hi, i have a final coming up in enviro 1A03 and i was wondering if any one could give me any tips as to what i can expect and if any one has past sample exams, can i get a hold of them.
thanks,
paras

yeah i am also curious to hear what people who have taken it in the past have to say about the exam

it was easy. i think there were 6 long answer questions (most of them involved drawing diagrams). I think he asked to draw the diagram of storm formation (6 stages i m assuming) in 1 of the question. I think other question involved drawing headly cells, ferrel cells and those stuff. then there were 5 question from the 2 questions that he gives at the end of every lecture. as far as I remember, 1 of those question was from hurricane chapter, but they were the same questions from lecture. And finally some mcqs and they were also easy. Overall the exam was easy, it was scheduled for 3 hrs but most of the people finished in 2 hrs. Dont miss his review lecture, as he gives some important hints.

thanks soo much!
also do you remember if the multiple choice were more similar to the midterm or to the online quizzes??

Originally Posted by jamiebenyovi

thanks soo much!
also do you remember if the multiple choice were more similar to the midterm or to the online quizzes??

I think it was combination of both. majority were direct testing. others were some random facts that he mentioned in lecture

is there any way i can get my hands on a sample exam or something?

For the random questions, try to have a minimal understanding of the basic geography (i.e where countries are located or which country/continent will be most affected by certain phenomenons etc.)

Originally Posted by karna

I think it was combination of both. majority were direct testing. others were some random facts that he mentioned in lecture

Originally Posted by paras

is there any way i can get my hands on a sample exam or something?

I think the only way u started this thread is to try to get some old tests .... just study boy !

nop we didnt get final exams back

Originally Posted by L'Étoile

I think the only way u started this thread is to try to get some old tests .... just study boy !

and what is wrong with that..im gonna study off of them too..for practice. cuz all the test i do in engineering im always given a sample exam.

Originally Posted by karna

it was easy. i think there were 6 long answer questions (most of them involved drawing diagrams). I think he asked to draw the diagram of storm formation (6 stages i m assuming) in 1 of the question. I think other question involved drawing headly cells, ferrel cells and those stuff. then there were 5 question from the 2 questions that he gives at the end of every lecture. as far as I remember, 1 of those question was from hurricane chapter, but they were the same questions from lecture. And finally some mcqs and they were also easy. Overall the exam was easy, it was scheduled for 3 hrs but most of the people finished in 2 hrs. Dont miss his review lecture, as he gives some important hints.

when you say drawing the hadley and ferrell cells, what do you mean by that? Is it like showing the Earth and what latitudes they occur at??

can someone tell me which questions are on the exam , these are then end lecture questions
Lecture 2
1. According to Environment Canada, what was the top weather story of 2010?
Environment Canada’s top story for 2010: unseasonable heat during Vancouver 2010 Olympics
2. What climate-change processes might you expect to witness during your lifetime? Which ones do you think take too long for you to experience?
Climate-change experienced in our lifetime: seasonal warming, increased precipitation
Climate-change that would take too long to experience in our lifetime: full change of global warming

Lecture 3
1. The thermosphere has extremely high temperature, but a person exposed to it would rapidly freeze. Explain this apparent contradiction.
2. Does the equivalent of Northern Lights occur in the southern hemisphere?

Lecture 4
1. Pressurized cans of shaving cream advise users not to expose the product to excessive heat. What might happen if the advice is not followed? Will this potential problem remain throughout the life of the product?
2. A standard pressure of 1013.2 mb is also known as one atmosphere (1ATM). Look at the next figure and determine at approximately what levels you would record a pressure of 0.5 ATM and 0.1 ATM.









1013.2 x 0.5 = 506 mb
1013.2 x 0.1 = 101 mb

Lecture 5
1. Would you expect both the Northern and Southern hemispheres to have the same average albedo? What factors might cause the two hemispheres to reflect different percentages of insolation back to space?
2. Which would have the greatest effect on Earth’s greenhouse effect: removing all the CO2 from the atmosphere or removing all the water vapour? Explain why you chose your answer.

Lecture 6
1. Suppose that the Earth’s axis were tilted at 40o to the plane of the ecliptic, instead of 23.5o. How would the seasons change in Hamilton? What would be the global effect of the change?
Summers would be very hot and the angle would bring Hamilton closer to the sun and visa versa in winter. Overall the global climate wouldn’t change too much, at the summer solstice we would be far closer to the sun.
2. An orchard farmer hears a weather forecast for overnight low temperatures to hover just above freezing point of 0oC, but with ting chill temperatures expected to drop significantly lower. Will the wind chill increase the possibility of frost damage? Why or why not?
He should be concerned because air is a good insulator and it might damage the food. If the temperature remains above 0 it depends on the wind chill to damage the crops.
 
Lecture 7
1. How can clothes dry outside in subfreezing weather? What’s taking place?
Water vapour content of air is relatively low. There will be a tendency to reach an equilibrium. Water will vapourize from the clothes, matching the moisture in the atmosphere.
2. A crowded classroom is filled with students. In what was does the presence of students affect the dew point of humidity in the room?
Extra students would lead to increasing the overall temperature; temperature would increase therefore humidity would increase as a result.

Lecture 8
1. What time of year will unstable conditions be most common over the continental United States and Canada?
During the summer because the Sun’s rays are warming the Earth’s surface and therefore creates a greater difference in temperature for the ground and air in the atmosphere.
2. Is the stability of the air more likely to change rapidly near the surface or aloft? At what time of day are major changes in the ELR most likely?
More likely to change more rapidly near the ground because the ground absorbs solar radiation. Ground surface would have a lower heat capacity therefore the time it would take for ground surfaces to react would be much shorter than the air aloft. Happening in the mid-afternoon because the greatest amount of solar radiation is during this time.

Lecture 9

Lecture 10
1. How might a warming of the atmosphere change how rainfall forms in the middle latitudes?
Rain and sleet instead of snow; ice crystals formed high, start as snow and melt with warmer surface; higher capacity for water
2. Why is warm, tropical cumulus could more likely to produce precipitation that a cold, stratus cloud?
Clouds are higher; more moisture content from warmth

Lecture 11
1. In general, rivers freeze over later and clear earlier than lakes in the same area. What is the cause of this?
Rivers freeze later and thaw earlier because of fast flowing water
2. Both the Arctic and Canadian Prairies have a relatively low snow cover. Is the cause the same for both regions?
Arctic has less humidity, therefore low moisture content. Prairies don’t have close significant water source, water from Pacific used in orographic uplift with Rockies.

Lecture 12
1. During a storm event, how does interflow differ from overland flow?
Interflow takes longer to move water, overland flow quicker because over land
2. What is the difference between a 100-year flood and 500-year flood?
Probability for flood in a certain area, 500=0.2% chance of a flood meaning there is a large discharge because risk of flood is low

Lecture 13
1. What effect does a large ST have on a location as compared with another location that has the same P and PE totals but a lower ST?
Large water retention; large biological diversity; lower ST = higher deficit
2. How do impervious surfaces such as parking lots impact the water balance terms?
Not as much natural retention because concrete blocks absorbtion

Lecture 14
1. “High to low, look out below”. In terms of upper-level temperature and pressure, explain what this can mean.
Warm – cold air; lower pressure = less air to push plane up
2. The pilot of a small plane wants to fly at constant height above the ground. Can the pilot fly at a constant pressure level to achieve this? Why or why not?
Depends on destination; when there is very little shift in temperature and altitude this would work. Over long distances where there are significant changes in altitude and temperature this would not work.

Lecture 15
1. Why are surface winds that blow over the ocean closer to being geostrophic than those that blow over land?
In summer there is more heat over land. Much less friction over oceans; no mountains to obstruct air flow.
2. Why is that, on the equator, winds may blow either clockwise or counterclockwise with respect to an area of low pressure?
Very weak to no Coriolis forces affecting the air at Equator.

Lecture 16
1. Which of the belts depicted in the three-cell model is likely to exhibit the greatest temperature gradients?
Hedley, Ferrel and Polar
2. What effect would continents have on the circulation of air in the one-cell model?
Friction is created and you have potential for differences in high and low pressure between the continents and the oceans.

Lecture 17
1. Why do ocean surface temperature patterns change slowly when compared to atmospheric patterns?
Water’s high heat capacity
2. The Coriolis Force deflects moving water to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. Why then does upwelling tend to occur along the western margins of continents in both hemispheres?
Currents encounter land along this margin; to do with current direction

Lecture 18
1. Continental polar air masses can migrate into Florida during the winter but not into northern India. Why not?
Mountains (Himilayas) run E/W in India; blocking polar masses.
2. Warm fronts are extremely rare over southern California. Why?
Latitude; warm body of water (Pacific) beside them; surrounded by desert cold continental air masses don’t make it there

Lecture 19
1. Why can’t systems similar to mid-latitude cyclones develop over the tropics?
Lack of Polar front
2. Are Rossby waves likely to have greater representation in the Southern Hemisphere or the Northern Hemisphere? Why?
Northern hemisphere since there is more land and therefore warm air; no mixture of warm and cold fronts; topography to get wavelike patterns.

Lecture 20
1. Why is the incidence of thunderstorms much lower near the Pacific Coast than at the Atlantic Coast?
Gulf/jet stream brings in moisture and additional heat into the area. Winds from west to east
Lecture 21
1. If two hurricanes pass just to the west of Cuba over a 2-week period, what reasons might one have for expecting the second one to be weaker than the first one?
Air is not as moist and warm as the first hurricane, resulting in lower convection uplift. Gulf stream takes heat and moisture away; hurricane take energy away from ocean. More mixing of ocean water layers, lower temperature/energy.

Lecture 22
1. Why is there a contrast in climate types on either side of the Rocky Mountains, but not on either side of the Appalachian Mountains?
Appalachian Mountains are not as high as the Rockies so there is no orographic process; also not as close to water as Rockies are.

Lecture 23
1. Caribou migrate over 1000km between their summering and wintering ranges. Consider the picture below, which was taken in November. In which directed are they headed? What does the distance they travel tell you about the seasonal shifts over the tundra?
They are going south. The seasonal shifts over tundra are minimal otherwise the Caribou would not have to travel so far away. South is unhabitatable, need food, increased snow cover = cover lichens, northern boreal forest = protects them from wind.



Lecture 24

Lecture 25

Lecture 26

Why would anyone tell you that? Study like we had to.

Originally Posted by Reda

can someone tell me which questions are on the exam , these are then end lecture questions

I don't think that he said which ones are on the exam. But I am pretty sure if you understand the reasoning of the answers, than you are pretty good for the general ideas of each lecture.

Originally Posted by jamiebenyovi

when you say drawing the hadley and ferrell cells, what do you mean by that? Is it like showing the Earth and what latitudes they occur at??

ya something like that