Download Meteorology MentorScienceOlympiad

Mentor Science Olympiad-Meteorology Test
Mark all your answers on the answer sheet provided. No marks should be made on the test.
Make sure to place both names, your school name and team number on the
answer sheet.
1. Reflectivity from buildings and objects at the earth’s surface that are picked up close to the
radar site are referred to as
A. Ground clutter
B. Radar detection
C. Clear air returns
D. Doppler aliasing
2. Differing colors on radar reflectivity refer to
A. Temperature differences
B. Power transmitter back to radar
C. Height of clouds
D. Speed that the clouds are moving
3. Red on radial velocity display indicates motion
A. Toward the radar
B. Away from the radar
C. At right angles to the radar
D. None of the above
4. Radar emits energy at the speed of
A. Sound
B. Light
5. The ability of radar to detect wind motions within thunderstorms clouds is due to
A. Satellite
B. Reflectivity
C. Cell phone signals
D. Doppler
6. A long line of storms that develop due to a common forcing mechanism
A. Super cell
B. Squall line
C. Doppler
D. Sea breeze
7. Air will do what along frontal boundaries?
A. Diverge
B. Converge
8. 50 knots is equal to _______mph
A. 43.5
B. 50
C. 5
D. 57.5
9. In meteorology, wind direction is expressed as the direction the wind is______
A. Going toward
B. Coming from
10. For every 10 degrees C the Celsius temperature changes, the Fahrenheit temperature changes
by
A. 5 F
B. 9 F
C. 18 F
D. 29 F
11. In most cloud to ground lightning, the ground tends to be
A. Positively charged
B. Negatively charged
12. A map is showing contours of temperature, dew point, and height. The contours
on the map include
A. Isobars, isotachs, and isodrosotherms
B. Isotherms, isodrosotherms, and isohypse
C. Isotherms, isohyets, and isobars
D. Isohypse, isallobars, and isotherms
13. Which of the following best explains how temperature changes with height in
the Earth’s atmosphere?
A. It decreases at a constant rate
B. It decreases quickly at first, then more gradually
C. It decreases at a rate of 9.8 degrees per thousand feet
D. It decreases, then increases, then decreases, then increases
14. When latent heat is absorbed, the surrounding environment
A. Cools
B. Warms
15. This is defined as the mass of water vapor divided by the mass of dry air in a
sample of air
A. Relative humidity
B. Mixing ration
C. Absolute humidity
D. Specific humidity
16.In a sample of tropospheric air near the surface, water vapor will be about
______% of the air sample by volume
A. 0.2-1
B. 1-4
C. 7-10
D. 15-20
17. A large scale region of homogeneous air at the earth’s surface is a(n)
A. Front
B. Air Mass
C. Cyclone
D. Shortwave
18. As unsaturated air rises, the relative humidity of the air
A. Increases
B. Decreases
C. Stays the same
D. Depends on the location
19. The force that causes sir to decrease in forward speed due to contact with the
earth’s surface is
A. Coriolis
B. Gravity
C. Pressure gradient force
D. Friction
20.This is a dry and hot air mass that has a source region over srid and semi-arid
locations,
A. Continental tropical
B. Maritime tropical
C. Continental polar
D. Maritime polar
21. A large scale region of clockwise spinning air that tends to bring a lack of
precipitation is a
A. Cyclone
B. Anticyclone
C. Volt max
D. Jet streak
22. A line of equal temperature is called a
A. Isodrosotherm
B. Isobar
C. Thickness line
D. Isotherm
23. National weather surface balloon launches are done______(s) per day
A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four
24. Low pressure systems spin ______in the southern hemisphere
A. Clockwise
B. Counter clockwise
C. Both directions
25. An inversion is
A. A wind shift with height
B. A temperature increase with height
C. A dew point increase with height
D a temperature decrease with height
26. This is a violently rotating column of air being accessory to a thunderstorm
that is in contact with the earth’s surface.
A. Hurricane
B. Funnel
C. Wall cloud
D. Tornado
27. The dry adiabatic lapse rate is equal to
A. 9.8 C/KM
B. 6.5 C/KM
C. 5.5 C/KM
D. 1.0 C/KM
28. The change in wind direction with height is known as
A. Directional shear
B. Helicity
C. Speed shear
D. Vorticity
29. About ______% of mesocyclones produce tornadoes
A. 25
B. 40
C. 55
D. 70
30. This satellite imagery shows contrasting temperatures of cloud tops.
Approximate cloud height can be determined using this imagery.
A. Visible
B. Infrared
C. Water vapor
D. Ultraviolet
31. A bubble rising in a glass of coke is synonymous with
A. Forced dynamic lifting
B. Instability release
C. Convective inhibition
D. Negative buoyancy
32. This is the fraction of visible radiation that reflects off an object
A. Opaqueness
B albedo
C. Transmissivity
D. Color
33. Rain that freezes after hitting the ground is
A. Sleet
B. Freezing rain
C. Graupel
D. Ice pellets
34. The process of distributing heat by mixing air is
A. Radiation
B. Conduction
C. Convection
D. None of the above
35. Half of the earth’s atmosphere is below
A. 550 km of elevation
B. 55 km of elevation
C. 5.5 km of elevations
D. 0.6 km of elevation
36. When sunlight strikes a layer of fresh snow, most of the energy that makes up
the sunlight will be
A. Reflected by the snow
B. Absorbed by the snow
C. Transmitted through the snow
37. This imagery has the highest resolution of data
A. Visible
B. Infrared
C. Water vapor
D. Ultraviolet
38. The altitude of a GOES satellite is
A. 35 km
B. 350 km
C 3500 km
‘
D. 35,000 km
E. 350,000 km
39. Fog formed by cooling of the earth’s surface at night is
A. Radiation fog
B. Advection fog
C. Steam fog
D. Frontal Fog
40. Clouds that develop due to convective uplift are termed
A. Stratiform
B. Noctilucent
C. Cumulus
D. Lenticular
41. These are high clouds composed of ice crystals
A. Cumulus
B. Nimbostratus
C. Altocumulus
D. Cirrus
42. A ring around the sun or moon will show when they shine through this cloud
A. Nimbostratus
B. Altocumulus
C. Fair weather cumulus
D. Cirrostratus
43. The dew point is greater than the temperature when
A. The relative humidity is 100%
B. When clouds form?
C. When it is raining
D. Never
44. Which of the following is not a primary control of climate?
A. Altitude
B. Latitude
C. Daily weather
D. Ocean currents
45. Thunder travels at the speed of sound, which is nearest to
A. 10 mph
B. 5 miles per second
C. 1 mile every five seconds
D. 3 x 10 to the 8th power meters per second
46. The word monsoon as it applies to climatology refers to a
A. Very heavy rains
B. The intensification of the polar jet
C. A seasonal reversal in wind direction and pressure distribution
D. A cyclone or typhoon with winds over 100 mph
Match the cloud type with the descriptions at left
47. _____Cirrus
A. cover large areas and form in layers
48. _____Cumulonimbus
B. produces thunderstorms
49. _____Stratus
C. have flat bottoms and often indicate fair
weather
50. _____Cumulus
D. found at high altitudes and form when the
wind is strong
Match the weather instrument with the factor they measure
51. ______Anemometer
52. ______Barometer
53. ______Weather balloon
54______wind sock
55. ______Thermometer
Identify the air mass
A. wind direction
B. wind pressure
C. pressure
D. temperature
E. carriers electronic equipment that
Measure condition above the earth’s surface
56. _______Continental Tropical
57. _______Maritime Tropical
58. _______Continental Polar
59. _______Maritime Polar
A. warm and moist
B. warm and dry
C. cold and moist
D. cold and dry
60. The sun is closest to the earth in ________, this is known as________.
(Northern hemisphere)
A. Summer, Aphelion
B. Summer, Perihelion
C. Winter, Aphelion
D. Winter, Perihelion
Tie breaking questions
1. What happens to the pressure when you are at higher altitudes? and then
when you are at sea level? Describe also what happens to the molecules in an
atom at higher altitudes and at sea level. Make sure you mark which altitude
you are defining.
2. Label the layers of the atmosphere. Start with the lowest layer (closest to
earth) and move up to the highest. Label each layer with the height in km
and describe different things that happen in each layer.
3. How many oxygen atoms are found in the ozone layer?