UNIT: GEOGRAPHIC PRINCIPLES: WORKING WITH GEOGRAPHIC TOOLS

Which of the following is not an example of human-environment interaction?

Antarctic lands not being visited or affected by humans

A geographer's interpretation of events, people, and places is influenced by perceptions and perspective.

true

Michael, who likes to hike, is planning a backcountry trip through the wilderness. Along with a map and a compass, he plans to use a new tool that will help him find his exact location through satellite signals and a receiver. Which new technology in geography is Michael using in this situation?

A. GPS (Global Positioning System)

How many planets are in the Earth's solar system?

8

What is the best way to define the word biome?

A biome is a group of areas that support similar communities of plants and animals.

Which of the following statements best describes the role of a surveyor in geography?

A surveyor provides close readings of land elevations.

Which of the following statements about Wegener's theory of continental drift is false?

Continents have not moved in the last 250 million years.

Maps, satellite images, and photographs help geographers study spatial relationships between people and the environment.

true

In this lesson, we identified many uses of geography. One example is urban planning. How would geography be useful in helping to plan the future of a community?

Geographers help in planning where these future needs might be met. They also assist in discovering why these future needs might be necessary in certain places.

In your own words, describe what geography is all about. Write a short paragraph that explains what it means to study geography. Give two examples of things you might study as a geographer.

Geography is about much more than the physical location of a town, city, or country. Geography encompasses everything that defines and distinguishes one place from another. Location and place are the two cornerstones of what geography is all about. Being able to find a location by defining a location in relative and absolute terms is essential to geographers, which is why they focus on spatial relationships and organize those relationships with maps, coordinates, and other directional guides. The study of geography goes beyond the specifics of location to define "place." Place is defined by the people, climate, behaviors, environment, landforms, and other things that distinguish one place from another. Geographers study the relationship among all of these things to provide a comprehensive picture of what a location is really all about.

Our environments can change human behavior. Describe some ways that environment changes the choices we make. What does the connection between humans and environment have to do with the study of geography?

Humans change their behaviors to adapt to their surroundings in many ways. Humans adapt by building dwelling places that fit the climate and landscape they live in. Environment also has a significant impact on modes of transportation, economy, the types of activities humans participate in, and even communication methods. The way that humans interact and relate to their environment helps geographers understand the unique qualities of a place and helps humans interpret the past, understand the present, and prepare for the future.

Geography's new technologies can help us solve problems in many ways. Imagine that you're working for your city's fire department, and you are hoping to find ways to prevent fires in the future. Give at least two examples of how you could use these new technologies to help you meet your goal.

I could use remote sensing to help me look at my city from a new perspective. Using aerial photographs and satellite imagery, I could find buildings that might pose a fire risk. I may be able to see buildings that I might not see as well from the ground. I could also use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to help me find the locations of buildings that are fire risks. By equipping my firefighters with GPS units, I can track their locations when they are in the city and when they are fighting fires. Finally, I can use geographic information systems (GIS) to plot maps of where risky buildings are located. I can predict where fires may happen by looking at patterns in my city.

Imagine that you're a city planner, and you are interested in helping to build more parks for your citizens. You have two things to help you: i. You have data that shows you where most people live in your city. ii. You have maps that show you where your city's parks are right now. How could GIS help you if you were in this situation? Explain your answer in a short paragraph.

In this situation, I could use GIS to help me to help combine the data with maps of my city. I could see whether our parks meet the citizens' needs. I could combine the data about where people live with the maps showing these parks. This would show me areas where there are not enough parks for the people that need them. I could make plans for the future and understand what would be best for my community.

Which of the following statements does not describe the Earth's rotation?

It takes 365.25 days to complete.

Michael's hometown is located at 41° N latitude. Kevin lives at 12° N latitude. Which of these two students lives closer to the Equator?

Kevin

How can new technologies in geography help us to answer geography's three key questions? Explain how these new technologies help us answer "what," "where," and "why there." Give your answer in a short paragraph.

Our new technologies in geography can help us study geography in many ways. First, remote sensing is especially helpful in answering "what." It helps us figure out what is going on in the world around us, and enables us to see things from new perspectives. GPS is especially helpful in answering "where" because it helps us navigate from place to place. It can let us know our exact location anywhere on Earth. Finally, GIS can help us answer "why there." Using GIS software, we can see patterns that are happening in the world around us. These tools can help us answer all three of these questions.

__________ maps are primarily used to display boundaries and borders between regions and states.

Political

What is remote sensing? Describe the three remote sensing tools that geographers can use.

Remote sensing tools are things that can help us study places and situations from far away. We can gain an understanding of a place even if we can't visit it in person. Radar can help us to study movements and distances, and it is especially useful for watching weather. Aerial photography is helpful to us because it allows us to use images and pictures taken from the sky. We can gain a new perspective on a place, and see things that we may not be able to see from the ground. Satellite imagery takes this one step further by taking photos and images of sites from satellites in our atmosphere.

What is the difference between a solstice and an equinox? Using three or more complete sentences, describe the reasons why these days are unique.

Solstices and equinoxes take place twice each year. Solstice days occur during the summer and winter, when the Earth's poles are tilted at the steepest angle away from or toward the Sun. On solstice days, the difference between hours of day and night is the greatest. Equinoxes also happen twice each year, but they happen during the spring and fall. Equinox days are when the Sun's light hits both hemispheres equally, causing them to receive the same amount of energy from the Sun. On these days, the number of hours between day and night is completely equal.

What are the Earth's four spheres? Explain your answer in a paragraph of no fewer than four sentences.

The Earth can be divided into four "spheres" to help us organize it and understand it. First, the atmosphere is made up of the gases that surround the Earth. They help to sustain life by protecting its surface and providing nutrients. Next, the lithosphere is made up of the crust beneath the Earth's surface. It includes important rocks and minerals, as well as the Earth's lands (like its continents and islands). The hydrosphere is made up of the Earth's water, and it covers over 70% of the Earth's surface. Finally, the biosphere is made up of all living things. These living things are part of all of the other spheres.

What is the Earth's place in the solar system? Locate the Earth in this system, and explain its relationship to the Sun and Moon.

The Earth is part of a large solar system that includes eight major planets. Of these eight, the Earth is the third closest to the Sun. Still, the Sun is about 93 million miles away. The Earth is larger than some planets and smaller than others. It's far smaller than the Sun, which is at least 100 times bigger. However, it's much larger than the Moon, which is only 1/4 of the size of the Earth. The Earth's Moon is much closer than the Sun, at only about 240,000 miles away. The Earth's tilted axis makes its relationship to the Sun very complicated. Depending on whether a hemisphere is tilted toward or away from the Sun, it receives different amounts of energy. This causes our seasons.

Why does it matter that the Earth's axis is tilted? Explain why this detail is very important to our lives.

The Earth is tilted at an angle in relation to the Sun. The main reason why this is important is that this causes the Earth's hemispheres (or halves) to receive different amounts of light and energy from the Sun. This causes the seasons. For example, depending on our location on the Earth, there can be big differences between winter and summer. Because of the tilt of Earth's axis, our days get longer or shorter as the year goes on. The tilted axis affects our lives by affecting the days we experience and the seasons we live through.

As the Earth moves around the Sun, it spins in two ways: it revolves, and it rotates. Describe the difference between revolution and rotation, and explain why each is important.

The Earth rotates by spinning on its axis. This rotation happens every day, and it takes 24 hours. Because the Earth rotates, we experience day and night as we turn away from and back toward the Sun. Since the Earth is spinning from west to east, this makes the Sun appear to rise in the east each morning. On the other hand, revolution is a slower process. The Earth completes one revolution around the Sun each year. As it does this, its distance from the Sun changes, because its orbit is not perfectly circular. When the Earth revolves, because of its tilted axis, it experiences seasons.

what is the International Date Line? Describe its geographic location. Why doesn't it follow a straight line? Why do we need it?

The International Date Line serves as a beginning and ending point for the world's time zones. The line moves in jagged directions through the Pacific Ocean in order to keep certain island nations together. That way, a grouping of islands wouldn't experience separate days despite being near each other! The International Date Line helps us to organize our global measurement of time.

The Mercator map is historically one of the world's most popular map projections. Describe this projection. Why was it created, and what kinds of distortion can you see?

The Mercator map was created in 1569 by Gerardus Mercator. The projection's creator wanted to create a map that would be helpful in navigating the world's seas. The map is set up on a useful grid. However, the map is clearly distorted! At the north and south ends of the map, Antarctica and Greenland are just two examples of landforms that appear far bigger than they should. Areas and distances are not portrayed accurately on this map.

In a short paragraph, explain the basics of the theory of plate tectonics. What does continental drift tell us about what happened to these plates in the past?

The theory of plate tectonics holds that the Earth's crust is composed of a series of plates that float and move on top of the Earth's mantle. These plates collide and grow apart, creating new land, new seafloor, and new mountains. They make up all parts of the Earth's crust. The theory of continental drift says that, in the past, our continental plates were grouped together into a supercontinent called Pangea.

Eva's home is located at 72° 30' E longitude. Sophia lives at 72° 30' W longitude. Which student lives closer to the Prime Meridian?

They are the same distance from the Prime Meridian.

The Goode projection distorts the Earth in some ways, but presents it accurately in others. Which of the following statements about this map projection is false?

This is not an equal-area map projection.

Aerial photographs most often are taken from __________.

aircrafts

Though it experiences freezing temperatures, much of Antarctica is considered a desert because it shares a key quality in common with other deserts: like all deserts, it has __________.

an average of less than 10 inches of precipitation per year

Geographic information about human activities __________.

can help leaders decide how to plan for the future

What are the three most important factors that affect the Earth's biomes?

climate, latitude, and elevation

Describe the Earth's two forest biomes (coniferous and deciduous). How are these two biomes different from one another? Explain your answer in at least three sentences.

coniferous and deciduous forests share many qualities; for example, they both are usually located in moderate climate zones and at middle latitudes. However, they sometimes have different kinds of vegetation because of differences in their climates. Coniferous forests contain many evergreen trees that have adapted to survive colder or drier winters. These trees do not lose their leaves. Deciduous forests, on the other hand, contain many trees that survive fall and winter by losing their leaves. The difference in vegetation is what makes these two biomes different from each other.

Which of the following is not one of the three types of physical processes that can cause weathering?

cultural

The process of subduction takes place when __________.

denser oceanic plates are forced beneath continental plates

Imagine that you're moving to a new home in Arizona, near the area shown in this photo. Your new area has a warm climate. It's also very dry, and it receives little rainfall. Animals have learned how to survive without many sources of water, and plants have learned to adapt to intense summers with high temperatures.In this situation, which of the Earth's biomes would you be living in?

desert

During a(n) __________, the Sun's energy hits the Earth's hemispheres the most evenly, and during a(n) __________, it hits the Earth's hemispheres the most unevenly.

equinox . . . solstice

The process of __________ takes place when the Earth's surface is worn away by the action of physical processes such as wind and water.

erosion

The effect of human activity on Earth is not important to geography.

false

GPS (the Global Positioning System) is a tool that is used to __________.

find locations and navigate between places

Imagine that you are a doctor who is studying the spread of a disease in your country. How could you use new technologies in geography to help you understand this problem? Give at least two examples of how you could achieve this goal using these tools.

first need to figure out where the disease is spreading. I could use a tool like GPS to find the exact locations of cases. Another technology I could use is GIS. I could combine maps of my country with data that shows where and when cases have taken place. I could find patterns in how the disease is spreading, which could help me keep it from spreading further.

Which of the following lists correctly orders the Earth's layers from its innermost layer to its outermost layer?

inner core, outer core, mantle, crust

Which of the following statements about perspective and perception in geography is false?

it is important to view the world geographically from only one perspective.

Which of the following lists correctly identifies the Earth's four spheres?

lithosphere, hydrosphere, troposphere, atmosphere

Which of the following measurements helps us determine distance from the Prime Meridian?

longitude

Climate affects human culture and human behaviors. What do low-latitude climate zones have in common with each other? Describe two common qualities you see and discuss how these common qualities might affect the people who live in these regions.

low-latitude climate zones are located closer to the Equator and tropical regions. Humid tropical and tropical savanna climate regions are usually warm year-round and usually experience plenty of precipitation. In warmer, more humid climates, humans may be able to participate in warm weather outdoor activities all year.

A researcher is going to Hawaii to study Japanese immigration to the United States. Which of the five themes of geography would the researcher most likely use?

movement

Which of the six essential elements of geography helps us better understand physical and cultural similarities and differences around the world?

places and regions

What is the primary technology that scientists use for detecting natural disasters, such as hurricanes?

radar

Sara is a geographer and an environmental scientist. She wants to study how forests are growing or shrinking as a result of human behavior. Sara is using photographs and images taken from Landsat, an object orbiting through the Earth's atmosphere, to understand the situation.Which remote sensing technology is Sara using in this situation?

satellite imagery

The image above shows how the Earth receives energy on a solstice day. In this image, it's June 21. Because of the light and energy each hemisphere is receiving, which season is the Northern Hemisphere experiencing in this image?

summer

Which of the Earth's layers is the thinnest (only three to thirty miles thick)?

the crust

If you are giving someone directions by describing an absolute location, you could say all of the following except "go to __________."

the east end of the National Mall, just past the Reflecting Pool

Northwestern Russia is an area in a polar climate zone. The temperatures here are cold all year! During winter, there are days where this area receives only a few hours of sunlight. Plants and animals are adapting to these unique challenges. Which of the Earth's biomes is shown in this description?

tundra