The Five Toughest Questions on Unit Test #2
(listed in order of difficulty; the percentage of class members giving incorrect answers is indicated in red)
18. In the figure at the right the dry adiabatic and moist adiabatic
rates are shown as dashed lines while the environmental lapse
rate is shown as a solid line in an atmospheric temperature
versus height plot. The atmosphere’s state of stability is
(a) absolutely unstable, (b) conditionally unstable, (c)
absolutely stable but not inverted, (d) absolutely stable and
inverted. (79%)
19. To find the saturation vapor pressure of the atmosphere at a
given instant, one would need to know at that instant the (a)
barometric pressure, (b) relative humidity, (c) temperature, (d) barometric pressure and relative humidity, (e) barometric pressure and temperature, (f) relative humidity and temperature, (g) barometric pressure, relative humidity and temperature, (h) none of the preceding. (74%)
7. A layer of stratocumulus clouds is based 2500 meters above a plain where the temperature is 30°C. The dew point at ground level is about (a) 10°C, (b) 16°C, (c) 20°C, (d) 24°C, (e) 30°C. (62%)
46. If a physical system, e.g., an air parcel, undergoes an adiabatic process then one can conclude that in the process (a) the temperature of the system remains constant, (b) the system exchanges no net heat with its environment, (c) the temperature of the system increases, (d) the temperature of the system decreases, (e) the system remains fixed in position. (56%)
48. Precipitation (either rain or snow) is falling when the surface temperature is 38°F. Which of the following statements is true? (a) The precipitation is certainly rain, (b) the precipitation is certainly snow, (c) the higher the relative humidity, the greater the probability that the precipitation is rain, (d) the higher the relatively humidity, the greater the probability that the precipitation is snow, (e) the precipitation could be either rain or snow, the probability of either is not related in any way to the relative humidity. (53%)
