City A is located at sea level and City B is located at 5430 feet above sea leve
ID: 112900 • Letter: C
Question
City A is located at sea level and City B is located at 5430 feet above sea level. Ignoring all other temperature controls, which city will have a warmer yearly average temperature? City A City B Average temperature is not dependent on the information provided in this question. a. b. c. . Which of the following is false? a. Water heats up and cools off faster than land. b. Warm ocean currents bring heat to colder regions c. The amount of incoming solar radiation received at the Earth's surface is dependent on the latitude of the location.Explanation / Answer
1) Short Ans: a. City A
Reason: In general the temperature decreases as you go up the altitude. Of course, it is very subjective. Temperature is dependant on many factors such as the latitude, shade, local land use, topography, inversion and so on. Since the question explicitly mentions to ignore all other temperature control, the answer is straightaway city A. If all other factors are ignored, then the temperature decreases at a rate of appr. 3.3 - 5.4o F for every 1000 feet or 6-10o C for every 1000m up you go. Therefore, if the city is at sea level, it will generally have warmer temperature than the city at 5430 feet above sea level.
2)
Ans: a
The water does not heat up or cools off faster than land. In general, the water absorbs less heat during sunshine and reflects more. In addition, the thermal coefficient of the water is much higher and hence will have a smaller increase in temperature. Also, the water can spread the heat to its depths more easily than the land. On the other hand, the land absorbs more heat due to its darker surface. Therefore, on a bright sunny day, the land heats up much faster than the water. Meanwhile, the land cools off faster than the water because of its darker color. Water can also store more heat as a reserve because of the high thermal coefficient and the warmer water comes up due to the density difference. Therefore, the water cools off much slower than the land.
The second and third options are true. The warm ocean current does bring the heat to colder regions. The earth is a sphere and not a plane and hence the solar radiation varies with latitude. Also, since the earth is axially tilted at an angle of 23.5o to the plane of its orbit revolving the sun, the incoming solar radiation varies with latitude and season. The tropical region receives a maximum of solar radiation followed by the temperate and polar regions receive the least.