Geog Final

When atoms lose all available kinetic energy, they reach the absolute zero of temperature which is

-273.15 celcius

Saturation of air occurs at what point

100% relative humidity

At the Autumn or Spring Equinoxes, what phenomenon occurs?

12 hour daylight/darkness all over the world

The earth's axis of rotation is tilted how many degrees to the perpendicular of its orbital plane?

23.5 degrees

The Earth revolves around the sun once every ____ and rotates on its axis once every ____?

365.25 days and 24 hours.

Which latitude longitude measurement is incorrect?

93 N, 182 (cant pass 180)

The hydrologic cycle includes water

A & B only

Which of the following may act as a fluvial base level

A and B only

The sandblasting action of wind blown particles is called

Abrasion

When water evaporates, it ___ heat energy and ___ the surrounding air.

Absorbs; cools

This condition pulls moisture horizontally from cold oceans towards a warmer landsurface

Advection fog

High pressure air ____, while low pressure air represents ___.

Air is sinking thus compressing and is a region with clear skies; air is rising thus expanding an is a region with clouds.

Stream drainage patterns are determined by which of the following?

All of the above

The rate at which the rocks weather depends on

All of the above

Which of the following is true of insolation?

All of the above

Which of the following lead to the formation of mountains.

All of the above

Folded layers of rock can form a wavelike pattern of troughs and crests. The layers near the crest form ____ whereas the layers near the trough form ____.

An antiline, a syncline

A water bearing rock stratum is called an

Aquifer

Which of the following is NOT true of electromagnetic energy?

As temperature of the emitted object increases, the wavelength also decreases.

Of the following, the most basic unit of matter (all solids, liquids and gases is ____ which are governed by the Law of Conservation of Mass which states "___".

Atoms; Matter is neither created nor destroyed.

The Earth's seasons are predominantly caused by

Axial tilt and revolution

The study of the spatial aspects of ecology and the distribution of plants and animals is called.

Biogeography

The texture and structure of the soil dictate

Both B and C

Karst landscapes dominated by sink holes and caverns are created with this weathering process

Carbonation

The ability to transfer chemical cations between their surfaces and the soil solution to enable plant roots to take them up is referred to as

Cation exchange capacity

Tiny clay particles in the soil that attract cations are called

Colloids

In a trophic food pyramid, with increased levels biomass ____ and energy ____.

Decreases, decreases

The removal and lifting of individual loose particles by the wind is termed

Deflation

which of the following lists of river processes are in the correct sequence to their occurrence in nature?

Entrainment, erosion, transport, deposition

According to the textbook soil acidity caused by humans is one of the three major problems (T/F)

False

An ecosystem represents the relationship of species with their environment (T/F)

False

Endogenic processes are those that break down landforms (T/F)

False

Parallels converge at the poles (T/F)

False

Soils are an interface between plate tectonics and the hydrological cycle (T/F)

False

The Eastern Trade winds are responsible for the weather movement across the US and Canada (T/F)

False

The inter-tropical convergence zone is a high pressure area (T/F)

False

The water being held back by a dam is considered kinetic energy (T/F)

False

The water cycle is not affected by human demands (T/F)

False

There are only two thermodynamic laws discovered (T/F)

False

When stating latitude longitude coordinates one always has to state the sign of the number pair

False

Where the energy from rocks breaking/shearing causing an earthquake is called the epicenter. (T/F)

False

which of the following concepts characterize plate tectonic landforms

Fault-block mountain, mid ocean ridge, volcanic arc

The electromagnetic spectrum is defined by its

Frequency and wavelength

Where in the hydrosphere is most of the World's fresh water found?

Glaciers and continental ice sheets

The four mechanical forces that act on the down-slope movement of geologic materials are

Gravity, friction, cohesion, pore water pressure

The place where an organism lives is called its?

Habitat

Chemical weathering is greatest under which of the following conditions.

High mean annual temperature and precipitation

Distinct horizontal layers in soils are called

Horizons

Water molecules bind tightly to one another via ____ and the heat energy involved in the change of state of in water is called _____.

Hydrogen bonding, latent heat

The age of the sea floor ____ with ____ distance from a mid ocean ridge

Increases, increased

The state of equilibrium in which different portions of the earth's crust adjusts through endogenic and exogenic processes to float atop the mantle

Isostatic adjustment

If you lived at the coast and wanted to surf then the worst time to go would be

Late afternoon

After tropical deforestation occurs the tropical soils are subject to increased rate of ____ from the higher precipitation regime, which leads to the vertical soil erosional process of ____ in the upper soil horizons and therefore a deeper depositional process of _____ in the lower soil horizons.

Leaching, eluviation, illuviation

Relative to dune movement and form, a dune's slipface forms on which side?

Leeward side

At which of the following locations is new oceanic crust being formed?

Mid ocean ridge

The planet Earth can be thought of as a kind of ____ energy system and a kind of ____ material system.

Open; closed

This method of making air rise and rain on the windward side of mountains then contributes to the formation of deserts in So Cal and Nevada on the leeward side of mountains.

Orographic lifting

Where does erosion primarily occur along meandering rivers?

Outside of meander bends

A ____ lake is the result of a meandering river having cutoff a meander bends leaving an abandoned channel

Oxbow

What is the most abundant chemical element in the Earth's crust?

Oxygen

Which is faster P waves or S Waves?

P Waves

The catena sequence in soils is based on

Parent material and landscape relief

In the water budget, _____ is the major receipt and ___ is the major expenditure.

Precipitation, actual evapotranspiration

Air flow is initiated by the

Pressure gradient force

What is the order of the five steps of the scientific method?

Question, Hypothesis, collect data, test hypothesis, predictions

This atmospheric condition is most common in the Central Valley or any low lying inland valley during cold, wet winters.

Radiation fog

Precipitation normally refers to

Rain, sleet, snow and hail

The partially weathered broken up layer of rock material resting on op of bedrock at the base of a soil profile is called

Regolith

When water condenses, it _____ heat energy and ____ the surrounding air.

Releases; heats

The three major themes of geography sciences are

Scale, integration and synthesis

Compaction and cementing of eroded material is associated with which rock type?

Sedimentary

____ is a reduction in the internal resistance of the slope. The forces attempting to pull a mass downslope lead to an increase in ____.

Shear strength, shear stress

Stream transport of materials involves all of the following except

Sheet flow

Hawaiian Islands are a good example of this type of extrusive igneous structure

Shield Volcano

What is physical geography?

Spatial analysis of all the physical elements and processes that make up the environment

Over pumping of ground water can lead to ground subsidence. (T/F)

TRUE

Potential evapotranspiration refers to

The amount of water that would evaporate or transpire if it were available

The scientific method is described by which of the following?

The development of hypotheses for testing and prediction

The major rocks of the earth's crust are classified into principal types based on

The manner in which the rocks formed

Primary productivity revers to ___ and is greatest in ____.

The rate at which plant growth occurs; tropical rain forests

The predominate radiation leaving Earth is made up of what kind of electromagnetic radiation?

Thermal infrared

Which of the following is true of loess deposits?

They are formed of fine-grained clays and silts

Which of the following is incorrect regarding biomes?

They are usually named for the specific climatic zone in which they occur.

The oceanic crust is ____ and ___ than the continental crust.

Thinner and more dense

A batholith represents an example of igneous intrusive rock emplacement, usually made of granites (T/F)

True

Absolute location defined a point on the Earth's surface by specifying coordinates on a Cartesian mathematical grid. (T/F)

True

According to the 3rd law of thermodynamics there is a lower limit to temperature or no energy in matter (T/F)

True

California's San Andreas fault is an example of a strike slip fault (T/F)

True

Day length is a function of latitude. (T/F)

True

Electrical power is considered kinetic energy (T/F)

True

If the precipitation is greater than the infiltration rate then overland flow can be initiated. (T/F)

True

Red colored earth material generally are associated with oxidation (T/F)

True

Soils are a dynamic natural body made up of fine materials covering earth's surface in which plants grow and are composed of both mineral and organic matters (T/F)

True

The 2nd law of thermodynamics represents energy spontaneously dispersing from being localized to becoming spread out, i.e. hot to cold transfer (T/F)

True

The Earth rotates 15 degrees each hour which allows time zones to be one hour long (T/F)

True

The Hjulmstrom curve explains erosion, transport and deposition based on water velocity

True

The dew point temperature is that temp where saturated air at 100% relative humidity condenses to liquid water. (T/F)

True

The molten material underneath the Earth's crustal plates is within the mantle (T/F)

True

The polar westerlies is controlled by the Coriolis effect turning the air to the west. (T/F)

True

Weathering is the decomposition and disintegration of rocks in situ

True

Time begins on

Universal Coordinated Time

During the adiabatic process, a parcel of air with less than 100% relative humidity, that is rising because of heat energy derived from the surface is _____ and is undergoing ____.

Unstable, expansion

Rocks that appear pitted and grooved, and sometimes polished smooth by eolian processes are termed

Ventifacts

Which of the following correctly describes a dry stream bed that is intermittently filled with water (flash flood)?

Wash

Elongated, streamlined ridges aligned parallel to the most effective wind direction are called

Yardangs

A great circle is

a circle of circumferences whose center coincides wth the center of the Earth

A hypothesis is

a tentative explanation of the observations

Changes in day length and the Sun's altitude above the horizon over the course of the year

are responsible for the seasons

A hypothesis usually states

as null or does not exist between variables

The Coriolis force

causes apparent deflection of winds from a straight path

The general water temperatures one would expect on the coast of a continent would be

cold on the left and warm on the right, no matter north or south of the equator

Elements can chemically form into

compounds

The Himalayan Mt (Mt everest) are formed by

continental - continental collision

Global winds are named by

direction they come from

A streams flow rate is called its

discharge

Watersheds are defined by

drainage basins

The forms of energy encountered does not include

elements

The term eolian refers to

erosion, transportation, and deposition by the wind.

Stream related processes are termed

fluvial

The complex chain of interdependencies is called a

food web

During the day winds in a valley

go up mountain slopes

The equator represents

great circle

As a tropical rain forest is cleared by humans, the amount of ___ available for organisms to live in is decreased, and this reduces the populations of plants and animals living there -- thereby affecting plant and animal ____.

habitat, communities

Forst wedging invovles

hydraulic action of water freezing between rocks

Which of the following ions are important for acidity (pH)?

hydrogen

Knowledge of Earth's interior is learned from

indirect evidence involving the analysis of seismic waves from earthquakes

The science of geography

interdependence of natural and cultural phenomena over space and time

The ability of the wind to move materials

is small compared to other transporting agents, such as water and ice.

Application of heat and pressure to existing rocks creates this rock type

metamorphic

Carbon dioxide is produced by all of the following except

photosynthesis

The zero degree longitude line is referred to as the

prime meridiean

Scale refers to

refers to the recognition that how we view and interpret phenomena depends on the spatial extent and the spatial resolution of the measurements we collect.

The smallest features shaped by individual saltating grains are

ripples

The mass movement of earth material as a homogenous unit that slips in an round arc shape in mass wasting is a

rotational slump

A confined aquifer is described as

sealed above and below by impermeable materials

Photosynthesis involves

the union of carbon dioxide and water under the influence of sunlight, and the release of oxygen.