Eco 320 Exam 1 UPDATED Exam
Questions and CORRECT Answers
Climatic variation occurs over which time scales?
a. Daily time scales only
b. Daily and yearly time scales only
c. Yearly and decade time scales only
d. Across daily, seasonal, and yearly time scales - CORRECT ANSWER d. Across daily,
seasonal, and yearly time scales
Which statement about climate is false?
a. Climate usually has little effect on the rate of periodic disturbances in an area.
b. The timing of a change to the physical environment is often ecologically important.
c. Climate influences the rates of abiotic processes that affect organisms.
d. The distribution of organisms tends to reflect extremes, rather than averages, in the climates of
particular locales - CORRECT ANSWER a. Climate usually has little effect on the rate of
periodic disturbances in an area.
Heat loss due to the exchange of kinetic energy by molecules in direct contact with one another
is referred to as
a. latent heat flux.
b. convection.
c. conduction.
d. the greenhouse effect. - CORRECT ANSWER c. conduction.
Earth's surface releases _______ it receives by solar radiation. Additional energy inputs to
Earth's surface occur in part from back radiation due to _______.
a. more energy than; evapotranspiration
b. more energy than; greenhouse gases
c. about the same energy as; evapotranspiration
,d. less energy than; greenhouse gases - CORRECT ANSWER b. more energy than;
greenhouse gases
Which of the following is not a greenhouse gas?
a. Carbon dioxide
b. Methane
c. Oxygen
d. Water vapor - CORRECT ANSWER c. Oxygen
In the absence of greenhouse gases, Earth would be about _______ than it is now.
a. 2°C warmer
b. 3°C cooler
c. 13°C cooler
d. 33°C cooler - CORRECT ANSWER d. 33°C cooler
Which statement about atmospheric circulation patterns is false?
a. The condensation of water vapor into clouds is a warming process.
b. Cool air can hold more water vapor than warm air can.
c. Thunderclouds potentially reach only to the boundary between the upper region of the
troposphere and the bottom of the stratosphere.
d. Air cools due to expansion as it rises in the troposphere. - CORRECT ANSWER b. Cool air
can hold more water vapor than warm air can.
Which areas of Earth receive the most precipitation on average?
a. Tropics
b. Temperate zones
c. Regions near 30°N and S latitudes
d. Polar zones - CORRECT ANSWER a. Tropics
, If Earth were heated slightly more at the equator, Hadley cells should become slightly_______
pronounced, and there would likely be slightly _______ rain at around 30°N.
a. more; more
b. less; more
c. more; less
d. less; less - CORRECT ANSWER c. more; less
The Coriolis effect causes moving air at Earth's surface to appear to be deflected _______ in the
Northern Hemisphere and _______ in the Southern Hemisphere.
a. clockwise; clockwise
b. clockwise; counterclockwise
c. counterclockwise; clockwise
d. counterclockwise; counterclockwise - CORRECT ANSWER c. counterclockwise;
clockwise
Some models of climate change suggest that the Gulf Stream may become weaker as the global
temperature increases. Such a weakening in the Gulf Stream would most likely result in
a. warming in Seattle.
b. warming in London.
c. cooling in Seattle.
d. cooling in London. - CORRECT ANSWER d. cooling in London.
Which statement about oceanic currents is false?
a. Deep oceanic currents meet surface currents at zones of upwelling.
b. Because they move so slowly, oceanic currents contribute little to the exchange of heat
between the tropics and the polar regions.
c. Oceanic currents can have profound effects on the climates of regions where they flow.
d. Dense downwelling currents move to the equator. - CORRECT ANSWER b. Because they
move so slowly, oceanic currents contribute little to the exchange of heat between the tropics and
the polar regions.
Questions and CORRECT Answers
Climatic variation occurs over which time scales?
a. Daily time scales only
b. Daily and yearly time scales only
c. Yearly and decade time scales only
d. Across daily, seasonal, and yearly time scales - CORRECT ANSWER d. Across daily,
seasonal, and yearly time scales
Which statement about climate is false?
a. Climate usually has little effect on the rate of periodic disturbances in an area.
b. The timing of a change to the physical environment is often ecologically important.
c. Climate influences the rates of abiotic processes that affect organisms.
d. The distribution of organisms tends to reflect extremes, rather than averages, in the climates of
particular locales - CORRECT ANSWER a. Climate usually has little effect on the rate of
periodic disturbances in an area.
Heat loss due to the exchange of kinetic energy by molecules in direct contact with one another
is referred to as
a. latent heat flux.
b. convection.
c. conduction.
d. the greenhouse effect. - CORRECT ANSWER c. conduction.
Earth's surface releases _______ it receives by solar radiation. Additional energy inputs to
Earth's surface occur in part from back radiation due to _______.
a. more energy than; evapotranspiration
b. more energy than; greenhouse gases
c. about the same energy as; evapotranspiration
,d. less energy than; greenhouse gases - CORRECT ANSWER b. more energy than;
greenhouse gases
Which of the following is not a greenhouse gas?
a. Carbon dioxide
b. Methane
c. Oxygen
d. Water vapor - CORRECT ANSWER c. Oxygen
In the absence of greenhouse gases, Earth would be about _______ than it is now.
a. 2°C warmer
b. 3°C cooler
c. 13°C cooler
d. 33°C cooler - CORRECT ANSWER d. 33°C cooler
Which statement about atmospheric circulation patterns is false?
a. The condensation of water vapor into clouds is a warming process.
b. Cool air can hold more water vapor than warm air can.
c. Thunderclouds potentially reach only to the boundary between the upper region of the
troposphere and the bottom of the stratosphere.
d. Air cools due to expansion as it rises in the troposphere. - CORRECT ANSWER b. Cool air
can hold more water vapor than warm air can.
Which areas of Earth receive the most precipitation on average?
a. Tropics
b. Temperate zones
c. Regions near 30°N and S latitudes
d. Polar zones - CORRECT ANSWER a. Tropics
, If Earth were heated slightly more at the equator, Hadley cells should become slightly_______
pronounced, and there would likely be slightly _______ rain at around 30°N.
a. more; more
b. less; more
c. more; less
d. less; less - CORRECT ANSWER c. more; less
The Coriolis effect causes moving air at Earth's surface to appear to be deflected _______ in the
Northern Hemisphere and _______ in the Southern Hemisphere.
a. clockwise; clockwise
b. clockwise; counterclockwise
c. counterclockwise; clockwise
d. counterclockwise; counterclockwise - CORRECT ANSWER c. counterclockwise;
clockwise
Some models of climate change suggest that the Gulf Stream may become weaker as the global
temperature increases. Such a weakening in the Gulf Stream would most likely result in
a. warming in Seattle.
b. warming in London.
c. cooling in Seattle.
d. cooling in London. - CORRECT ANSWER d. cooling in London.
Which statement about oceanic currents is false?
a. Deep oceanic currents meet surface currents at zones of upwelling.
b. Because they move so slowly, oceanic currents contribute little to the exchange of heat
between the tropics and the polar regions.
c. Oceanic currents can have profound effects on the climates of regions where they flow.
d. Dense downwelling currents move to the equator. - CORRECT ANSWER b. Because they
move so slowly, oceanic currents contribute little to the exchange of heat between the tropics and
the polar regions.
