Name: ________________

Hours Studied: _________

 

 

Geography 123:  Weather & Climate

Exam II:  March 12, 2001

 

 

Part I:  Place Names.  Please locate each of the following on the map at the end of the exam.  DO THESE RIGHT NOW!!!  Please use only the number of the location, and please highlight your number (ask me for a highlighter if you don’t have one) so that they are easier for me to find.  One point each.

 

1.                   Indian Ocean                            6.         Ganges River

2.                   Mediterranean Sea                    7.         Himalaya Mountains

3.                   Caribbean Sea                           8.         Rocky Mountains (BE ACCURATE OR NO CREDIT!)

4.                   Caspian Sea                              9.         US Great Plains

5.                   Mississippi River                       10.        Sahara Desert

 

Part II:  Multiple-multiple Choice.  Circle the letter of every correct choice, and remember that there may be one, two, three, or four correct choices per question.  Two points each.

 

1.                   Annual minimum temperatures

 

a.                   usually occur when the receipt of SWY radiation is at its minimum.

b.                   usually occur when the combination of SWY and LWX is at its minimum.

c.                   usually occur at the time of the winter solstice.

d.                   usually occur some weeks after the winter solstice.

 

2.                   SWY radiation

 

a.                   is generated from the atmosphere during the hottest part of the day.

b.                   can be reflected to space.

c.                   is diminished by about half between the time it enters the Earth’s atmosphere and the time it reaches the Earth’s surface.

d.                   can be absorbed by the Earth’s surface and atmosphere.

 

3.                   A monsoon

 

a.                   is a wind.

b.                   brings heavy precipitation to affected areas during the winter.

c.                   brings dry conditions to affected areas during the winter.

d.                   may produce over 40” of precipitation during some months.

 

4.                   Compared to land, water

 

a.                   has a higher specific heat.

b.                   heats up faster.

c.                   cools off more slowly.

d.                   cools off more rapidly.

 

5.                   All else being equal (AEBE, from now on),

 

a.                   poleward latitudes have larger temperature ranges than equatorial locations.

b.                   higher temperatures are attained at about 30o N and S than at the equator.

c.                   higher pressure is found at the equator than at the poles.

d.                   equatorial locations receive more SWY than do poleward locations.

 

6.                   Evaporation

 

a.                   can occur more rapidly near the subtropical highs than it does at the equator.

b.                   requires energy.

c.                   releases energy.

d.                   is a cooling process.

 

 

Part III:  Definitions.  Place the term of value defined in the space provided.  Two points each. 

 

1.         _______________________  The reflectivity of the Earth’s surface.

 

2.         _______________________  The average value of the dry adiabatic lapse rate.

 

3.         _______________________  The value of average sea level pressure in inches Hg.

 

4.         _______________________  Rapid and destructive downslope winds that plague Boulder, CO.

 

5.         _______________________  The usefulness of a temperature normal in telling someone what the weather is like today. 

 

Part IV.  Diagrams and Short Answer

 

1.                   Reproduce BOTH energy diagrams (six points).  Then do an energy budget for inputs to the earth’s surface and outputs from it (three points).

 

Diagram A:                                                       Diagram B:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Inputs to Surface:                                              Outputs from surface:

 

 

 

2.                   On the graph below, show the relationship between latitude and pressure.  Label the axes of the graph, taking care to put the dependent variable and the independent variable on the correct axes, and then show how pressure varies with latitude.  Three points.

 

a.                   Graph (3 pts.):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                ________________________________________________

 

 

3.                   On the circle below, draw in and label the global pressure belts and cells.  Then draw in the global wind belts, labeling each. Also show the convection cells between the surface and the trop.  Ten points.

 

           

 

 

 


                                                                                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4.                   Using isobars, diagram a non-geostrophic wind in the northern hemisphere.  Be certain to label your isobars and draw the wind correctly in relation to the isobars.  Three points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.                   Pressure cell and winds:

 

a.                   In the space below, use isobars to draw a low pressure cell.  Label the isobars with representative values for surface low pressure readings (4 points). 

b.                   Then on your cell, show with arrows the direction(s) of the pressure gradient (2 pts.) using solid lines. 

c.                   Finally, show the direction(s) of wind flow relative to the isobars, assuming a northern hemisphere location and a geostrophic wind (2 pts.) 

 

            Note:  This question is worth a total of eight points.  Be certain that you complete all

            the parts. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.                   Diagram and briefly explain how a sea breeze forms.  To do this, be certain that you explain the relationship between the sea breeze and pressure.  Four points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.                   Explain what is meant by an average daily temperature and give an example of how it is computed.  Four points.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6.                   Consult the attached relative humidity and dew point charts as necessary.  A parcel of air rises over a mountain.  The parcel starts at sea level at a temperature of 75o F. with a relative humidity of 74%. 

 

a.                   What is the parcel’s dew point temperature (2 pts.)? ________

 

b.                   At what elevation will the parcel reach saturation (2 pts.)?  _______

 

            Explain how you determined your answer (3 pts.).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Part V.  Essay.  Write an answer to one (and only one) of the following.  Remember – I expect and demand good quality, college level writing and your grade will be determined in part by the quality of your writing since poor writing almost always means that the necessary arguments are not made well. 

 

Take a few minutes to decide which question you can answer best. Please circle the number of the question you choose.  Then outline your answer, making each major section of your outline correspond to a major point in your essay. Begin your answer with a short introduction.   Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that states the main point of the paragraph.  Then bolster that topic sentence with a simple, concise explanation and examples.  Diagrams will usually help, and should be included when they do.  End your essay with a short conclusion.

 

Note:  Try to write simply and concisely.  Don’t try to wow me with flowery language – doing so usually makes your essay sound amateurish and it annoys me.  Be certain that whenever you use comparison words such as “more,” “less,” ‘higher,” etc. that you end the comparison by saying more than what, less than what, or higher than what.  End the comparison even if your intent seems obvious, because it may be obvious to you but not to me. 

 

Finally, proof read your essay, checking for misspellings, grammar mistakes, and lapses in logic.  If you decide to add something and don’t have room to do so in the body of the essay, write that something at the end and put an asterisk in the essay where the addition should be.  Make the asterisk big and tell me where the addition is – I’ll find it and insert it in the proper place.  If you decide to omit something you have written, simply draw a line through what you wish to omit.  Last, proof read a second time to be certain that everything makes sense and flows logically.

 

BE CERTAIN THAT I CAN READ YOUR PENMANSHIP, BECAUSE IF I CAN’T YOUR GRADE IS 0 – I CAN’T GIVE CREDIT FOR WHAT I CAN’T DECIPHER.  Twenty points.

 

1.                   Explain thoroughly three factors that can determine temperatures at a given place.  Caution:  I said explain thoroughly.  A simple listing or a short explanation will get you only a simple and short (i.e., small) number of points. 

 

or

 

2.                   Explain how the change in state of water can transfer energy from one form to another and from one place to another.  Note:  The use of a diagram here will help immensely.