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AUXWEA STUDY QUESTIONS
STUDY QUESTIONS
2004 Student Study Guide
Chapter 7
7-1 The Auxiliary weather specialist may build situational awareness by applying the ______ method
of forecasting.
a. analogy
b. extrapolation
c. historical
d. numerical
7-2 Making a forecast by assuming that today’s weather pattern will evolve in the same way as similar
patterns from the past is known as the ______ method.
a. analogy
b. extrapolation
c. historical
d. numerical
7-3 You can estimate the future track of a weather system by studying ______ .
a. sea state charts
b. satellite images
c. radar images
d. analysis charts
7-4 The best sources of wind observations are
a. analysis charts and satellite images b. base reflectivity radar images
c. data buoys and analysis charts
d. sea state charts and radar
7-5 A ______ is the best source of information about sea water temperature in your local area.
a. data buoy
b. sea state chart
c. surface analysis chart
d. water vapor satellite image
7-6 If a blocking ridge is situated to the east of a low, the weather associated with the low may be
expected to
a. dissipate
b. intensify
c. move slowly or remain stationary
d. retreat westward
7-7 Temporarily unsettled weather may be expected when a ______ moves over an area.
a. blocking ridge
b. divergence aloft
c. stationary front
d. weak trough
7-8 The most likely place for a low to form along a stationary front is where ______ winds ______ .
a. surface, converge
b. surface, diverge
c. upper air, diverge d. upper air, converge
7-9 Thunderstorms develop most often
a. ahead of warm fronts
c. ahead of cold fronts
b. behind cold fronts
d. near stationary fronts
7-10 Embedded thunderstorms
a. are hard to see until they are nearby
c. move at 40 knots and have tops to 40,000 ft
b. occur only in squall lines
d. occur only in solid lines
7-11 If a severe thunderstorm warning has been issued, one should be prepared for
a. hail and/or tornadoes
b. wind gusting to 30 knots or more
c. very heavy rain
d. all of the above
7-12 The three conditions necessary for thunderstorms to develop are
a. convergence, lift, and precipitation b. instability, lift, and moisture
c. lift, moisture, and stability
d. lightning, low dew point, and saturation
7-13 Moisture provides the ______ and lift provides the ______ for thunderstorm development.
a. clouds, heat
b. heat, instability
c. heat, trigger
d. trigger, clouds
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AUXWEA STUDY QUESTIONS
2004 Student Study Guide
7-14 The possible sources of lift are approaching fronts, winds blowing over rising terrain, ______
and ______.
a. converging winds, surface heating
b. Coriolis effect, surface heating
c. diverging winds, intense heating
d. high dew point, instability
7-15 As a general rule of thumb, cumulus clouds must build to an altitude of at least ______ feet for
thunderstorms to develop.
a. 15,000
b. 25,000
c. 40,000
d. none of the above
7-16 The atmosphere is said to be unstable, favoring thunderstorm development, when calculations
indicate that a lifted bubble of air will al-ways be
a. saturated
b. colder than the surrounding air
c. warmer than the standard atmosphere
d. warmer than the surrounding air
7-17 Long stretches of hot hazy summer weather along the East Coast are due to
a. jet streams
b. mid-Atlantic lows
c. prevailing westerlies
d. warm air advection from the Bermuda high
7-18 In the Great Lakes region, the most destructive thunderstorms are generally associated with
a. hurricanes
b. lows migrating from the west or southwest
c. stationary lows
d. troughs aloft
7-19 The lift that triggers air mass thunderstorms in the Gulf Coast and Florida regions is due to
a. diverging surface winds
b. surface heating
c. terrain
d. troughs aloft
7-20 Moisture advection to the West Coast results from
a. circulation around the Pacific high b. migration of the Aleutian low
c. orographic lift over the coastal mountains
d. Santa Ana winds
7-21 In southern Alaska, winds and waves vary widely in both direction and intensity in the
a. Gulf of Alaska
b. Inside Passage
c. summer
d. winter
7-22 In Hawaii, the highest swells occur during ______ and approach the ______ facing coasts.
a. any season, east
b. hurricane season, southeast
c. summer, south
d. winter, north and west
STUDY QUESTIONS
Chapter 8
8-1 The evolution of a thunderstorm may be described in terms of _____ , _____ , and dissipating
stages.
a. cumulus, cumulonimbus
b. cumulus, mature
c. early, late
d. updraft, mature
8-2 A characteristic of the cumulus stage of a thunderstorm is
a. heavy rain
b. thunder
c. towering cumulus cloud building to cumulonimbus height
d. none of the above
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AUXWEA STUDY QUESTIONS
2004 Student Study Guide
8-3 A mature thunderstorm produces
a. a gust front
b. heavy rain c. thunder and lightning
d. all of the above
8-4 The _____ object in an area is the most likely to be hit by a lightning strike.
a. most effectively grounded
b. most negatively charged
c. sharpest
d. tallest
8-5 Thunder is heard at sea level 11 seconds after a lightning flash. The lightning was most likely at a
distance of _____ miles from the observer.
a. 1/2
b. 1
c. 2
d. 10
8-6 The first warning sign of an impending tornado is a
a. cumulonimbus mammatus cloud
b. funnel cloud
c. tornado watch
d. waterspout
8-7 A _____ is a hazard that may occur when a thunderstorm is dissipating.
a. downspout
b. funnel cloud
c. micro-burst
d. mini-burst
8-8 _____ indicate the approach of a thunder-storm gust front.
a. backing winds
b. lightning strokes
c. ripples on the sea surface d. veering winds
8-9 The underway precautions for lightning include
a. avoiding masts, stays, and metal objects
b. lowering radio antennas
c. sheltering in the boat’s cabin
d. all of the above
8-10 The first stage in the evolution of a hurricane is called a tropical
a. cyclone
b. depression
c. disturbance
d. storm
8-11 The primary source of lift that creates a hurricane is _____ and is usually found on the north-east
shoulder of _____ .
a. convergence, an easterly wave
b. convergence, a Rossby wave
c. frontal, an easterly wave
d. orographic, a jet stream
8-12 A tropical cyclone is classified as a hurricane when its wind speed exceeds _____ knots.
a. 32
b. 60
c. 64
d. 100
8-13 The eye of a hurricane is generally _____ miles in diameter, and the storm is intensifying when
the eye _____ .
a. 15 to 30, expands
b. 200 or more, expands
c. 15 to 30, shrinks
d. 200 or more, shrinks
8-14 The maximum wind speeds in a hurricane are found
a. in the eye
b. near the inner edge of the wall cloud
c. on the danger side
d. both b and c
8-15 The worst seas in a hurricane are found
a. in the eye
c. on the danger side
b. near the inner edge of the wall cloud
d. both b and c
8-16 As you look along the track of a hurricane, the _____ side is to the right.
a. danger
b. least windy
c. navigable
d. safe
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AUXWEA STUDY QUESTIONS
2004 Student Study Guide
8-17 The wind speed in a hurricane approaching the coast is 120 mph. The storm surge will be at least
_____ feet.
a. 4
b. 8
c. 9
d. 13
8-18 To escape if a hurricane is approaching the area where you are sailing, you should keep the wind
a. ahead
b. astern
c. to port
d. to starboard
8-19 You are assigned to an 8-hour patrol, and the significant wave height is reported to be 4 feet in
your area. How often should you expect the waves to make steering difficult for boats less than one
hundred feet long?
a. For the entire patrol
b. About 10 percent of the time
c. Only a few times
d. Never
8-20 On the west coast, the greatest risk to a boat departing an inlet is when the wind is from the
_____ and the current is _____ .
a. east, ebbing
b. west, ebbing
c. west, flooding
d. either a or c
8-21 Proceeding at slow speed in a fog is advisable because it will allow
a. approaching vessels to hear you
b. your lookouts to hear other vessels
c. time for maneuvering to avoid a collision
d. both b and c
8-22 You are on patrol in the Gulf of Alaska. The air temperature is 35 °F and the wind is 30 knots
(about 35 mph). Which statement is true?
a. I’m at low risk for hypothermia.
b. I’m at medium risk for hypothermia.
c. I’m at high risk for hypothermia.
d. Yikes, I’ll get frostbitten!
8-23 Your Alaska patrol receives a MAYDAY call to rescue a person who fell overboard from a
nearby sport fishing boat. The victim is wearing only a PFD and normal clothing. The water
temperature is 34 °F. Your coxswain estimates that it will take about 20 minutes to maneuver
alongside the victim. When you arrive, your main concern will most likely be to _____ .
a. heave a line for the victim to grab
b. haul the unconscious victim aboard
c. recover the deceased victim
d. prevent frostbite
8-24 Which forecast implies greater risk for heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke: air temperature of
90°F and relative humidity of 80%, or air temperature of 80 °F and relative humidity of 90%?
a. 90 °F and 80%
b. 80 °F and 90%
c. Doesn’t matter, they have the same risk.
d. Doesn’t matter, the risks are both low.
Challenge questions
If you were instructing a boating safety class in Australia, how would you define the danger and
navigable sides of a “willy-willy” (the Australian name for a hurricane)?
The weather forecast for today’s patrol is air temperature 88 °F, dew point 84 °F. What is the heat
index? What is the level of risk for heat exhaustion or heat stroke?
Your instructor will provide the answers
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