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Weather and Climate Multiple Choice

Can you answer these multiple choice questions regarding weather and climate?
Quiz by WolfCam
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Last updated: May 3, 2020
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First submittedMarch 5, 2020
Times taken10,122
Average score62.5%
Rating4.17
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1. Is the atmospheric pressure inside a tropical storm higher or lower than normal?
Higher
Lower
2. What does the Enhanced Fujita scale measure?
Hurricanes
Snowfall
Tornadoes
Humidity
3. How much have sea levels risen since 1900?
No change has been detected
0.2 meters
2 meters
20 meters
4. Are tidal waves and tsunamis the same thing?
Yes
No
5. Which is NOT a layer of the atmosphere?
Stratosphere
Thermosphere
Troposphere
Lithosphere
6. What causes a whiteout?
Fog
Snow
Clouds
Wind
7. What are tropical cyclones called in East Asia?
Typhoons
Hurricanes
Haboobs
8. Which of these countries has the coldest average temperature?
United Kingdom
United States
Mongolia
Colombia
9. True or false: It has never exceeded 100°F (38°C) in Honolulu.
True
False
10. How many sides does a snowflake have?
4
6
8
12
11. How are the genders of hurricane names determined?
Alternating every storm
Alternating every year
Randomly
12. True or false: Hot air can hold more moisture than cold air.
True
False
13. Which type of cloud is generally highest in the atmosphere?
Stratus
Cumulus
Cirrus
14. Which direction do jet streams typically blow?
East to west
West to east
15. Which of these countries gets the most average rainfall?
Canada
Saudi Arabia
Indonesia
France
16. Which region of the earth has seen the largest increase in temperatures since 1900?
The polar regions
The temperate regions
The tropics
35 Comments
+4
Level 86
Apr 14, 2020
Wikipedia: "Rather than appearing as a breaking wave, a tsunami may instead initially resemble a rapidly rising tide. For this reason, it is often referred to as a tidal wave".
+6
Level 66
Apr 14, 2020
U.S Geological Survey: "a tsunami and a tidal wave are two different and unrelated phenomena"
+5
Level 80
Apr 14, 2020
Tidal wave = caused by the moon (tides). Comes twice per day. Tsunami = caused by underwater displacement of the ground.
+4
Level 90
Apr 14, 2020
What was always referred to as a tidal wave until recent years was indeed the sudden, rapid wave that flooded like a tide all at once. Tsunami (literally harbor wave) describes the same effect. They are noticeable when boxed into a harbor as opposed to open ocean. Nitpicking that they are not lunar tide really falls apart by using a name that restricts them to harbors.
+9
Level 76
Apr 14, 2020
They are often referred to as tidal waves, but it's wrong. By definition, tsunamis have absolutely nothing to do with tides.
+2
Level 90
Apr 21, 2020
Nor harbors (tsunami = harbor wave).
+8
Level 87
Apr 15, 2020
Gotta agree with cpgatbyu here. "Tidal wave" is an ambiguous term with multiple possible meanings, one of which is, indeed, "tsunami." It's kind of misleading to ask if they are "the same thing."
+1
Level 70
Apr 15, 2020
In physics (and thus arguably in science at all), the term "tide/tidal" is well-defined as a consequence of a gradient in a gravitational field. This universal definition holds for any object in the universe and is not just linked to the ocean tides on the Earth. Your source itself indicates that there is no ambiguity in the scientic terminology.
+1
Level 80
Mar 26, 2024
I mean I guess it comes down to how strict you stay to the scientific terminology. In the spirit of trivia you probably do, but it does make it an awkward question when in normal speech they're often the same thing
+3
Level 87
Apr 15, 2020
I thought "tidal wave" was the equivalent of our French "Raz-de-marée", but I was probably wrong...
+6
Level 76
Apr 17, 2020
Tidal waves and tsunamis can be used synonymously. I disagree with the "false" answer here. From Wikipedia: ""Tidal wave" may refer to a tsunami, a series of water waves in a body of water caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, although this usage of 'tidal wave' is not favored by the scientific community."
+5
Level 74
May 3, 2020
If I see someone standing on a beach and they shout, "There's a tidal wave coming!", I'm not going to stand there and see whether it's a harbor wave, a moon-controlled twice-daily tide, or a deadly wall of water coming. I'm going to immediately run to higher ground. Regardless of whether it's correct or not, people associate tidal waves with tsunamis. FWIW, it seems like an unintentional trick question to me, and yes I got it wrong.
+1
Level 73
Apr 17, 2020
Both AK and HI have the same record high temp (100).

https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/extremes/scec/records

+1
Level 75
Apr 26, 2020
Jet stream direction is a function of latitude. From 0 to 30 degrees, and 60 to 90 degrees (north or south) they flow east to west. Between 30 and 60 degrees they flow west to east.

A combination of atmospheric convection and the earth's rotation creates these zones, called "Hadley cells". The same phenomenon can be observed much more spectacularly on Jupiter.

+1
Level ∞
Apr 26, 2020
I checked this before featuring the quiz and I checked again just now. Here's what Wikipedia says:

Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow, meandering air currents in the atmospheres of some planets, including Earth.[1] On Earth, the main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds (flowing west to east)
+6
Level 64
May 2, 2020
The genders of hurricane names alternate with every storm, but the progression also alternates with every year, so that a male name kicks it off in even years and a female name starts it in odd years. For Atlantic storms, the first one of 2020 is Arthur; in 2019 it was Andrea. I paused before selecting the correct answer, knowing both were (sort of) true.
+2
Level 67
May 3, 2020
Forgive me for being a novice in this area, but I read that in the last 16 years, enough ice caps in Greenland have melted to fill Lake Michigan. So I thought that means in the last 120 years, sea levels would have risen a significant amount. Figured 20m seemed unrealistic but was still surprised to see it at 0.2m. So I guess I’m just wondering how ice caps melting really translate to rising sea levels.
+3
Level 78
May 3, 2020
+6
Level ∞
May 3, 2020
The biggest fallacy when it comes to climate change is overestimating the short term damage and underestimating the long term damage.
+2
Level 82
Aug 26, 2020
I like that. Is it one of your own, or learned from someone wise?
+3
Level 84
Nov 30, 2023
The oceans are quite a big larger than Lake Michigan.
+6
Level 77
May 3, 2020
Can we have explanations for more of the questions once the quiz is finished? For instance, question 4 could really use an explanation of why they aren't the same
+1
Level 77
May 3, 2020
Good quiz, question 9 should be 'exceeded'
+2
Level ∞
May 3, 2020
Fixed
+1
Level 74
May 3, 2020
I overthought the clue about country with coldest average temperature. I immediately thought of the correct answer first, then I thought maybe it was too easy, and perhaps that country had warm summer temperatures which would bring down the average so I went with one of the others which I thought had less extreme temperatures, and of course, got it wrong.
+1
Level 65
May 3, 2020
About the 9th question, I have experienced first hand that it has indeed gone over 100 degrees fahrenheit multiple times. Granted, I haven't seen it be that high for a while now, but it previously has in the years. I have lived in Hawaii for more than a decade already.
+1
Level 58
May 3, 2020
so are you saying that a snowfall with no wind at all , there CAN BE ? a whiteout ? otherwise wind IS the cause
+1
Level 43
May 3, 2020
How is it possible that it hasn't been over 100 degrees in the southernmost state? I live in Chicago and I remember it getting up to 109 about 9 summers ago.
+2
Level 74
May 4, 2020
Hawaii being a group of small islands are entirely influenced by the ocean temperature. The pacific ocean does not get much above 85 degrees. Chicago is inland thus any modification by the sea is little. Lake Michigan is large and modifies the climate somewhat but not enough to keep temperatures below 100.
+1
Level 24
Nov 7, 2020
zanguini is right. The climate of Hawaii (or, let's just say Honolulu here since it's at sea level) is incredibly thermally stable, as almost all tropical climates are. It's been way hotter than Hawaii up where my family lives in Minnesota, but also way colder. Hawaii sticks in the middle, and is never that hot or that cold (at sea level), relatively. Hence why people say it's always nice. Personally I like the seasons, but different strokes for different blokes.
+2
Level 36
May 4, 2020
Technically the snowflake question should ask "What is the minimum angle of rotational symmetry of a snowflake?" and the answer should be 60 deg. Nice quiz though. 15/16, missed the sea level rise question
+1
Level 55
May 10, 2020
Hot air does not "hold" more moisture than cold air.

https://www.e-education.psu.edu/meteo3/node/2223

https://www.weathernationtv.com/news/myth-warm-air-holds-more-water-than-cooler-air-2/

+2
Level ∞
May 10, 2020
I read the PSU link. Without more time, I'm not sure I can understand the point they are trying to make. But first, let's read the question again. "Hot air can hold more moisture than cold air.". That's the word that you missed. I believe that the question is still correct. If there are any experts out there, please chime in.
+1
Level 74
Sep 1, 2021
Lots of arguments here from people who presumably answered those questions wrong
+2
Level 71
Jun 20, 2022
Good and instructive quiz despite some approximations.

Adding some explanations would be appreciated, like for question 4, or precisions concerning the temperature in Honolulu and average rainfall.