Private Pilot Test Questions

Front 1

What information is contained in a CONVECTIVE SIGMET?

Back 1

Tornadoes, embedded thunderstorms, and hail 3/4 inch or greater in diameter.

Front 2

Which in-flight advisory would contain information on severe icing not associated with thunderstorms?

Back 2

SIGMET.

Front 3

SIGMETs are issued as a warning of weather conditions hazardous to which aircraft?

Back 3

All aircraft.

Front 4

AIRMETs are advisories of significant weather phenomena but of lower intensities than Sigmets and are intended for dissemination to

Back 4

all pilots.

Front 5

When requesting weather information for the following morning, a pilot should request

Back 5

an outlook briefing.

Front 6

When the term 'light and variable' is used in reference to a Winds Aloft Forecast, the coded group and windspeed is

Back 6

9900 and less than 5 knots.

Front 7

What values are used for Winds Aloft Forecasts?

Back 7

True direction and knots.

Front 8

For aviation purposes, ceiling is defined as the height above the Earth's surface of the

Back 8

lowest broken or overcast layer or vertical visibility into an obscuration

Front 9

When telephoning a weather briefing facility for preflight weather information, pilots should state

Back 9

the aircraft identification or the pilot's name.

Front 10

Individual forecasts for specific routes of flight can be obtained from which weather source?

Back 10

Transcribed Weather Broadcasts (TWEBs).

Front 11

Transcribed Weather Broadcasts (TWEBs) may be monitored by tuning the appropriate radio receiver to certain

Back 11

VOR and NDB frequencies.

Front 12

What information is provided by the Radar Summary Chart that is not shown on other weather charts?

Back 12

Lines and cells of hazardous thunderstorms.

Front 13

The suffix 'nimbus,' used in naming clouds, means

Back 13

a rain cloud.

Front 14

Clouds are divided into four families according to their

Back 14

height range.

Front 15

An almond or lens-shaped cloud which appears stationary, but which may contain winds of 50 knots or more, is referred to as

Back 15

a lenticular cloud.

Front 16

Crests of standing mountain waves may be marked by stationary, lens-shaped clouds known as

Back 16

standing lenticular clouds.

Front 17

What cloud types would indicate convective turbulence?

Back 17

Towering cumulus clouds.

Front 18

What clouds have the greatest turbulence?

Back 18

Cumulonimbus.

Front 19

What situation is most conducive to the formation of radiation fog?

Back 19

Warm, moist air over low, flatland areas on clear, calm nights.

Front 20

In which situation is advection fog most likely to form?

Back 20

An air mass moving inland from the coast in winter.

Front 21

What types of fog depend upon wind in order to exist?

Back 21

Advection fog and upslope fog.

Front 22

One of the most easily recognized discontinuities across a front is

Back 22

a change in temperature.

Front 23

One weather phenomenon which will always occur when flying across a front is a change in the

Back 23

wind direction.

Front 24

Steady precipitation preceding a front is an indication of

Back 24

stratiform clouds with little or no turbulence.

Front 25

One in-flight condition necessary for structural icing to form is

Back 25

visible moisture.

Front 26

In which environment is aircraft structural ice most likely to have the highest accumulation rate?

Back 26

Freezing rain.

Front 27

Low-level turbulence can occur and icing can become hazardous in which type of fog?

Back 27

Steam fog.

Front 28

What is meant by the term 'dewpoint'?

Back 28

The temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated.

Front 29

The amount of water vapor which air can hold depends on the

Back 29

air temperature.

Front 30

Clouds, fog, or dew will always form when

Back 30

water vapor condenses.

Front 31

What are the processes by which moisture is added to unsaturated air?

Back 31

Evaporation and sublimation.

Front 32

Which conditions result in the formation of frost?

Back 32

The temperature of the collecting surface is at or below the dewpoint of the adjacent air and the dewpoint is below freezing

Front 33

The presence of ice pellets at the surface is evidence that there

Back 33

is a temperature inversion with freezing rain at a higher altitude.

Front 34

Which factor would tend to increase the density altitude at a given airport?

Back 34

An increase in ambient temperature.

Front 35

Under which condition will pressure altitude be equal to true altitude?

Back 35

When the atmospheric pressure is 29.92 inches Hg.

Front 36

Under what condition is pressure altitude and density altitude the same value?

Back 36

At standard temperature.

Front 37

If a flight is made from an area of low pressure into an area of high pressure without the altimeter setting being adjusted, the altimeter will indicate

Back 37

lower than the actual altitude above sea level.

Front 38

Under what condition will true altitude be lower than indicated altitude?

Back 38

In colder than standard air temperature.

Front 39

What is the approximate base of the cumulus clouds if the surface air temperature at 1,000 feet MSL is 70

Back 39

6,000 feet MSL.

Front 40

What are characteristics of a moist, unstable air mass?

Back 40

cumuliform clouds and showery precipitation.

Front 41

What are characteristics of unstable air?

Back 41

Turbulence and good surface visibility.

Front 42

Moist, stable air flowing upslope can be expected to

Back 42

produce stratus type clouds.

Front 43

If an unstable air mass is forced upward, what type clouds can be expected?

Back 43

Clouds with considerable vertical development and associated turbulence.

Front 44

What measurement can be used to determine the stability of the atmosphere?

Back 44

Actual lapse rate.

Front 45

What would decrease the stability of an air mass?

Back 45

Warming from below.

Front 46

What is a characteristic of stable air?

Back 46

Stratiform clouds.

Front 47

Every physical process of weather is accompanied by, or is the result of, a

Back 47

heat exchange.

Front 48

What causes variations in altimeter settings between weather reporting points?

Back 48

Unequal heating of the Earth's surface.

Front 49

A temperature inversion would most likely result in which weather condition?'

Back 49

An increase in temperature as altitude is increased.

Front 50

The most frequent type of ground or surface-based temperature inversion is that which is produced by

Back 50

terrestrial radiation on a clear, relatively still night.

Front 51

Which weather conditions should be expected beneath a low-level temperature inversion layer when the relative humidity is high?

Back 51

Smooth air, poor visibility, fog, haze, or low clouds.

Front 52

Which weather phenomenon signals the beginning of the mature stage of a thunderstorm?

Back 52

Precipitation beginning to fall.

Front 53

The conditions necessary for the formation of cumulonimbus clouds are a lifting action and

Back 53

unstable, moist air.

Front 54

What conditions are necessary for the formation of thunderstorms?

Back 54

High humidity, lifting force, and unstable conditions.

Front 55

During the life cycle of a thunderstorm, which stage is characterized predominately by downdrafts?

Back 55

Dissipating.

Front 56

Thunderstorms reach their greatest intensity during the

Back 56

mature stage.

Front 57

Thunderstorms which generally produce the most intense hazard to aircraft are

Back 57

squall line thunderstorms.

Front 58

A nonfrontal, narrow band of active thunderstorms that often develop ahead of a cold front is a known as a

Back 58

squall line.

Front 59

If there is thunderstorm activity in the vicinity of an airport at which you plan to land, which hazardous atmospheric phenomenon might be expected on the landing approach?

Back 59

Wind-shear turbulence.

Front 60

Upon encountering severe turbulence, which flight condition should the pilot attempt to maintain?

Back 60

Level flight attitude.

Front 61

What feature is normally associated with the cumulus stage of a thunderstorm?

Back 61

Continuous updraft.

Front 62

Which weather phenomenon is always associated with a thunderstorm?

Back 62

Lightning.

Front 63

Possible mountain wave turbulence could be anticipated when winds of 40 knots or greater blow

Back 63

across a mountain ridge, and the air is stable

Front 64

The wind at 5,000 feet AGL is southwesterly while the surface wind is southerly. This difference in direction is primarily due to

Back 64

friction between the wind and the surface.

Front 65

A pilot can expect a wind-shear zone in a temperature inversion whenever the windspeed at 2,000 to 4,000 feet above the surface is at least

Back 65

25 knots.

Front 66

Which type of weather briefing should a pilot request to supplement mass disseminated data?

Back 66

An abbreviated briefing.

Front 67

Radar weather reports are of special interest to pilots because they indicate

Back 67

location of precipitation along with type, intensity, and cell movement of precipitation.

Front 68

A weather briefing that is provided when the information requested is 6 or more hours in advance of the proposed departure time is

Back 68

an outlook briefing.

Front 69

What should pilots state initially when telephoning a weather briefing facility for preflight weather information?

Back 69

State their total flight time.

Front 70

What does the heavy dashed line that forms a large rectangular box on a radar summary chart refer to?

Back 70

Severe weather watch area.