Chapter #15 Solutions - Essentials of Meteorology - C Donald Ahrens - 6th Edition

1qr. Why are cumulus clouds normally white? Get solution

1qt. Why is it often difficult to see the road while driving on a foggy night with your high beam lights on? Get solution

2qr. Why do the undersides of building cumulus clouds frequently change color from white to dark gray or even black? Get solution

2qt. Explain why the notion that “the sky is blue because of reflected light from the oceans” is false. Get solution

3qr. Explain why the sky is blue during the day and black at night. Get solution

3qt. Why does smoke rising from a cigarette appear blue, yet appears white when blown from the mouth? Get solution

4qr. What can make a setting (or rising) sun appear red? Get solution

4qt. If there were no atmosphere surrounding the earth, what color would the sky be at sunrise? At sunset? What color would the sun be at noon? At sunrise? At sunset? Get solution

5qr. If the earth had no atmosphere, what would be the color of the daytime sky? Get solution

5qt. Explain why, on a cloudless day, the sky will usually appear milky white before it rains and a deeper blue after it rains. Get solution

6qr. Explain why the horizon sky appears white on a hazy day. Get solution

6qt. Why are rainbows seldom observed at noon? Get solution

7qr. What process (refraction or scattering) produces crepuscular rays? Get solution

7qt. During the day, clouds are white and the sky is blue. Why then, during a full moon, do cumulus clouds appear faintly white, while the sky does not appear blue? Get solution

8qr. Why do stars “twinkle”? Get solution

8qt. During Ernest Shackleton’s last expedition to Antarctica, on May 8, 1915, seven days after the sun had set for the winter, he saw the sun reappear. Explain how this event—called the Novaya Zemlya effect—can occur. Get solution

9qr. How does refraction of light differ from reflection of light? Get solution

9qt. Choose a 3-day period in which to observe the sky 5 times each day. Record in a notebook the number of times you see halos, crepuscular rays, coronas, cloud iridescence, sundogs, rainbows, and other phenomena. Get solution

10qr. How long does twilight last on the moon? (Hint: The moon has no atmosphere.) Get solution

11qr. At what time of day would you expect to observe the green flash? Get solution

12qr. How does light bend as it enters a more-dense substance at an angle? How does it bend upon leaving the more-dense substance? Make a sketch to illustrate your answer. Get solution

13qr. On a clear, dry, warm day, why do dark road surfaces frequently appear wet? Get solution

14qr. What atmospheric conditions are necessary for an inferior mirage? A superior mirage? Get solution

15qr. (a) Describe how a halo forms. (b) How is the formation of a halo different from that of a sundog? Get solution

16qr. Would you expect to see a ringed halo if the sky contains a few wispy cirrus clouds? Explain. Get solution

17qr. What process is believed to be mainly responsible for the formation of sun pillars: refraction, reflection, or scattering? Get solution

18qr. Explain why this rhyme makes sense: Rainbow in the morning, joggers take warning. Rainbow at night (evening), jogger’s delight. Get solution

19qr. Why can a rainbow only be observed if the sun is at the observer’s back? Get solution

20qr. Why are secondary rainbows much dimmer than primary rainbows? Get solution

21qr. How would you distinguish a corona from a halo? Get solution

22qr. What process is primarily responsible for the formation of cloud iridescence—reflection, refraction, or diffraction of light? Get solution