Chapter 6 – Stability and Cloud Development
1. An adiabatic process is one in which:
A. Temperature remains constant
B. Moisture content remains constant
C. No heat is exchanged with the surrounding environment
D. Pressure remains constant
E. Condensation always occurs
2. Why is the moist adiabatic lapse rate smaller than the dry
adiabatic lapse rate?
A. Moist air is denser than dry air
B. Condensation releases latent heat
C. Water vapor absorbs all incoming radiation
D. Pressure decreases more slowly
E. Clouds block solar energy
3. Under what condition would the moist adiabatic lapse rate be
nearly equal to the dry adiabatic lapse rate?
A. Very warm saturated air
B. Extremely cold saturated air
C. Air at sea level
D. Air with high humidity
E. Air within cumulonimbus clouds
4. The environmental lapse rate refers to:
A. The rate at which rising dry air cools
B. The actual rate of temperature change with height in the atmosphere
C. The moist adiabatic lapse rate
D. The dry adiabatic lapse rate
E. The rate of pressure decrease with altitude
5. How is the environmental lapse rate normally determined?
A. By satellite photographs only
B. By rainfall measurements
C. By radiosonde observations
D. By wind speed measurements
E. By cloud cover estimates
6. A stable atmosphere is one in which:
A. Rising air tends to continue rising
B. Vertical motions are enhanced
C. Displaced air tends to return to its original position
D. Cumulonimbus clouds form easily
E. Temperature decreases rapidly with height
7. Which cloud type is most commonly associated with a stable
atmosphere?
A. Cumulonimbus
B. Towering cumulus
C. Altocumulus castellanus
D. Stratus
E. Cumulus congestus
8. Which process can make a stable atmosphere unstable?
A. Cooling the surface
B. Warming the upper atmosphere
C. Subsidence warming aloft
D. Formation of an inversion
E. Radiative cooling at cloud tops only
9. A conditionally unstable atmosphere becomes unstable when:
A. Air becomes unsaturated
B. Air reaches saturation and continues rising
C. Surface pressure increases
D. Winds weaken
E. Relative humidity decreases
10. Why are cumulus clouds often absent over cool water
surfaces?
A. Cool water promotes strong convection
B. Cool water suppresses surface heating and thermals
C. Moisture is unavailable
D. Pressure is too low
E. Wind speeds are too high
11. Why are fair-weather cumulus clouds more common during
the afternoon?
A. Relative humidity is highest then
B. Surface heating is strongest, producing thermals
C. Winds are calmest then
D. Pressure reaches a maximum
E. Solar radiation is weakest
12. Why is a temperature inversion considered absolutely stable?
A. Temperature decreases rapidly with height
B. Rising air becomes warmer than its surroundings
C. Temperature increases with height, strongly suppressing vertical motion
D. Condensation cannot occur
E. Wind speeds become zero
13. Lifting an entire layer of air generally:
A. Makes it more stable
B. Makes it less stable because the layer cools and steepens the lapse
rate
C. Eliminates humidity
D. Produces an inversion
E. Changes neither stability nor temperature
14. Which process tends to make an unstable atmosphere more
stable?
A. Surface heating
B. Cooling the upper atmosphere
C. Subsidence warming aloft
D. Cold air advection at low levels
E. Increasing solar radiation
15. Why do cumulonimbus clouds often have flat, anvil-shaped
tops?
A. Rainfall erodes the cloud top
B. The cloud reaches a stable layer near the tropopause
C. Winds remove moisture at low levels
D. Condensation stops completely
E. Pressure increases rapidly
16. Why are there often large blue-sky gaps between fair-weather
cumulus clouds?
A. Air is rising everywhere
B. Rising air is concentrated in thermals, while surrounding air sinks
C. Clouds absorb all moisture nearby
D. Wind removes clouds instantly
E. The atmosphere is saturated everywhere
17. Which of the following is NOT a primary cloud-forming lifting
mechanism?
A. Convection
B. Orographic lifting
C. Frontal lifting
D. Convergence
E. Conduction
18. Lenticular clouds are most likely found:
A. Over warm oceans
B. Within thunderstorms
C. On the leeward side of mountains in standing waves
D. Beneath radiation fog
E. Along cold fronts only
19. Why do rain shadows develop on the leeward side of
mountains?
A. Descending air warms and dries
B. Air rises more rapidly on the leeward side
C. Condensation increases during descent
D. Relative humidity increases continuously
E. Wind speeds become zero
20. Stratocumulus clouds formed by mixing are most likely when:
A. A stable layer exists with moisture trapped below it
B. Strong thunderstorms occur
C. Air is extremely dry
D. An inversion is absent
E. Air is rising rapidly through the troposphere
Kunci Jawaban
No. Ans No. Ans
1 C 11 B
2 B 12 C
3 B 13 B
4 B 14 C
5 C 15 B
6 C 16 B
7 D 17 E
8 A 18 C
9 B 19 A
10 B 20 A