away from the sun show the influence of the

Back 28

solar wind.

Front 29

What is the interface called that separates interplanetary space from the magnetosphere?

Back 29

Magnetopause

Front 30

Which atmospheric layer serves as the primary reservoir of atoms/molecules that may be
heated and/or ionized by the sun’s ultraviolet radiation?

Back 30

Thermosphere

Front 31

Where are the floating electrons created that make up the ionosphere?

Back 31

Mesosphere and thermosphere.

Front 32

Which atmospheric layer contains sharp horizontal and vertical electron density gradients?

Back 32

Ionosphere.

Front 33

What phenomena is a dynamic and delicate visual manifestation of solar-induced
geomagnetic storms?

Back 33

Aurora.

Front 34

The term used to describe the event in which earth is showered with energetic solar particles
released from a solar flare site is

Back 34

proton event.

Front 35

The mechanism by which charged solar particle streams disrupt the magnetosphere and
adversely affect radar, communications, and space operations is

Back 35

a geomagnetic storm.

Front 36

Which solar-geophysical sensor detects cosmic radio noise at a frequency of 30 megahertz (MHz)?

Back 36

Riometer.

Front 37

Which solar-geophysical sensor acts like a radar and transmits radio energy vertically over a
range of 2 to 30 megahertz (MHz), or between any two frequencies within this range?

Back 37

Ionospheric sounder.

Front 38

Which solar-geophysical sensor measures the absolute total electron content (TEC) by analyzing the signals from global positioning system (GPS) satellites?

Back 38

Transionospheric sensor.

Front 39

What is the impact of electron density gradients within the ionosphere on single frequency or dual frequency global positioning system (GPS) navigation?

Back 39

Positional accuracy is degraded.

Front 40

When a satellite orbiting the magnetosphere is bombarded by energetic protons from the sun, the satellite’s star sensor

Back 40

falsely interprets light flashes caused by collisions as stars and the satellite loses attitude control.

Front 41

What impact will atoms and molecules from lower altitudes, expanding upward into the orbit altitudes of satellites, have on the spacecraft?

Back 41

Frictional drag will increase, possibly causing a loss of altitude.

Front 42

What is the impact of electrically charged particles from the sun that penetrate into the mid to upper stratosphere?

Back 42

Radiation hazard to aircrews of high altitude flight.

Front 43

How long after a solar flare does it usually take for low to medium energy particles to arrive at earth?

Back 43

2 to 4 days.

Front 44

What term is used to describe rapid, random variation in signal amplitude, phase, and/or polarization caused by small-scale irregularities in the electron density along a signal’s path?

Back 44

Scintillation.

Front 45

During a 24-hour day, when do the majority of satellite problems occur due to geomagnetic storms?

Back 45

Midnight to dawn

Front 46

Which Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) weather and environmental unit provides weather services for all Department of Defense (DOD) and civilian space and ballistic missile launch operations on the Western Range?

Back 46

30th Weather Squadron.

Front 47

Which organization operates the worldwide Solar Electro-optical Network (SEON)?

Back 47

2d Weather Squadron Space Weather Operations Center.

Front 48

Which agency collects data and issues space environmental forecasts for non-Department of Defense (DOD) agencies?

Back 48

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Front 49

The Space Weather Prediction Center receives energetic particle and other geophysical data from the

Back 49

Geosynchronous operational environmental satellite (GOES) spacecraft.

Front 50

Which bulletin, produced by Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) Space Weather Operations Center, provides notice that certain high-frequency (HF) communications frequencies may become unusable during daylight conditions due to a sudden burst in the sun’s X-ray radiation?

Back 50

WOXX50 KGWC.