Chapter Twelve

4. Answer: c. A tropical storm is defined as an area of winds and circulation in the tropics with sustained winds of at least 39 miles per hour.

5. Answer: b. Any hurricane of category 3 or more is considered a major hurricane.

6. Answer: c. The category 5 hurricane must reach winds of at least 157 miles per hour in order to be given this category.

7. Answer: d. In the Caribbean, storms were originally named according to which Roman Catholic saint was associated with the day the storm first developed.

8. Answer: c. In terms of dollars lost, the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 would have cost $178 billion dollars if it happened today.

9. Answer: b. Hurricanes and other tropical cyclones originate within about five degrees latitude of the equator but then intensify above this level along the ocean surface.

10. Answer: d. You need to remember that these are non-frontal systems that originate over disturbed warm air that rises and begins to circulate, creating the low-pressure system in the middle.

CHAPTER TWELVE

1. Answer: c. Each of these will affect the ocean currents, except for precipitation patterns, which will not greatly affect the ocean currents at all.

2. Answer: d. The salinity of the oceans is higher near the poles. This polar water is cold, drops to the floor and makes its way downward in the deep oceans toward the equator.

3. Answer: d. When the earth's tilt is less pronounced, our seasons are less extreme and the earth's climate cools, favoring glaciation. We are currently on a pattern toward this phenomenon.