Phs120 Final

Front 1

Which of the following statements about climate is correct?

Back 1

Seasonal temperature changes are more pronounced at high latitudes than at lower altitudes.

Front 2

The three-cell model of global wind circulation shows

Back 2

three cells of global air flow bordered by alternating bands of high and low pressure.

Front 3

The polar easterlies and prevailing westerlies converge at approximately

Back 3

60o latitude.

Front 4

Which of the following statements about the relationship between deep ocean currents and climate is true?

Back 4

In the past, when the North Atlantic deep current slowed or stopped, the Gulf Stream veered southward resulting in global cooling.

Front 5

The climate zone (or biome) associated with rainfall of 25 to 35 centimeters per year is

Back 5

semiarid

Front 6

The climate zone (or biome) associated with cool summers, warm winters, and little temperature difference year-round is

Back 6

marine west coast

Front 7

Because of the urban heat island effect, warm air rises over a city, a local _______ develops, and rainfall is _______ than in the surrounding countryside.

Back 7

low pressure, greater

Front 8

Which of the following statements about climate change is true?

Back 8

The Earth's mean global temperature has fluctuated throughout geologic time.

Front 9

During photosynthesis

Back 9

oxygen, which is not a greenhouse gas, is released.

Front 10

About 55 million years ago climate warmed. Surface water evaporated and the salinity of sea water _______. This water _______ and ________ methyl hydrates on the sea floor, leading to a/an ________ in global temperature.

Back 10

increased, sank, melted, increase

Front 11

Greenhouse gases

Back 11

absorb infrared radiation and trap heat in the atmosphere.

Front 12

Which of the following changes in energy policy would reduce emission of greenhouse gases?

Back 12

Switch from coal to nuclear fuels.

Front 13

Marine corals and shelled organisms

Back 13

absorb calcium and carbonate ions from seawater and convert them to hard shells.

Front 14

Which of the following is not true for carbon dioxide?

Back 14

is destroyed when organic matter is burned.

Front 15

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Pole Star

Back 15

remains motionless in the sky and all other stars appear to revolve around it.

Front 16

If you knew that the Sun rose every morning in the east and set every evening in the west, approximately 12 hours later, but you had no other information, which of the following conclusions would be reasonable?

Back 16

The Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours.

Front 17

Kepler calculated that the planets move in

Back 17

elliptical orbits.

Front 18

An eclipse of the Moon occurs

Back 18

when the Earth's shadow is cast on the Moon.

Front 19

As light passes from the hot interior of a star through the cooler outer layers,

Back 19

some wavelengths are selectively absorbed in the star's outer atmosphere.

Front 20

Absorption spectra can be used to detect

Back 20

the chemical composition of a star.

Front 21

If a star is moving away from Earth, the Doppler effect will cause the frequency of the star's light to shift to a _______ frequency, causing a _______ shift.

Back 21

lower, red

Front 22

The model that is used to describe the motion of the heavenly bodies

Back 22

is the heliocentric model.

Front 23

For each complete orbit around the Sun, the Earth spins approximately ______ times.

Back 23

365

Front 24

The apparent change in position of an object due to a change in the position of the observer is called

Back 24

parallax

Front 25

Different stars and constellations are visible during different seasons because

Back 25

the Earth's revolution around the Sun changes your view of the night sky.

Front 26

The Earth's modern atmosphere

Back 26

is composed of 78 percent nitrogen.

Front 27

In a barometer, the weight of the atmosphere is compared with that of

Back 27

an equal column of mercury.

Front 28

Solar energy breaks oxygen molecules apart in the stratosphere, releasing _________ which combine with additional oxygen molecules to form ________.

Back 28

oxygen atoms, ozone

Front 29

Smog is produced

Back 29

when sunlight reacts with automobile exhaust.

Front 30

Acidic precipitation is produced

Back 30

when sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen dissolve in water droplets in the atmosphere.

Front 31

The portion of the atmosphere that absorbs high-energy radiation is the

Back 31

thermosphere

Front 32

Chlorofluorocarbons

Back 32

react to destroy ozone.

Front 33

The layer of air closest to the Earth is the

Back 33

troposphere

Front 34

Which is not an electromagnetic wave?

Back 34

sound

Front 35

The region of the globe directly beneath the Sun is warmer because

Back 35

it receives the most concentrated radiation.

Front 36

Atmospheric convection and advection

Back 36

are more effective than conduction in transferring heat around the globe.

Front 37

______________ plays an important role in heat transfer and storage because it commonly occurs naturally on Earth in all three states, solid, liquid, and gas.

Back 37

water

Front 38

The Earth remains warm at night because

Back 38

the atmosphere absorbs and retains much of the radiation emitted from the Earth's surface.

Front 39

Evaporation from a body of water

Back 39

cools the water and the air around it because of latent heat transfer.

Front 40

Locations at the same latitude, which receive the same amount of solar radiation,

Back 40

can have different climates.

Front 41

The sky appears blue because

Back 41

the blue component of sunlight scatters more than the other frequencies and colors the atmosphere.

Front 42

When an object absorbs radiation,

Back 42

the photons disappear and are converted to another form of energy.

Front 43

Which of the following statements about atmospheric humidity is correct?

Back 43

Dew forms when warm moist air comes in contact with cool surfaces.

Front 44

________________ _______________ is the mass of water vapor in a given amount of air expressed in grams per cubic meter (g/m3).

Back 44

absolute humidity

Front 45

El Niño is a weather pattern caused by

Back 45

the shifting motion of ocean currents.

Front 46

When a warm air mass overtakes a cool one

Back 46

the warm air rises, cools adiabatically which leads to precipitation.

Front 47

monsoons

Back 47

blow from sea to land in summer bringing rain.

Front 48

If one portion of the atmosphere becomes warmer than surrounding air,

Back 48

the warm air expands and rises.

Front 49

If a large pressure difference occurs over a short distance

Back 49

there is a lot of wind

Front 50

Sinking air exerts a downward force to form a

Back 50

high pressure region

Front 51

Glaciers form

Back 51

near the equator, on high mountain tops, and near sea level.

Front 52

In glacial terrain, a horseshoe-shaped depression beneath a steep cliff is a/an

Back 52

cirque

Front 53

During an Ice Age,

Back 53

the ice may advance and recede several times in response to alternate warm and dry times.

Front 54

The Great Lakes and the Finger Lakes in New York are the result of

Back 54

scouring of continental ice sheets.

Front 55

A glacier can move as fast as

Back 55

10 to 100 meters per day.

Front 56

Oceans

Back 56

c and d

Front 57

The rate of glacial movement varies with

Back 57

slope steepness, precipitation, and air temperature.

Front 58

Vast tropical forests grow near the equator because

Back 58

rising equatorial air cools and condenses as rain.

Front 59

Death Valley

Back 59

is a rain shadow desert

Front 60

Desertification is caused by

Back 60

human mismanagement

Front 61

In the Great Basin of the western United States

Back 61

sediment is filling the valleys because streams flow into the valleys from surrounding mountains, but no streams flow away from the region.

Front 62

A dune that accumulates as long ridges that align perpendicularly to the prevailing wind is a _____ dune.

Back 62

transverse

Front 63

A continuous cover of stones left behind when wind blows silt and sand away is

Back 63

desert pavement

Front 64

A stream bed that is dry most of the year is called a ____________.

Back 64

wash

Front 65

The oceans are about ________ deep in the central parts of ocean basins.

Back 65

5 kilometers

Front 66

The Mid-Oceanic Ridge is composed mainly of

Back 66

basalt

Front 67

The continental rise on a passive continental margin is

Back 67

an apron of terrigenous sediment that was transported across the continental shelf and deposited on the deep ocean floor at the foot of the continental slope.

Front 68

Island arcs grow from

Back 68

submarine volcanoes near a subduction zone.

Front 69

An oceanic island

Back 69

is a submarine volcano that forms above a hot spot or mantle plume.

Front 70

Seawater heated near _______ and ______ can dissolve metals from oceanic crust, and deposit them as ore.

Back 70

the Mid-Oceanic Ridge, submarine volcanoes

Front 71

The world's largest and deepest ocean is

Back 71

pacific

Front 72

Most of the photosynthesis and nutrient consumption in the ocean is carried out by

Back 72

plankton

Front 73

An emergent coastline forms where

Back 73

sea level falls or coastal land rises.

Front 74

If waves strike shore at an angle, they _________ and create a ________ current that flows parallel to the beach.

Back 74

refract, longshore

Front 75

Ocean waves steepen near shore because

Back 75

the lower portion of the wave slows down as it drags against the sea floor.