Chapter 2 Quiz

All of the following statements are true

-A horizon: mixture of organic and mineral materials -B horizon: deposition of clay and humus -C horizon: weathered parent material -O horizon: organic layer

Atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns are influenced by which of the following?

-Rising and sinking of warm and cool air masses -Uneven heating of the earth's surface and atmosphere by the sun -Differential ability of cool and warm air masses to hold water vapor -Coriolis effect

What is true of the Palmer Drought Severity Index?

-it uses temperature and precipitation to calculate moisture conditions relative to long-term averages -negative values reflect drought conditions -values near zero reflect average rainfall conditions -it can be used to show both temporal and spatial climatic variation

Earth's climatic variation is due to

-the spherical shape of the earth -earth's axial rotation as it orbits the sun -uneven heating of the earth's surface

Tropical dry forests are located between

10° and 25° north and south latitudes

There are(is) _______ convective air cell(s) per hemisphere, _______ total for the earth.

3;6

The __ is a depositional horizon that contains clays, humus, and other materials which may form distinct banding patterns

B horizon

Why has the view of tundra shifted recently from an isolated and pristine biome to one that is experiencing detrimental human influence?

Because agriculture has increased as climate change lengthened the growing season within tundra

T/F As altitude increases, temperatures decrease, likewise, as latitude decreases, temperature decrease

False

T/F Biomes are defined by climate and vegetation. One reason for this is that the climate of a particular environment is greatly influenced by the dominant plant types in the environment

False

T/F Mycorrhizae are parasitic fungi are depleting tropical trees of nutrients

False

What statement about rain shadows is accurate?

In the western United States, you would expect the rain shadow effect to produce heavier rainfall on the western-facing shapes of mountains than on the eastern-facing shapes

What situations would lead to a drought having occurred?

Lower than normal rainfall for several months leads to irrigation restrictions in the region, resulting in crop failures

All of the following are biomes except

Mediterranean rain forest, Boreal grassland, Mountains

Coriolis effect causes winds in the

Northern Hemisphere to deflect to the right

Which soil horizon is most influenced by climate?

O horizon

Which of the following soil horizon profiles is ordered correctly?

O,A,B,C

Which of the following is not a characteristic of the boreal forest?

Sparse plant cover

All of the following statements are true except

Taigas have moderate temperatures with occasional droughts

Which of the following terrestrial biomes are maintained by fires?

Tropical savannas and temperate grasslands

T/F In general, warm air can hold more moisture than cool air and therefore has a stronger evaporative effect

True

T/F In the region between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, seasonal variations in temperature and day length at low elevation are sight

True

T/F Proximity to large bodies of water moderates terrestrial temperatures

True

T/F The precipitation in moist temperate regions is caused by the meeting of cool polar air and warm subtropical air

True

T/F Trade winds move toward the equator

True

Climatic diagrams provide all of the following information except

Wind patterns

All of the following components influence soil structures except

age, parent material, climate, organisms

The Northern and Southern Hemispheres receive approximately equal amounts of solar radiation on the

both spring equinox and autumnal equinox

Which of the following biomes have fertile soils that contain large quantities of organic matter?

both temperate forest and temperate grassland

A biome is characterized primarily by

climate and predominate plant types

Warm tropical air

cools as it ascends

Desert soils are often termed

lithosols

Most of the earth's deserts are

located at 30 degrees north and south latitudes

All of the following statements concerning wind are true except

northeast trade winds blow toward the poles

Warm air over the equator

rises and moves toward the poles

Heating of the earth's surface causes

warm air to rise and cool air to sink