Instructions: For each question, click on the radio button beside your answer. When you have completed the entire quiz, click the “Submit my answers” button at the bottom of the page to receive your results.

Question 1:

Which type of force drives the wind?
a) Coriolis
b) Centripetal
c) Friction
d) Pressure gradient

Question 2:

Which of the following statements about the Coriolis force is false?
a) It increases with wind speed.
b) It affects wind direction but not wind speed.
c) It decreases with latitude.
d) It causes deflection to the right of the path of motion in the northern hemisphere.

Question 3:

What is molecular viscosity?
a) The small-scale resistance to flow due to the random motions of molecules in laminar flow
b) Flow in which layers of the fluid flow over each other with no disruption between the layers
c) The product of mass and velocity
d) The large-scale resistance to flow due to the irregular motions associated with turbulence

Question 4:

Which of the following does NOT cause the depth of the planetary boundary layer to increase?
a) Wind speed
b) Instability
c) Surface roughness
d) Wind shear

Question 5:

Geostrophic winds develop when which two forces are balanced?
a) Coriolis and centripetal
b) Pressure gradient and centripetal
c) Centripetal and friction
d) Pressure gradient and Coriolis

Question 6:

For both cyclones and anticyclones, the difference between the pressure gradient force and the Coriolis force is known as what?
a) Laminar flow
b) Friction
c) Centripetal force
d) Viscosity

Question 7:

In the northern hemisphere, in what direction does air circulate in low pressure areas?
a) Counterclockwise and inward
b) Counterclockwise and outward
c) Clockwise and inward
d) Clockwise and outward

Question 8:

What is thermal wind?
a) Warm, cyclonic winds
b) A measure of the wind shear
c) The change in geostrophic wind with pressure that occurs due to the vertical variation of temperature
d) A wind that develops when the pressure gradient force and the Coriolis force are unbalanced

Question 9:

Which statement about geostrophic and thermal winds is true?
a) Geostrophic winds blow parallel to the thickness gradient.
b) Thermal winds are proportional to the thickness gradient.
c) Thermal winds blow parallel to the height gradient.
d) Geostrophic winds are proportional to the thickness gradient.

Question 10:

Which tool is used to measure wind speed and direction?
a) Hygrometer
b) Thermometer
c) Psychrometers
d) Anamometers

Question 11:

The direction of the pressure gradient force is from high pressure to low pressure.
a) True
b) False

Question 12:

As long as the upper-level divergence is greater than the surface converge, a high pressure area will intensify.
a) True
b) False

Question 13:

Low pressure areas are associated with sinking air and clear skies.
a) True
b) False

Question 14:

An increase in the horizontal temperature gradient will lead to a decrease in the geostrophic wind with height.
a) True
b) False

Question 15:

When winds are veering, cold advection is occurring, and when winds are backing, warm advection is occurring.
a) True
b) False

Higher Education

Weather and Climate: Chapter 11