Dr Abe V Rotor
Lesson: Monsoon (True or False)
Over Iloilo: prelude to the monsoon season: cumulus cloud in the morning
becoming nimbus and falling into rain in the afternoon. May 10, 2012
Monsoon is life. It is life to millions of people, in fact half of humanity, living along its yearly path. It is a regular climatic phenomenon but sometimes it comes early or late, sometimes bringing in plenty of rain and typhoons. It may end early or extend over, and the consequences are both good and bad. But it is unthinkable if there were no monsoon at all. Here are some questions to test our knowledge about the monsoon, more than that, to test to what extent we have learned to live with and by this natural phenomenon.
1. Ideally, rainfall is the purest water we get from nature, because the principle involved is distillation. Rain therefore, is distilled water. T
2. Because of gas and particle emissions from cars, factories, agriculture and human settlements, rainfall is unsafe to drink, and in fact we should refrain from going out in the rain. T
3. Global warming has something to do with the disturbance of the tectonic plates leading to more frequent and stronger earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruption. T
4. Global warming is the concern of governments and big business because they have the power and resources. We, ordinary citizens, have very little contribution to its solution. (F)
5. Three things to do in preparation for the monsoon season: House repair, gardening, and community work such as tree planting and cleaning drainage canals. T
6. Among the recommended plants for the rainy season are ubi, malunggay, singkamas, gabi, carrots, pechay and lettuce, to augment our local food supply. (F)
7. The best time and most economical, and with least care and attention to plant vegetables in the backyard and idle lots is during the monsoon season. T
8. Frogs, snails, catfish, crayfish, mudfish, and the like, remain in a state of turpor during summer then they come out of their hiding places - cracks in the soil, underneath mulches, underground springs, etc. T
9. Wallows of carabao, river basins, farm ponds, ricefield catchments are natural sanctuaries. When the rains come, the aestivating organisms become active and start populating the flooded fields. T
10. It is customary to walk, play, sing, in the first heavy rain as the monsoon approaches, but you have to wet the navel first before attempting to do so, according to old folks. T
11. Rain makes the swimming pool green because rain dissolves nitrates in the air which it brings down to earth. T
12. Sporadic rainfall may be just thunderstorm. We can dismiss the possibility of strong rain after the sky has cleared and the thunderstorm has passed. (F)
13. Weathering is a geological process leading to soil formation. The principle is alternate heat and cold causing differential expansion and contraction of the material. Its principal companion is water - rainfall and running water. T
14. Bare watershed absorbs rain greedily because it is thirsty so to speak, so why worry of delayed reforestation? Nature has her own way of self-regeneration. (F)
15. Typhoons occur mostly during monsoon. A typhoon has a large circulating mass of air, laden with rain at its periphery, and moving from a high pressure to a low pressure area, circulating in a clockwise direction, that is if you are above the equator. (F)
16. On the Central Plains, during the monsoon season the most important crop is corn. Corn likes a lot of rain. (F)
17. During the monsoon period the Inter-Tropical Convergent Zone (ITCZ) is usually up north of the Philippines; whereas during the amihan, the ITCZ moves southward to Mindanao or lower. T
18. By now the June beetle has emerged, so with the cicada, and the winged termites (gamu-gamu) have swarmed out from their colonies. T
19. The path of the monsoon winds is over the south western Pacific picking up moisture that builds into clouds which subsequently become rain that pours over a wide area covering Southeast Asia, the sub-continent of India, over much of Asia, on to Western Africa. T
20. The water table rises as the amount of rainfall increases, and in many cases, it reaches the top and joins with the runoff water, exacerbating flooding in the area. T
21. Planting trees, scientists tell us, is not a wise measure to curb global warming, because trees absorb the heat of the sun and make the earth warmer.F
22. It is the light of the sun – not its heat – that is used to convert H2O and CO2 during photosynthesis to produce sugar and Oxygen. T
23. Twice in a day the tides come and go, meaning there are two high tides and two low tides alternately taking place. T
24. Doldrums at sea has killed as many sailors as storms in the old days of shipping. T
25. When a lightning strike occurs, the surrounding air suddenly expands and produces the sound referred to as thunder. This phenomenon takes place more frequently in summer than in any other time of the year. FT
RATING
2 OUTSTANDING
4 VG
6 G
8 FAIR
10 PASSING
22. It is the light of the sun – not its heat – that is used to convert H2O and CO2 during photosynthesis to produce sugar and Oxygen. T
23. Twice in a day the tides come and go, meaning there are two high tides and two low tides alternately taking place. T
24. Doldrums at sea has killed as many sailors as storms in the old days of shipping. T
25. When a lightning strike occurs, the surrounding air suddenly expands and produces the sound referred to as thunder. This phenomenon takes place more frequently in summer than in any other time of the year. FT
RATING
2 OUTSTANDING
4 VG
6 G
8 FAIR
10 PASSING
No comments:
Post a Comment