Geography Quiz Review

Which type of mass movement involves the imperceptibly slow movement of land that can be recognized through tilted trees and telephone poles on a sloped landscape?

creep

Soil can be described using the following physical and chemical characteristics except ... A. structure B. color C. pH D. texture E. wetability

E. wetability

How do you calculate discharge?

cross sectional area * velocity

Deltas come in different shapes and sizes. The shape and size depends on what characteristics?

depth of the water in the channel upstream, power of the currents that contribute to the delta, and the amount of sediment carried

What do you call a system that includes all the living organisms in a particular area, their physical environment, all of the pathways by which matter and energy flow between living organisms and their environment?

ecosystem -- a central concept in biogeography, and highlights the important energy and matter flows

The leaching of clays and compounds in the soil is called ___ and happens in the E horizon.

eluviation

These species are particularly vulnerable to extinction since they evolved in isolation in their specific environment, and they do not exist anywhere else on Earth.

endemic species

What is the difference between evaporation and evapotranspiration?

evaporation is a water transformation from liquid to vapor while evapotranspiration additionally includes water transformation from plants and soils

Consider that seismic waves travel differently. When thinking about seismic waves, what is one way that we know the outer core of our planet is liquid?

S waves are not observable on the opposite side of the planet from an earthquake

Why are lahars so dangerous?

when water is combined with pyroclastic debris, it becomes a flow and can act a thick mudslide

Climate types are not even nor are they evenly distributed across the planet/ Consider what affects where a given climate is. Arid (B) climates often start on the west side of continents at what latitude range?

20-30 degrees North and South

Looking down into a river, you notice that there are small rocks bouncing and sliding along the bottom of the river. Which term best represents the small rocks that you are observing? A. bed load B. dissolved load C. silt D. suspended load E. colluvium

A. bed load

Weathering is a location and climate based process. When we talk about the geography of weathering, it is likely to be MOST intense in ___. A. humid tropical forest B. grassland and savannas C. deserts D. tundra E. temperate forests

A. humid tropical forest

Which of the following is NOT a major air mass type? A. subtropical B. tropical C. polar D. maritime E. continental

A. subtropical

When rocks are compressed, they respond to the stress by faulting or by folding. What kind of geologic structures are formed with folding? A. transverse faults B. synclines and anticlines C. hanging walls D. rift valleys E. reverse faults

B. synclines and anticlines

Erosion takes many forms, but often there is a cycle. William Morris Davis proposed a version of this cycle (which has since been revised) where there is young, mature, and old landscapes. Which is an example of a landscape in the mature stage? A. a Utah sandy and muddy arid landscape B. the Grand Canyon C. the Mississippi River Valley D. an antecedent stream E. alpine

B. the Grand Canyon

Which of the following statements about Earth's core is NOT correct? A. the inner core, despite being above melting temp, remains solid due to tremendous pressure of overlying materials B. the inner core is believed to be liquid and the outer core solid C. it is composed primarily of Fe and Ni D. the inner core has a radius of about 1220 km (760 mi) E. the core lies beneath the asthenosphere and lower mantle

B. the inner core is believed to be liquid and the outer core solid

Earthquake A has a Richter magnitude of 7 as compared with earthquake B's 6. The magnitude of energy released is one measure of earthquake intensity. A. A is 1000 times more intense than B B. B is 0.01 times as intense as A C. A is 10 times more intense than B D. Richter magnitude does not measure intensity E. A is twice as intense as B

C. A is 10 times more intense than B

Which of the following materials is likely to have the highest albedo under normal conditions? A. grass B. forest C. snow D. asphalt pavement E. ocean water

C. snow

There are many chemical elements that connect the biosphere with the atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere; but some of them are essential for life. Which are essential chemical elements for life?

CHONP

Which of the following is true about tsunamis? A. tsunamis can be produced by seismic activity, volcanic explosions, and oil drilling B. Tsunamis don't often occur at subduction plate boundaries C. they only occur in the Pacific ocean around the Ring of Fire D. they are less noticeable in the open ocean than closer to shore

D. they are less noticeable in the open ocean than closer to shore -- tsunamis, like most waves, amplify when they get closer to shore because of the rising bathymetry of coastal regions

"The strongest evidence for GHG warming comes from atmospheric-ocean general circulation models (GCMs)." These complex models are simulations of potential climate variability given different scenarios including fossil fuel burning. Which of the following consequences is NOT very likely to happen from climate change? A. higher min temps B. higher max temps C. more high intensity precipitation events D. total precipitation will increase in most places

D. total precipitation will increase in most places

What is NOT a factor controlling soil formation? A. relief/topography B. climate C. organisms D. translocation E. parent material

D. translocation the factors that DO control soil formation are: climate, organisms, relief/topography, parent material, and time.

Which statement correctly describes the relationship between the landscape feature and the water table? A. a lake will be formed where the water table is higher than the surface of the land B. a swamp will be found where the water table is located at or just below the surface C. a dry desert has a water table well below the surface D. B and C are correct E. A,B, and C are correct

E

Which of the following is NOT a criterion to be classified as a mineral? A. inorganic B. crystalline structure C. definable chemical composition D. solid E. anthropogenic

E. anthropogenic

What line of latitude represents a limit of where the sun can be directly overhead in any given year?

Tropic of Cancer

What two main factors are used to characterized different mass movements?

amount of water and speed of motion

T/F: The intertropical convergence zone is static (does not change position) all year round

false... the ITCZ is NOT static, it changes position because of changes in atmospheric circulation over the course of the year

Hogbacks and cuestas are both remnant rock faces of harder material after surrounding softer material erodes. What is a difference between hogbacks and cuestas?

hogbacks dip at a higher angle while cuestas dip at a lower angle

Porosity describes the ability of a soil to ___ water.

hold

A landform is a feature of Earth's topography distinguished and studied as a single unit. A ___ is the aggregation of many associated landforms.

landscape

How can volcanoes produce a "snowball Earth"?

long and large eruptions put large amounts of ash into the atmosphere, blocking sun radiation and cooling the planet

Molten rock beneath the Earth's surface is known as ___, whereas molten rock on the Earth's surface is called ___.

magma; lava

The magnetic stripes found around the mid-Atlantic ridge were due to (the) ...

magnetic reversal

An ox bow lake is a curved lake that looks like a bow placed on an ox (an ox is a cattle like animal used in agriculture). Ox bow lakes are most commonly formed from what type of fluvial land form?

meandering river

Weathering is the breakdown of rocks in place, bringing the disintegration of rock that is then easily eroded by water or wind. What are the major kinds of weathering processes?

mechanical (physical), chemical, and biological weathering

It is a win-win biological interaction between individuals of different species, where both of them benefit from their interaction.

mutualism

Carbon-dioxide weathering feedback is a mechanism that resists planetary warming and cooling. What kind of feedback is this?

negative

The "Ring of Fire" is a volcanic island arc extending from the southwestern Pacific through Indonesia. The island arc formed as a result of ___ collision. (what two plates?)

oceanic plate - oceanic palte

Earth is a/an ____ system in terms of energy flow

open

What process involves the capture of energy from solar radiation to produce organic compounds from carbon dioxide and water? (it is very important in the cycle of life)

photosynthesis

This soil order is associated with coniferous trees, typically found in the needle-leaf boreal forests. In terms of soil pH, they are very acidic. These soils are young because they are found in regions covered by ice sheets.

spodosol

In describing geologic structures, ___ is the compass direction of the line of intersection between a ridge and the horizontal plane.

strike

What is the general term to describe the approach we use to study physical geography?

systems

What kind of stress on crustal rock produces a normal fault similar to the eastern front of the Sierra Nevada in California?

tensional stress

Streams and rivers that meander typically leave depositions. One type of deposition is a point bar. Where on a stream or river is a point bar?

the inside of a bend where water is slower

We know that rock found on the mid-Atlantic ridge is newer than surrounding rock in the ocean crust of the Atlantic. Why would this be?

the mid-Atlantic ridge is divergent and therefore magma can rise from the mantle and create new rock

An alternate name for the circulation of deep ocean currents around the globe is ...

thermohaline circulation

A biome is a subdivision of the plant and animal world, an assemblage of subcontinental dimensions. Which type of biome is a transitional environment between the tropical rainforest, and the desert, consisting of tropical grassland with widely spaced trees.

tropical savanna