ATMO 201 EXAM 2 FINAL STUDY GUIDE 2026
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
◉ Adiabatic Process. Answer: Rising air expands and cools, sinking
air compresses and warms (while in unsaturated conditions)
◉ Air Parcels. Answer: Can heat and cool but do not mix in air from
the outside
◉ Rising parcels. Answer: expand and cool
◉ Sinking parcels. Answer: Compress and warm
◉ T/F: At the same height, warm air is less dense. Answer: True
◉ Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate (DALR). Answer: An unsaturated (dry)
parcel will always rise and sink at 9.8 C/km
◉ How is the environmental rate measured?. Answer: With
radiosondes (weather balloons)
,◉ If a parcel is forced to rise and its warmer than its environment, it
will continue to rise and be:. Answer: Unstable
◉ If a parcel is forced to rise and is cooler than its environment, it
will sink back down and be:. Answer: Stable
◉ Destabilizing Processes. Answer: - Col air moving aloft
- Heat at the surface
- Warm air moving in at low levels
◉ Convective Instability. Answer: lifting a stable layer with a dry top
and moist surface
◉ 4 Ways to force air upward. Answer: 1. Convection
2. Lifting along topography
3. Convergence
4. Lifting along weather fronts
◉ Orographic uplift. Answer: Forced lifting along a topographic
barrier. Forms orographic clouds when lifting produces cooling and
air is humid.
, ◉ Rain Shadow. Answer: a region with dry conditions found on the
leeward side of a mountain range as a result of humid winds from
the ocean causing precipitation on the windward side
◉ Lenticular Cloud. Answer: an almond-shaped cloud usually seen
on windy days
◉ Rotor Cloud. Answer: A turbulent cumuliform type of cloud that
forms on the leeward side of large mountain ranges. The air in the
cloud rotates about an axis parallel to the range.
◉ Lifting Condensation Level (LCL). Answer: The level at which a
parcel of air, when lifted dry adiabatically, would become saturated.
LCL = 125(T-Td)
◉ Level of Free Convection (LFC). Answer: The altitude in the
atmosphere where the temperature of the environment is lower
than rising air parcel
◉ Equilibrium Level (EL). Answer: level above the LFC at which the
air will stop rising
QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS GRADED A+
◉ Adiabatic Process. Answer: Rising air expands and cools, sinking
air compresses and warms (while in unsaturated conditions)
◉ Air Parcels. Answer: Can heat and cool but do not mix in air from
the outside
◉ Rising parcels. Answer: expand and cool
◉ Sinking parcels. Answer: Compress and warm
◉ T/F: At the same height, warm air is less dense. Answer: True
◉ Dry Adiabatic Lapse Rate (DALR). Answer: An unsaturated (dry)
parcel will always rise and sink at 9.8 C/km
◉ How is the environmental rate measured?. Answer: With
radiosondes (weather balloons)
,◉ If a parcel is forced to rise and its warmer than its environment, it
will continue to rise and be:. Answer: Unstable
◉ If a parcel is forced to rise and is cooler than its environment, it
will sink back down and be:. Answer: Stable
◉ Destabilizing Processes. Answer: - Col air moving aloft
- Heat at the surface
- Warm air moving in at low levels
◉ Convective Instability. Answer: lifting a stable layer with a dry top
and moist surface
◉ 4 Ways to force air upward. Answer: 1. Convection
2. Lifting along topography
3. Convergence
4. Lifting along weather fronts
◉ Orographic uplift. Answer: Forced lifting along a topographic
barrier. Forms orographic clouds when lifting produces cooling and
air is humid.
, ◉ Rain Shadow. Answer: a region with dry conditions found on the
leeward side of a mountain range as a result of humid winds from
the ocean causing precipitation on the windward side
◉ Lenticular Cloud. Answer: an almond-shaped cloud usually seen
on windy days
◉ Rotor Cloud. Answer: A turbulent cumuliform type of cloud that
forms on the leeward side of large mountain ranges. The air in the
cloud rotates about an axis parallel to the range.
◉ Lifting Condensation Level (LCL). Answer: The level at which a
parcel of air, when lifted dry adiabatically, would become saturated.
LCL = 125(T-Td)
◉ Level of Free Convection (LFC). Answer: The altitude in the
atmosphere where the temperature of the environment is lower
than rising air parcel
◉ Equilibrium Level (EL). Answer: level above the LFC at which the
air will stop rising
