Geography Exam
Full transformation into an active glacier begins when the snow and ice reach a depth of about
130 feet
The universe we live in is about
14 billion years old
The Industrial Revolution took place in the
18th century
What percentage of the surface of the Earth is currently suitable for potentially productive agriculture?
22%
The Earth's axis of rotation makes an angle of ______ degrees from a line perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic.
23½
The Global Positioning System (GPS) makes use of _____ satellites.
24
Of the solar radiation entering the atmosphere, about ___% reaches the surface directly as direct radiation.
25
The theoretical minimum number of satellites you need to be in contact with in order for a GPS receiver to know your position on the Earth is ____.
3
There are ___ dominant, constant gasses in the atmosphere.
3
To move a particle of sediment, wind must have speeds nearly _____ times greater than the speed of water to move the same particle.
30
Choose the latitude with the highest Sun angle over the course of the year.
35º
What is the average temperature of the surface of the Sun?
6000°C
What percentage of the freshwater stored on land occurs as ice?
77%
It is estimated that roughly _______ people will live on Earth by 2050
9 billion
If it is 2 P.M. Greenwich, UK (UTC), and it is 8 P.M. where you are; at what longitude must you be?
90°E
Constant gasses make up approximately ____% of the atmosphere.
99.9
The distance between meridians is greatest
At the equator
Which of the following is not a time zone of the contiguous United States?
Atlantic
This type of dune forms rows from merged barchan dunes.
Barchnoid ridge
Which is the more accurate statement?
Because the Earth spins from west to east the Sun appears to rise in the east and set in the west.
A drop of water contains ______ of molecules of H2O.
Billions
Humans are considered part of the
Biosphere
What does the w term in the stream discharge equation () stand for?
Channel width
A rectangular graph that shows the mean monthly temperatures and total monthly precipitation is a(n)
Climograph
On a weather map, a line with triangles indicates a(n)
Cold front
The place where two streams join together is called a
Confluence
The divide that separates the Mississippi watershed draining to the Gulf of Mexico from streams that deliver runoff to the Pacific Ocean is called the _________ Divide.
Continental
These lines connect places of equal elevation.
Contours
The Earth revolves around the Sun (relative to a view above the North Pole)
Counterclockwise
This sediment transport process requires that the sediment remains in contact with the surface at all times.
Creep
The highest point of the dune is called the
Crest
Geographers are studying the effects of the clearing of the tropical rainforests, which leads to soil erosion, loss of wildlife habitat, and species extinction. This study falls into which of the following categories?
Deforestation
____________ is a resistant surface created when fine particles blow away and coarse sediment is left behind.
Desert pavement
The temperature at which an air mass reaches water vapor saturation.
Dew-point
Magma that has moved vertically upward through a crack in the rock forms a(n)
Dike
Which of the following is a beneficial particulate?
Dust
The term Geography translates as
Earth description
If the subsolar point is moving from the Equator toward the Tropic of Capricorn, what season of the year is it in the Northern Hemisphere?
Fall moving into winter
When pore spaces become completely filled with water, the soil is considered to be at __________ capacity.
Field
______ is the compact, granular substance that is the transition stage between snow and glacial ice.
Firn
The level at which stream discharge can begin to spill out of the channel into the surrounding area is termed
Flood stage
A boundary where contrasting air masses meet is a(n)
Front
The upthrust of sediment or soil due to the freezing of wet soil beneath is
Frost heaving
The most visually accurate and complete way to illustrate the Earth is with a(n)
Globe
This type of map scale shows the actual size of units on the map.
Graphic (or bar) Scale
The agent of erosion associated with mass wasting is
Gravity
When it comes to conditions outdoors, the measure of human comfort that we use in the summeris known as
Heat index
Unusual rock forms resulting from differential weathering are called
Hoodoos
These lines connect places of equal atmospheric pressure.
Isobars
These lines connect places of equal sedimentary thickness.
Isopachs
Name of your instructor
Jon
When water changes its physical state, _________ heat energy is either lost or gained.
Latent
As water evaporates from the ocean, energy is transferred to the atmosphere in the form of
Latent heat
The side of a mountain range that faces opposite of the prevailing wind direction.
Leeward side
The process whereby loose rock debris is cemented and compacted to form rock is called
Lithification
Molten rock beneath the Earth's surface is
Magma
Which of the following most distorts the size of features in order to most accurately project the shape?
Mercator Projection
The __________ is(are) the jet stream pattern that develops when distinct Rossby waves exist and the polar front jet stream flows parallel to the meridians lines of latitude in many places.
Meridional flow
The temperature at this transition layer is about -100°C (-148°F).
Mesopause
This layer of the atmosphere is the coldest of the atmospheric layers.
Mesosphere
The climate where most people live is
Mesothermal
The study of short-term atmospheric phenomena is part of the field of
Meteorology
A ridge-like feature that develops along a rift zone in the ocean due to magma upwelling is a(n)
Mid-ocean ridge
The core of a Rossby wave is a
Midlatitude cyclone
A latitude of 47º lies in which latitude zone?
Midlatitudes
What is the biggest misconception concerning the definition of geography?
Most define it as just locating things on a map.
The highest mountain in the world from mean sea level is
Mount Everest
The wettest form of mass wasting is
Mudflow
The large indentation formed on rock outcrops by salt-crystal growth is called a(n)
Niche
This type of map scale shows the length of time necessary to traverse different sections of the freeway system moving at the posted speed limit.
None of these
As the subsolar point is heading north after crossing the Equator, which hemisphere is receiving the greatest amount of sunlight?
Northern
The chemical form of ozone is
O3
Of the total amount of energy the Sun puts out, about how much does the Earth receive?
One half of one billionth
A period of mountain building is a(n):
Orogeny
A place where rock is exposed at the Earth's surface is a(n)
Outcrop
The area between the soil-water belt and the water table where pore spaces are not saturated with water is called
The unsaturated zone
The Earth is the _________ planet from the Sun.
Third
A plate boundary where opposing plates move horizontally past each other is a
Transform boundary
On the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice, the subsolar point is located at the
Tropic of Cancer
Which of the following is the largest small circle?
Tropic of Cancer
The climate BEST associated with the Amazon Basin, Indonesia, and Cameroon is
Tropical rainforest
The annual migration of the subsolar point occurs within which of the following latitudes?
Tropics
The ________ is the lowest layer of the atmosphere.
Troposphere
This layer of the atmosphere contains most of the atmospheric water vapor and particulates.
Troposphere
Who monitors the gaging stations in the United States?
US geological survey
On a weather map, a line with semicircles indicates a(n)
Warm front
The statement "It will be 87°F today" is an example of which term?
Weather
The Sun "sets" on which horizon?
West
Geography is
an ancient discipline examining the spatial attributes of the Earth's surface and how they differ from one place to another.
The coldest air masses are the
cA and cAA.
A deep crack in a glacier is also known as a(n)
crevasse
Great circles:
describe the shortest distance between any two points on Earth.
Lava cools to form
extrusive igneous rock
Cartography
focuses on the many ways to display spatial information so that it can be used and understood efficiently.
The name of a slowly moving mass of dense ice is
glacier
A high-pressure system in the Northern Hemisphere
has air flowing out at ground level anticyclonically
Water held tightly to sediment grains is called
hydroscopic water
On a map, lines of equal air pressure are called
isobars
Overall, the most important climatic influence is:
latitude
On a typical thematic map of the United States, which of the following would not be usually depicted?
location of major floodplains and earthquake zones
" B" climates are initially distinguished by
moisture
Taking a complete set of photographs of a large region (like a state) using aerial photography
only happens about once a decade, or at best sporadically.
Ranking streams based on their size is called
stream order
Where is the subsolar point when all latitudes above 66.5ºN experience 24 hours of darkness?
the Tropic of Capricorn
Which best describes map scale?
the distance ratio that exists between features on a map and the real world
Which of the following describes climatology?
the study of the geographic distribution and character of the average weather elements and their extremes
The ultimate cause for all wind patterns on Earth is
the unequal heating of land surfaces.
When isobars are close together, it means
there are strong surface winds.
Carbon dioxide comprises about ___% of the atmosphere.
0.038
An equinox occurs when the subsolar point is at
0° latitude.
What is the melting point of ice?
0°C
The standard altitude at which air temperature is measured is usually about ___ above the ground surface.
1.2 m
Approximately _______ of Earth's land surface is a mix of arid and semi-arid deserts.
1/3
The diameter of the Sun is about
100 earth diameters
Ice currently covers _________% of the Earth's surface.
11
Lines of longitude
A called meridians
What is the difference in the distance from the Sun when the Earth is in perihelion and aphelion?
About 5 million km
Remote sensing was initially brought about by the development of
Airplanes
A latitude of 75º lies in which latitude zone?
Arctic latitudes
Which of the following gasses is inert and of little importance in natural processes?
Argon
A(n) ___________ well is a well in which water from a confined aquifer rises to the surface through natural pressure.
Artesian
The point in the Earth's orbit where it is closest to the Sun is called
Perihelion
Within the field of geography, most geographers consider themselves to be either a(n)
Physical or human specialist
The dominant mineral in clastic sedimentary rocks is
Quartz
The body of land on the leeward side of a mountain range that is relatively dry and hot due to adiabatic warming.
Rain shadow
When the _________ reaches 100%, the air is saturated and can hold no more water vapor.
Relative humidity
The mass wasting process that is fastest and associated with dry conditions is
Rockfall
The __________ is(are) rivers of high-speed air in the upper atmosphere that flows along the polar front.
Rossby waves
Undulations that develop in the Polar Front jet stream when significant temperature differences exist between tropical and polar air masses are called the
Rossby waves
The instrument used to measure and record an earthquake is a
Seismograph
_______________ occurs when water flows across the surface in sheets toward a drain.
Sheet runoff
At what time does the Sun reach its highest position in the sky during the day?
Solar noon
If the name of the wind direction is "Northerlies," it is flowing from which direction?
South
What term describes patterns or distributions of specific variables over physical space?
Spatial analysis
The concentration of ozone in this part of the atmosphere is about 10 parts per million by volume.
Stratosphere
What is the name given to layered clouds?
Stratus
The study of flowing water on Earth's surface is called
Stream hydrology
The process by which one lithospheric plate is forced beneath another is
Subduction
__________ is the sinking of a surface as a result of the loss of support from underlying water, soils, or strata.
Subsidence
This orbit keeps pace with the Sun's westward progress as the Earth rotates.
Sun-synchronous orbit
__________ is the term used to describe how people can live in a particular place without degrading the area for future generations.
Sustainability
The vast majority of water on the Earth is stored in
The oceans
Which of the following is NOT true when reading a topographic map?
Where contours cross a stream, they form V's that point downstream.
One inch = 1 mile is representative of which type of map scale?
Written (Verbal) Scale
The greenhouse effect refers to the
process through which counterradiation is returned to the surface.
Magma that penetrates between rock layers forms a
sill
Arguably, the most important weathering agent is
water
__________ is the top of the saturated zone.
water table
