Heating and cooling of the atmosphere

Correct answer: B. They absorb longwave radiation

These gases absorb terrestrial radiation emitted by Earth. Exam tip: consider them examples of greenhouse gases.

Correct answer: A. Water vapour and clouds are low there

Low moisture allows strong daytime heating and rapid night heat loss. Exam tip: link desert range with dryness.

Correct answer: A. They absorb heat by day and release it slowly at night

Direct answer: Option A, they absorb heat by day and release it slowly at night. Dark asphalt and other urban materials generally have lower albedo than bright surfaces, so they absorb a larger share of solar energy during the day. They also store heat and release it gradually after sunset. Buildings, paved roads, limited vegetation and waste heat can keep cities warmer than nearby rural areas; this is called the urban heat island effect. Option A is correct because it gives the relevant day-to-night heat-storage chain. Option B is impossible: urban surfaces cannot create the Sun at night. Option C is wrong because they do not reduce air pressure to zero; normal pressure remains. Option D is wrong because dark surfaces do not permanently stop rainfall, although urban form can influence local runoff and heat. ‘Concrete’ can vary in reflectivity, but the general exam principle is that dark, heat-storing surfaces intensify nighttime warmth. Memory cue: dark city surface = daytime storage, nighttime release.

Correct answer: A. Evapotranspiration

Evapotranspiration uses heat and cools surroundings. Exam tip: consider vegetation a local cooling factor.

Correct answer: B. Less heating due to greater reflection

Direct answer: Option B, less heating due to greater reflection. Albedo is the proportion of incoming solar energy reflected by a surface. A high-albedo surface sends more sunlight back and absorbs less energy, so its temperature generally rises less than that of a similar low-albedo surface. Option A is the opposite of the correct relationship: greater absorption, not greater reflection, produces more heating. Option B is correct because it connects high reflection with low absorption and less warming. Option C is too absolute and false: high albedo does not mean that no radiation reaches the surface; it means a larger fraction is reflected. Option D is false because temperature does not always double; it depends on energy balance, material, moisture, wind and other conditions. Snow and ice commonly have high albedo, while dark asphalt usually has lower albedo. Memory cue: albedo up, absorption and heating generally down.

Correct answer: A. Air pressure is lower at height

Air expands under lower pressure and its temperature falls. Exam tip: link cooling of rising air with expansion.

Correct answer: A. Increase in pressure

Pressure increases downward and air warms by compression. Exam tip: connect descending air with compressional heating.

Correct answer: A. Convection is vertical and advection is horizontal heat transfer

Convection is linked with up-down motion and advection with horizontal motion. Exam tip: identify both by direction.

Correct answer: A. To understand Earth's thermal balance

Heat balance shows how Earth gains and loses energy. Exam tip: treat it as the basis of energy budget.

Correct answer: A. Cooling will decrease

Clouds and water vapour trap terrestrial radiation and reduce heat loss. Exam tip: humid cloudy nights stay relatively warmer.

Correct answer: A. Evaporation in wet soil uses heat

The direct answer is A, because evaporation in wet soil uses heat. On a hot day, solar energy reaches both dry and wet surfaces. Water in wet soil changes into vapour; this phase change requires latent heat, which is taken from the soil and nearby surface. Consequently, evaporation produces cooling and the wet soil may become less hot or heat more slowly than dry soil. Option A is correct because it states this energy transfer. Option B is wrong because sunlight can reach dry soil; dryness does not block the Sun. Option C is wrong because wet soil certainly contains heat and has a measurable temperature. Option D is wrong because dry soil is not always icy; it may become very hot in sunlight. The exact result can also depend on soil colour, texture, wind and sunlight, but evaporation is the key school-level reason. Memory cue: wet surface plus evaporation means heat is spent and cooling increases.

Correct answer: A. Advection

Advection is the horizontal movement of air from one place to another. When a wind carries colder air into a region, the temperature there can fall even if the ground has not lost heat mainly through local radiation. This process is especially relevant to the arrival of cold or warm air masses and to changes in temperature caused by air movement. It differs from convection, which is mainly vertical movement of air.

Option A, advection, is correct because the question specifically describes cold air arriving by wind. Conduction transfers heat through direct contact, radiation transfers energy through electromagnetic waves, and condensation is the change of water vapour into liquid water. None of those choices names the horizontal transport of a cold air mass. The clue to remember is “air carried sideways by wind,” which indicates advection.

Correct answer: A. Air mixing is weak and radiational cooling is stronger

In calm air cold air can remain near the ground. Exam tip: link calm nights with inversion and frost.

Correct answer: A. Heating of slopes makes nearby air lighter

Direct answer: Option A, heating of slopes makes nearby air lighter. During the day, mountain slopes receive solar energy and can become warmer than the air at the same height away from the slope. The air touching the warm slope is heated, expands and becomes less dense. Gravity and pressure differences then allow this warm air to move upslope, producing a daytime anabatic or valley-slope wind. Option A is correct. Option B is wrong because the Moon is not the normal cause of this daytime local wind. Option C is too absolute and incorrect: snow does not always push air upward, and snow can actually cool nearby air. Option D is impossible; a sea does not change into a mountain. The exact wind also depends on slope direction, season, cloud and background winds, but the basic school-level chain is slope heating, air expansion, lower density and upward movement. Memory cue: daytime heated slope sends warm air upslope.

Correct answer: A. Slopes cool by radiational cooling

At night cold dense air on slopes flows downward. Exam tip: link it with mountain local winds.

Correct answer: A. Solar radiation reaching the surface may decrease

Dust and smoke increase scattering and absorption of radiation. Exam tip: treat pollution as a factor reducing surface heating.

Correct answer: A. Air reaches near saturation and water vapour condenses

When the surface cools, water vapour in nearby air can condense. Exam tip: link dew with night cooling.

Correct answer: A. Frost forms near freezing point while dew forms as liquid droplets

Frost can form as icy crystals at very low temperature. Exam tip: link both with night cooling.

Correct answer: A. Dry clear sky with few clouds

In dry clear conditions both daytime heating and nighttime heat loss are high. Exam tip: link daily range with humidity and clouds.

Correct answer: A. It may be low

Clouds reduce night heat loss and haze reduces daytime heating. Exam tip: both can lower temperature range together.

Correct answer: A. Absorption and reflection

Dark surfaces absorb more and light surfaces reflect more. Exam tip: connect colour with albedo.

Correct answer: A. It can occur without a medium

Radiation can occur in a vacuum, so solar energy reaches Earth. Exam tip: distinguish it from other processes.

Correct answer: A. Air is a poor conductor of heat

Conduction is slow in air, so convection becomes more effective. Exam tip: remember convection for vertical heat transfer in the atmosphere.

Correct answer: A. Strong unequal heating of the surface

Unequal heating makes warm air rise and cool air sink. Exam tip: link convection with instability.

Correct answer: A. It sends heat outward and causes energy loss

The surface and atmosphere lose heat through longwave radiation. Exam tip: connect cooling with energy loss.