Watershed Management 1 (WSHD1) Practice Test

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• Air traveling toward the equator curves in which direction?
• Which option best describes the factors influencing interception by trees addressing both amount and timing?
• Which source adds water to Earth via space materials such as micrometeorites?
• What best defines a biome?
• Due to curved motions, hurricanes spin. In the Northern Hemisphere, hurricanes rotate in which direction?
• Air traveling away from the equator curves in which direction?
• The dominant resisting force in saturated soil is
• Which formula correctly defines SWE?
• Darcy's law is most valid under which combination of conditions?
• How does sleet form?
• Climate cycles are driven by which factors?
• Relative Humidity is defined as
• Which type of precipitation forms when snowflakes melt into rain and refreeze before reaching the ground?
• Which of the following are impacts associated with climate cycle drivers?
• Which term describes the circulation cell near the equator?
• Condensation varies with which factor?
• Which statement about condensation is true?
• What is the primary mechanism by which cattle grazing on rangelands reduces soil infiltration?
• How do hailstones form?
• Tube gauges for snow measurement are described as which of the following?
• Which factor is a driver of evaporation?
• Which statement about condensation and clouds is most accurate?
• Field capacity is primarily associated with water held in which pore size range?
• Which statement best describes the relationship between hydraulic head and flow in saturated soils?
• El Niño is associated with heavy rainfall in which region?
• What happens during condensation?
• La Niña is characterized by which of the following?
• Addition and subtraction of water on Earth is described as which of the following?
• Which property describes the ease of water movement through a material, given pore connectivity?
• Which precipitation averaging method considers actual terrain and measured rainfall distribution?
• Which soil feature most strongly retains water at field capacity?
• Changes between saturated and unsaturated flow in soil occur during what?
• Which statement best describes when precipitation occurs?
• What is elevation head?
• What term describes the soil water content after gravity-driven drainage has occurred?
• What is stemflow?
• Which of the following is NOT a dominant process in the hydrologic cycle?
• Sheetflow usually occurs in which terrain?
• Which statement correctly describes condensation when the air cools past the dew point?
• The Coriolis effect results from latitudes on Earth spinning at different speeds due to the Earth's diameter decreasing with distance moving both north and south away from the equator.
• The cycle of precipitation described is driven by which atmospheric process?
• The retention properties of soils include their slope, texture, structure, organic content, and erodibility. True or false?
• Why do clays and silts release water slowly?
• Compute the snow water equivalent (SWE) for a snowpack depth of 3.0 m, using a circular sampling cylinder with an inside diameter of 11 cm, cylinder mass 0.50 kg, and total weight of snow plus cylinder 2.3 kg. Give the SWE to the hundredth place.
• In a canopy interception water balance, throughfall equals precipitation minus interception minus stemflow. If interception is 1.2, precipitation is 3.1, and stemflow is 1.0, what is the throughfall to the tenth place?
• How is weather defined?
• Water not accessible to humans or ecosystems is subtracted from the total volume available. Which option best describes this concept?
• In snow measurement, which method uses remote sensing deployed from above to measure snow?
• The Coriolis effect results from latitudes spinning at different speeds because the Earth's diameter changes with latitude.
• What is the main advantage of Dual Polarization Radar?
• What term describes the horizontal movement of air due to pressure differences that helps transport storms around the globe?
• If rainfall surpasses the soil's infiltration capacity, which is most likely to occur?
• What best describes loams in terms of composition and water retention characteristics?
• Which of the following is a major biome listed?
• What term describes water in soil that is held so tightly that plants cannot use it?
• Calculate S (stemflow) given I = 1.2 inches, T = 2.3 inches, and P = 4 inches.
• Which characteristic does Hazen method address in small data sets?
• Which of the following is a component of global wind patterns?
• What can occur if soil becomes sufficiently dry?
• Which condition leads to the formation of a self-sustaining channel that erodes deep enough to reach groundwater, allowing water to remain for some or all of the year?
• Surface runoff occurs when?
• Condensation can form what?
• Which expression correctly gives the area of a circle with radius r?
• Volcanism contributes water to the atmosphere in the form of which?
• Which type of soil water is water that remains tightly bound to soil particles and is not readily available to plants?
• The sampling cylinder has an inside diameter of 11 cm. What is its radius in meters?
• La Niña is associated with stronger nutrient upwelling.
• What is evaporation?
• Which factors influence evaporation?
• Which technology combines active and passive sensors to measure precipitation from space?
• Which of the following is NOT a method to average precipitation?
• Evaporation can occur from which surfaces?
• What is GPM?
• How does rain form?
• What best defines precipitation?
• Which factors influence the fall rate of raindrops?
• Which statement best describes permeability?
• Latent heat release during condensation causes the warm air to do what?
• Which statement best describes the hydrologic cycle?
• Which option correctly lists the Darcy's Law assumptions about soils, fluid, ground, and groundwater flow?
• What do capillary forces do in unsaturated soils?
• Which factor is a determinant of interception by trees?
• True or False: Larger raindrops fall faster than smaller ones under the same conditions.
• Water is added to Earth primarily by which sources?
• Which of the following is NOT one of the three primary factors responsible for the general distribution of precipitation in North America?
• Hadley and Ferrel cells are driven by atmospheric convection.
• What is NEXRAD primarily used for?
• Which statement best explains the cause of glacier retreat?
• What does isotropic mean in the context of Darcy's law?
• In precipitation distribution, what does orographic mean?
• The snow water equivalent (SWE) depth for the provided snow sample is approximately what value in meters?
• What happens to soil water after rainfall if drainage occurs under gravity?
• Which statement is an assumption about the fluid in Darcy's Law?
• Which sequence leads to rain from condensation?
• Another assumption of Darcy's law about the fluid.
• Which process primarily causes a soil to reach field capacity after rainfall?
• Precipitation occurs when?
• The weight of a sphere increases with?
• Which method prevents zero or 100% probability predictions and is more reliable for small data sets?
• What is done with the relative proportions of the watershed covered by each polygon?
• Interception of rainfall by plants affects infiltration and delivery to soils in which way?
• Where are Hadley cells located on Earth?
• What happens to pressure head as soil dries?
• In the return interval equation t = 1/P = (n+1)/m, what does m represent?
• Which statement best describes the neutral phase of the climate cycle?
• What is defined as the difference between field capacity and wilting point?
• In a canopy interception water balance, throughfall is calculated as TF = P - I - SF. If I = 1.2, P = 3.1, and SF = 1.0, what is TF (to the tenth place)?
• Which of the following is a typical low point of drainage for water in unsaturated soils?
• Higher wind speeds _____ evaporation at a given air temperature and humidity.
• In glaciology, which processes contribute to ablation (ice loss)?
• How is the relative proportion of the watershed covered by each delineated area calculated in an Isohyetal?
• Which property describes how easily water moves through a medium?
• Which statement best defines permeability?
• Which set of components is typically included in canopy interception water balance?
• Which factors primarily determine how much water soil can hold at field capacity?
• Condensation varies with which factors?
• How are areas of the zones in an Isohyetal determined?
• Which statement best describes field capacity?
• Water is removed from surface processes by which mechanism?
• Which statement is an assumption about groundwater flow in Darcy's Law?
• Which statement best defines porosity?
• Where are Ferrel cells located on Earth?
• Which method explicitly considers terrain and measured rainfall distribution?
• Which instrument continuously records data by weighing collected water and converts to depth using water density?
• Which statement best describes snow formation?
• Which rainfall measurement device uses two small buckets that tip to dump into a collector bucket?
• What is created after identifying midpoints in the Thiessen method?
• If a soil has a field capacity of 0.25 m3/m3 and a wilting point of 0.12 m3/m3, what is the available water capacity?
• What is a disadvantage of the Thiessen Polygon method for averaging precipitation?
• What drives the process of evaporation?
• Which of the following is a direct phase change associated with the hydrologic cycle?
• Compute the SWE for the snowpack with a depth of 2.0 m and a cylinder of 11 cm diameter weighing 1.5 kg (including the cylinder).
• What is the final step in estimating rainfall for the whole watershed using the Thiessen method?
• Which statement is an assumption about the ground in Darcy's Law?
• Sheetflow is limited to even, low sloped terrain. True or false?
• Which statement about transpiration is true?
• Elevation head is the potential energy due to height above a chosen datum. Elevation head is defined as?
• Which term describes water reaching the ground after canopy processes?
• How is climate defined?
• Under natural and imposed conditions, hydrology can affect and be affected by which land characteristics?
• What force can pull water downward in unsaturated soils?
• Which set correctly lists common forms of precipitation?
• Which of the following best lists the factors that influence interception by trees (affecting both the amount captured and the timing)?
• Why is watershed hydrology important for managing landscapes and rivers?
• Which statement about dew formation is correct?
• What does the Thiessen method ultimately provide for rainfall estimation?
• The amount of water accessible on Earth changes with which geologic processes?
• Raindrops are generally spherical. True or false?
• High Relative Humidity affects condensation by
• Old growth redwood can transpire approximately how many gallons per day in summer?
• What is hydrology the study of?
• What is the water retention characteristic of clays and silts?
• Climate cycles have three phases. Which option lists all three phases?
• Sheetflow is defined as:
• What force pulls raindrops downward to Earth?
• What is condensation nuclei?
• Which statement describes one prevailing theory for the origin of Earth's water?
• El Niño is associated with warming of the central and eastern Pacific. This pattern typically brings heavy rainfall to which region?
• Which process describes water held by the plant canopy and evaporated rather than reaching the ground?
• Which property is most closely related to the connectivity of pore spaces?
• What is the strongest indication that precipitation has exceeded soil infiltration?
• Which method uses a flat surface placed on the snow to measure snow?
• In the Thiessen rainfall averaging method, what is the first step?
• All else being equal, bigger raindrops fall at faster speeds because their greater mass increases gravitational pull on their mass and the drag from air is not as significant. True or false?
• What is the mass of the snow alone (in kilograms) in the given setup?
• Which two processes contribute to water vapor entering the atmosphere from land surfaces?
• The planetary theory posits that Earth's water originated from asteroids and meteorites delivering small amounts of ice over long periods of time. Which option correctly reflects this?
• What does hydraulic conductivity affect in soils?
• What happens to pores in unsaturated soils as they are wetted?
• Pressure head is driven by the height of water above a point in the saturated soil.
• Which statement best describes sublimation in the context of glaciers?
• Field capacity is commonly expressed as a volumetric water content:
• What does the hydrologic cycle explain?
• Surface runoff occurs when infiltration cannot keep up with rainfall, leading to pools or runoff as sheet flow, rivulets, or channels. Which statement is correct?
• Which statement about sublimation is true?
• When rising air reaches the dew point, what process occurs that releases latent heat?
• Which of the following is NOT a main factor influencing precipitation distribution?
• What does sublimation involve?
• Which factors determine hydraulic conductivity (K) in soils?
• If a dry soil is re-wetted and pores begin to fill, how does this affect the overall suction in the soil?
• Which soil property most influences field capacity?
• Which set of factors best describes influences on how a stream looks and behaves?
• Snow-water equivalent (SWE) indicates what?
• Volcanism adds water to the atmosphere in which form?
• What does the rainfall averaging technique (averaging) do?
• Which statement best describes erosion and landslide examples of hydrology in relation to land features?
• Darcy's law is typically applied to saturated flow; unsaturated flow is not described by the law.
• Low Relative Humidity affects condensation by
• Which factor is not listed among soil retention properties?
• The weight of a sphere is proportional to which quantity?
• What forces dominate water movement in dry to moist soils?
• Which statement best reflects Darcy's Law soil assumptions?
• Where are Polar cells located on Earth?
• Isohyetal lines are used to represent areas of the watershed that receive what?
• Isohyetal lines delineate areas with what property?
• Which parameter in the SWE example represents the thickness of the snowpack?
• Transpiration occurs when
• What happens when condensing water binds to nuclei?
• Which factor most directly influences the moisture availability for precipitation formation?
• Why is condensation nuclei important for condensation?
• One assumption of Darcy's law regarding fluid flow.
• What is the density of the snow sample in kilograms per cubic meter?
• Elevation head is defined as what component of hydraulic head?
• In the water balance equation I = P - S - T used for interception, which term represents stemflow?
• Which of the following is not listed as a factor influencing how a stream looks and behaves?
• Isohyetal method is considered the most accurate because it accounts for terrain and measured rainfall.
• Available Water Capacity is defined as:
• Dew Point Temperature (DPT) is defined as
• Which soil type is described as having 50% sand, 20% clay, and 80% silt?
• Which soil texture generally has higher field capacity due to abundant micropores?
• In the SWE calculation, the sample area is best described as what?
• Which of the following is NOT a method used to measure snow?
• Hydraulic head drives Darcian flow and is the sum of which components?
• In saturated soil, what is the dominant resisting force to water movement?
• Which statement best describes sands in terms of water retention and release?
• How is the area of each polygon determined in the Thiessen method?
• What is snow?
• Rivulets are formed when water flow concentrates into small channels and has enough energy to erode the underlying material. Which option best describes rivulets?
• What can be a low point of drainage for water in unsaturated soils?
• Which process moves water from the surface into the soil, contributing to groundwater recharge?
• What drives Darcian flow in saturated soils?
• Which concept includes major wet and dry air masses, jet streams, and Coriolis effect?
• In the return interval equation, which option correctly identifies n?
• Which soil type has large particles with connected pore spaces and low water holding capacity?
• In Darcy's law, which condition is typically assumed for the soil?
• From what surfaces can evaporation occur?
• Isohyetal method has a disadvantage described as:
• In cold climates, snow stored on vegetation can return to the atmosphere via which process?
• Transpiration occurs in trees when ____ are open in ____, which can ____ flows in creeks and rivers.
• Do larger raindrops fall faster or slower than smaller raindrops?
• Transpiration can affect streamflow by lowering flows when stomata are open during the day. Which option reflects this concept?
• Infiltration occurs when water is absorbed by the ground and becomes soil moisture or groundwater. Which option best represents this process?
• In unsaturated soils, what happens to capillary suction when pores become more filled with water?
• What is precipitation?
• To estimate a 100-year rainfall event, you need to have 100 years of data.
• What does homogeneous mean in the context of Darcy's law?
• In the interception water balance, what does the variable T denote in I = P - S - T?
• What process moves water deep underground as oceanic crust subducts under continental crust?
• What type of pore spaces do clays and silts have?
• What is the depth of water per meter of snow in the provided example?