Geosystems: An Introduction to Physical Geography, 9e (Christopherson)
Chapter 7 Water and Atmospheric Moisture
7.1 Multiple Choice Questions
1) Out of all the water present in the Earth systems, ________ is stored in the atmosphere.
A) less than 0.03%
B) approximately 2%
C) a variable amount, but averaging 50%
D) 15%
2) The movement of water throughout the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere
is known as the
A) biogeochemical cycle.
B) hydroflux.
C) capillary movement.
D) hydrologic cycle.
3) The hydrogen bonding in water creates ________, a cohesive force that enables one to slightly
overfill a glass with water or allows denser objects, such as a lengthwise steel needle, to float on
water.
A) capillary action
B) surface tension
C) heat exchange
D) friction
4) Water molecules bind tightly to one another. This is a result of
A) hydrogen bonding.
B) covalent bonding.
C) atomic friction.
D) molecular hold.
5) Surface tension and capillarity are the result of
A) hydrogen bonding.
B) gravitational attraction.
C) magnetic bonding.
D) molecular hold.
6) Some insects can walk on water. This is possible
A) because of their specific heat.
B) because of their kinetic energy.
C) because of a water property known as surface tension.
D) because of a water property known as capillarity.
7) The ability of water to “climb” in a cylinder tube is an example of
A) barometric pressure.
B) surface tension.
C) capillary action.
D) vacuum suction.
8) Water movement through the soil and water held in a cylindrical tube result from a common
phenomenon. What is this phenomenon?
A) barometric pressure
B) surface tension
C) capillary action
D) vacuum suction
9) Which of the following phase changes of water is incorrectly matched?
A) Deposition: gas to solid
B) Vaporization: solid to gas
C) Melting: solid to liquid
D) Condensation: gas to liquid
10) Which of the following phase changes of water is incorrectly matched?
A) Sublimation—energy absorbed
B) Deposition—energy released
C) Evaporation—energy released
D) Melting—energy absorbed
11) The term deposition refers to
A) water freezing to ice.
B) ice melting to water.
C) vapor condensing into liquid.
D) water vapor freezing to ice.
12) What is the heat energy involved in the change of state, or phase, in water?
A) mechanical heat
B) sensible heat
C) fusion heat
D) latent heat
13) When water freezes, its density
A) increases.
B) decreases.
C) remains the same as in the liquid state.
14) When water freezes, its volume
A) increases.
B) decreases.
C) remains the same as in the liquid state.
15) As water cools from room temperature to 4°C (39°F), it ________ and its density ________.
A) contracts; increases
B) contracts; decreases
C) expands; increases
D) expands; decreases
16) Which of the following is true regarding the evaporation of water?
A) The phase change involves the latent heat of sublimation.
B) The phase change involves the latent heat of evaporation.
C) The phase change involves the latent heat of deposition.
D) The phase change involves the latent heat of condensation.
17) The latent heat of melting and the latent heat of freezing involve the absorption or release of
________ calories per gram of water changing state.
A) 80
B) 100
C) 540
D) 585
18) Which of the following phase changes decreases the temperature of the air?
A) water to ice
B) ice to water
C) steam to water
D) steam to ice
19) The process of deposition in the atmosphere produces
A) rain.
B) water vapor.
C) frost.
D) ice.
20) In winter, freezing water can break pipes and even crack engine blocks.Why does this
happen?
A) Water expands in volume as it freezes.
B) Ice is denser than water.
C) Water contracts as it cools and freezes.
D) It occurs because of the latent heat of fusion.
21) Hydrogen bonding results from the fact that
A) the hydrogen end of a water molecule is positively charged and the oxygen end is negatively
charged.
B) the oxygen end of a water molecule is positively charged and the hydrogen end is negatively
charged.
C) nuclear fusion occurs between the ends of water molecules.
D) water molecules experience a strong gravitational attraction to one another.
E) there is no electrical charge on a water molecule.
22) The phase changes water and other substances undergo are based on
A) gravitational energy stored within the electron orbitals of atoms.
B) the amount of motion of molecules and the strength of the bonds between them.
C) nuclear fusion processes between atoms of a substance.
D) nuclear fission processes between atoms of a substance.
E) diabatic forces acting on the molecules.
23) Below a temperature of 4°C (39°F), water ________ and its density ________.
A) contracts; increases
B) contracts; decreases.
C) expands; increases
D) expands; decreases
24) The density of pure ice is
A) greater than that of water.
B) less than that of water.
C) the same as water.
D) highly variable.
25) When water condenses, it ________ heat energy and ________ the surrounding air.
A) absorbs; cools
B) absorbs heats
C) releases; cools
D) releases; heats
26) When water evaporates, it ________ heat energy and ________ the surrounding air.
A) absorbs; cools
B) absorbs heats
C) releases; cools
D) releases; heats
27) Water vapor in the atmosphere is called
A) water.
B) deposition.
C) sublimation.
D) humidity.
28) The capacity of air for water vapor is primarily a function of the ________ of both the air
and water vapor.
A) density
B) volume
C) pressure
D) temperature
29) In which of the following months would the relative humidity likely be the highest
(assuming a Northern Hemisphere station).
A) January
B) March
C) July
D) September
30) The portion of air pressure exerted by water vapor is the
A) vapor pressure.
B) absolute humidity.
C) psychrometer.
D) dew point.
31)
As temperature increases, the saturation vapor pressure
A) increases.
B) decreases.
C) remains constant.
32) Most of the precipitation and evaporation on Earth takes place over the
A) land masses.
B) oceans.
C) poles of the planet.
D) ice caps and glaciers combined.
33) Relative humidity is
A) the amount of water vapor in the air compared to the normal amount.
B) the amount of moisture in the air relative to your own sensible feelings.
C) the amount of water vapor in the air relative to the water vapor capacity of the air.
D) a basically unused concept when it comes to weather topics.
34) If the amount of water vapor in the air remained constant, but the air temperature increased
throughout the day, the relative humidity would
A) increase.
B) decrease.
C) remain constant.
35) As temperature increases, the amount of energy available for evaporation
A) increases.
B) decreases.
C) remains constant.
36) ________ occurs when the relative humidity is 100%.
A) Saturation
B) Evaporation
C) Sublimation
D) Deposition
37) At saturation, the further addition of water vapor or a decrease in temperature results in
A) condensation.
B) evaporation.
C) freezing.
D) sublimation.
38) A mass of air always becomes saturated when it reaches the
A) highest temperature of the day.
B) lowest temperature of the day.
C) specific humidity point.
D) dew-point temperature.
39) When temperatures are below freezing, the temperature at which air becomes saturated
leading to the formation of frost is the
A) dew point.
B) frost point.
C) absolute humidity.
D) relative humidity.
40)
On a typical day, the point of highest relative humidity is associated with
A) the time of the highest temperature.
B) the time of the lowest temperature.
C) solar noon.
D) dusk.
41) A humidity measure that remains constant as temperature and pressure change, and which is
expressed as a mass of water vapor per mass (g/kg) of air, is
A) specific humidity.
B) vapor pressure.
C) relative humidity.
D) the dew-point.
42)
If a kilogram of air at 20°C (68°F) has a specific humidity of 7.5 g/kg, the relative humidity is
A) 25%.
B) 50%.
C) 75%.
D) 100%.
43) Which of the following would cause the evaporation rate to decrease?
A) increased water availability
B) increased relative humidity
C) increased temperature
D) increased wind speed
44) Which of the following is used to measure relative humidity?
A) aneroid barometers
B) hair hygrometers
C) anemometer
D) weather vane
45) Assuming the amount of water vapor remains constant, a temperature increase will ________
the specific humidity.
A) increase
B) decrease
C) have no effect on
D) increase until the dew point is met, then decrease
46) If the saturation vapor pressure increases while the amount of water vapor in the air remains
constant, this would indicate
A) that the temperature had increased.
B) that the temperature had decreased as a result of the loss of heat energy.
C) that the air was cooling by expansion.
D) none of the above
47) The greater the difference in temperature between the wet bulb and dry bulb on a sling
psychrometer, the ________ the air is and the ________ the relative humidity.
A) drier; higher
B) drier; lower
C) wetter; higher
D) wetter; lower
48) The smaller the difference in temperature between the wet bulb and dry bulb on a sling
psychrometer, the ________ the air is and the ________.
A) drier; further the air temperature is from dew point
B) drier; closer the air temperature is to dew point
C) wetter; further the air temperature is from dew point
D) wetter; closer the air temperature is to dew point
49) A large difference in temperature between a wet bulb and a dry bulb on a sling psychrometer
indicates
A) that the air is cooling by adiabatic expansion.
B) that the relative humidity is high.
C) that substantial evaporation is occurring from the wet bulb.
50) Which of the following normally would be true of the humidity above the hot, moist, tropical
rain forests of the world?
A) The specific humidity would be low.
B) The relative humidity would be high.
C) The saturation vapor pressure would be low.
51) Which of the following would be true of the humidity above the hot, dry, subtropical deserts
of the world during the daytime?
A) The specific humidity would be very low.
B) The relative humidity would always be high.
C) The saturation vapor pressure would be low.