Geography 2050 - Chapter 1

four major themes that structure Living Physical Geography...

(1) Solar energy puts the atmosphere and biosphere in motion. (2) Solar energy powers the biosphere. (3) Earth's internal heat energy, or geothermal energy, build the vertical relief of Earth's surface. (4) Solar energy reduces the height of mountains through erosion.

What are auroras?

- Material from solar winds - Solar winds interact with earth's magnetic field - Natural light display caused by collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in atmosphere

What are some examples of aerosols?

- Spray paint - Hair/deodorant spray - Cleaning sprays - Vegetable oil sprays -CFCs -Cloud droplets

Give examples of primary pollutants, their sources, and their effects on human health.

- carbon monoxide, car tailpipes, headaches - nitrogen dioxide, coal burning, lung irritation

In what three ways is energy transferred? Give real-world examples of each.

- radiant heat ie the sun - conduction ie coffee in a ceramic mug - convection ie winds

What are five important elements most maps have?

- scale - a legend - title - author - a date - North arrow- legend

System theory is a set....

... of interacting parts or processes that function as a unit, and it refers to our understanding of how that system operates.

How much air pressure is produced at sea level?

1013.25/14.7

Each degree of latitude is approximately _____ apart.

111 km (69 mi)

The lithosphere is fractured into _____ large plates.

14

Convert 100°F to Celsius.

35 (subtract 30 then divide by 2)

Without using a calculator, convert 10°C to Fahrenheit.

50 (multiply by 2 then add 30)

How high is the stratosphere?

50km

Midlatitudes and high latitudes are generally divided at the_____ parallel.

55th

Earth's liquid oceans cover about _____ percent of the planet's surface.

71%

The North and South Poles are located at _____ degrees of latitude.

90

We count up from 0 degrees to ______ degrees north, or 90 degrees south. So the range of latitude is 90 to 0, and 0 up to 90 at the North __________.

90/Pole

What is the geographic grid?

A geographic grid is a system of imaginary arcs drawn in a grid pattern on Earth's surface.

What is a map?

A two dimensional model of Earth's surface, or a portion of it.

_________ are things in the atmosphere that are suspended.

Aerosols

Which U.S. state is the farthest east on the geographic grid?

Alaska

What are the major characteristics of the troposphere?

All weather occurs here and highest vapor content

Where do auroras occur on the planet?

Auroras ccur near the poles during dark months because that is where the Earth's magnetic field concentrates the solar wind's particles.

30.45 degrees North is first right here on the graphic, and then run over to the area where you have 91 degrees West.

Baton Rouge

Why is the altitude of the tropopause different at the equator versus the poles?

Because of centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the earth causes the atmosphere to bulge at the equator.

Why is there so much air pressure at sea level?

Because of the amount of air above sea level is compressed on the earth's surface.

The science and art of map making is known as...

Cartography

_____ across Earth's surface set the atmosphere in motion.

Differences in solar heating

________ is an oblate spheroid.

Earth

The coordinates for the Northern Hemisphere and __________ Hemisphere are positive numbers; for the ___________ Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere, coordinates are negative numbers.

Eastern / Southern

Sometimes you'll see it as Northern and ______ hemispheres in positive numbers, and __________ and Western hemispheres in negative numbers._

Eastern /Southern

The Prime Meridian is 0 degrees longitude. The Prime Meridian runs through Greenwich, ________.

England

The cryosphere is...

Frozen water on earth

What does GPS stand for?

Global Positioning System

_______ remote sensing means that you are not actively sending out beams of light.

Passive

What are secondary pollutants?

Pollutants formed when primary poll reacts with each other or the air to form new pollutants

______________take pictures of our planet

Satellites

___________-scale perspective makes geographic features small to cover broad regions.

Small

Latitude is always listed first and will be included with the North and the ___________ , and longitude is always listed second and will be included with an _________ or a West.

South/East

Which scale refers to the physical size, length, distance, or area of an object or to the physical space occupied by a process?

Spatial

____________ scale refers to the physical size, length, distance, or area of an object

Spatial

tornadoes get their energy from the __________.

Sun

How do latitude and the continental effect influence the annual temperature range?

Sunlight is increasingly diffuse outside the tropics, resulting in lower surface temperatures at higher latitudes

________________ scale refers to the window of time used to examine phenomena and processes as well as the length of time over which they develop or change.

Temporal

What is not true about great circles and great circle routes? They are always the shortest path between two points on the globe. They are not always the shortest path between two points on the globe. Their paths will eventually cut the globe into two equal halves. The equator is the only line of latitude that is a great circle.

They are not always the shortest path between two points on the globe.

when ______ lifts, it cools and makes a cloud.

air

Contour lines always...

always connect back to themselves, forming a closed loop.

Geographic information system (GIS) maps are advantageous because they...

are interactive.

Large spatial scales show greater detail but less of Earth's surface _____________compared to small spatial scales.

area

The only type of map scale that remains accurate when the map is printed or photocopied in smaller or larger sizes is...

bar scale

Why is one "day" six months long at the poles?

because the tilt keeps it in the dark or in the light for 24 hours a day until the season it is tilted in the other direction.

Which type of map scale would be the best for a _______________ to use on a map that is to be published online?

cartographer

Map-making refers to ___________, that's the science and art of making maps.

cartography

Through photosynthesis, plants transform the sun's radiant energy to

chemical energy

the ________ is the long-term average of weather

climate

What is the name of the world map projection that preserves the true shapes of continents at the expense of their true relative areas?

conformal

A line of equal elevation is known as a...

contour line

In the troposphere, temperature __________ with height.

decreases

What is the subsolar point?

determines the solar altitude (or angle of incidence), which is the noontime angle of the Sun above the horizon, in degrees.

Most things that are closed systems end up ________ out before they ever really make it very far.

dying

With the North Pole facing up, Earth rotates:

eastward parallel to the line of latitude

What would happen to the earth if there were no axial tilt?

There would be no seasons.

A line of equal _________ is known as a contour line, and they're the most commonly seen which is why I'm showing them to you here. They always connect back to themselves and form closed loops, they converge on vertical cliffs and they never cross each other.

elevation

Radiant _________, that of the Sun, is the most important. And it's where you have electromagnetic waves coming in from outside of us.

energy

What performs work or can change the state of matter?

energy

That rate of cooling is actually known as the environmental lapse rate, and it's unique depending on anywhere you are on the planet.

environmental lapse rate

Latitude are the lines that run north and south of the _________.

equator

One majorly important line of latitude is the ____________, and it's right at dead center in the middle of the planet, it's 0 degrees.

equator

The _____ is the line of latitude that divides Earth into two equal halves.

equator

The _____ is the only great circle parallel.

equator

Earth's four main physical Earth systems—the atmosphere, the biosphere, the lithosphere, and the __________.

hydrosphere

A closed system is pretty impossible, because it's one that actually utilizes all the resources...

in itself, and sustains itself that way.

The geographic ____________ system (GIS) analyzing remotely sensed data.

information

geographic _____________ systems or GIS, use computers to capture, store, analyze and display spatial data.

information

Geothermal energy is energy from

inside the earth

Matter is any material that occupies space and has ________.

mass

Lines of longitude are known as ___________.

meridians

Doppler radar uses _____ energy to measure the velocity and direction of movement of particles of rain or hail within a cloud.

microwave

Remote sensing with Doppler radar is when we actually utilize ____________ energy to send out from a Doppler radar detection, bounces and hits the rainfall or whatever precipitation exists in the atmosphere. And provides a return at go back to the receiver.

microwave

Kinetic energy is the energy of ________.

movement

In relation to the subsolar point, how are the tropics defined?

moves from the Tropic of Cancer 23.5 degrees north to the Tropic of Capricorn 23.5 degrees south, then back again, over a 12-month period.

anomaly is the thing that stands apart from _______________.

normal

The location specified by the coordinates 48.36248 degrees, -123.49247 degrees is in the...

northwest/western

In water's gas phase, molecules are ____ bonded together.

not

Physical geography and human geography _____ overlap.

often

___________ is the shape and physical character of Earth's surface in a region.

typography

the ___________ is the state of the atmosphere at any given moment

weather

Energy can perform ______ on or change the state of matter.

work

Which map is the smallest scale? a map of the United States a map of Ohio a world map a map of Cleveland

a world map

What is not true about a globe? Globes are always at a large spatial scale. It's impossible to show very much detail on a globe. The edges of the visible half are distorted on a globe. Only half a globe can be viewed at a time.

Globes are always at a large spatial scale.

How do its temperature and pressure change with altitude?

It gets cooler as one gets higher in the troposphere and the air pressure decreases.

How is the ozone molecule (O^3) both beneficial and harmful to people? Explain.

It keeps the earth warm but it can keep it too warm because of its ability to absorb too much heat leading to global warming, and respiratory ailments and plant crops

why the atmosphere doesn't actually crush us.

It's because we have equal opposing pressure inside our bodies that have adapted to the environment we live in.

__________-scale perspective makes geographic features large to show more detail.

Large

Using decimal degrees, ___________ Whitney is located at 36.57857°, -118.29225°.

Mount

Which places are the two most extreme vertical distances on Earth's land surface?

Mount Everest in Nepal and the Dead Sea in Israel

What are two major permanent gases?

Nitrogen & Oxygen

Which statement regarding the essentials of a map is true?

North is not always "up" on a map.

The geographic grid coordinates 36.57857 degrees, -118.29225 degrees indicate that this location is in the _____ hemispheres.

Northern and Western...

Describe day length and the position of the subsolar point for each of the four seasonal markers.

The December solstice and shortest day in the winter occurs around December 21 each year, when the subsolar point arrives at the Tropic of Capricorn. This seasonal marker is also called the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. After the December solstice, the subsolar point migrates northward. The March equinox (also called the spring equinox or vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the fall equinox or autumnal equinox in the Southern Hemisphere) occurs when the subsolar point crosses the equator on or around March 20. Around June 21, the subsolar point arrives at the Tropic of Cancer, marking the June solstice (or summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere) is the longest day. From there the subsolar point migrates back south. Three months later, around September 22, the subsolar point crosses the equator again, marking the September equinox (or fall equinox in the Northern Hemisphere).

Describe the relationship between average annual temperature and changes in elevation and latitude.

The average annual temperature at any given location is controlled mainly by elevation and latitude. (lapse rate 6.5)

What is axial tilt and why is it the single most important factor causing seasons?

The axial is tilted at the North Pole 23.5 degrees because it determines when a season is...

What is the tropopause?

The boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere.

What happens to seasonality when axial tilt is increased?

This would create extreme seasonal change.

Temporal Scale: _______ as a Perspective

Time

What are aerosols?

Tiny solid and liquid particles suspended in the atmosphere

The tropics are bounded by the _________ of Cancer and the Tropic of ______, in the north and south at 23.5 degrees, respectively.

Tropic / Capricorn

All weather occurs here.

Troposphere

Atmospheric warming results in more cloud cover. More clouds, in turn, cool the atmosphere.

a negative feedback system

In a positive feedback loop, a system experiences...

a trend

Our rotation is _________ at the equator on our planet.

fastest

two main groups of gases permanent gases which barely fluctuate nd then there are variable gases which ___________.

fluctuate

Geographers use the __________grid.

geographic

a _________ is the only accurate representation of our planet.

globe

A ____________ represents the shortest distance between two points on Earth.

great circle

Compare a great circle route with a small circle route. Which is used in long-distance flights by aircraft?

great circle

Which one is used as an example in this chapter?

ground-level ozone

The ___________ is in Mount Everest in the Himalayas, and the lowest is in the Dead Sea.

highest

Physical geography often examines ___________ change over the centuries, thousands of years, or longer.

landscape

A historical geographer studying the settlement pattern found in 1700 in Boston, Massachusetts, would employ a _____ perspective.

large-scale

Compare a large-scale map with a small-scale map. Which would a map of a single mountain be?

large-scale

The angular distance as measured from Earth's center to a point north or south of the equator is...

latitude

Each line of _____________ is known as a parallel, and different areas are known as different latitudinal _________.

latitude /zones

LIDAR (light detection and ranging) uses _____ energy to image Earth's surface.

light

Opposing _____ of longitude on the other side of the planet is the International ______ Line at (180) degrees.

line /Date

What are parallels?

lines of latitude connected together. *named in relationship to the equator.

What are meridians?

lines of longitude from the North Pole to the South Pole

Earth's rigid outer surface, and the heated layer beneath it down to about 100 km (62 mi), makes up the...

lithosphere

Large scale asks small area or local questions, think large scale, __________ questions.

local

The Prime Meridian is a line of ______.

longitude

The angular distance measured from Earth's center to a point east or west of the prime meridian is...

longitude

latitude and _____________ to find out where you are, and it can be given in degrees, _________ and seconds, or decimal degrees.

longitude /minutes /degrees

A ______ is a flat two-dimensional representation of Earth's surface.

map

For which application would Doppler radar be employed?

mapping seafloor contours

The study of Earth's living and non-living physical systems and how they change through space and time is...

physical geography

The tropics are at the center of the _________, and are the _______ part of our planet.

planet/hottest

The stretched string of an archer's bow is an example of _____ energy.

potential

any kind of falling rain, snow, sleet, hail, even fog is considered ____________.

precipitation

Active _________sensing for the first to the entity itself, sending out a beam of energy that hits a surface and is bounced back to the receiver that displays the picture.

remote

LIDAR is a new type of ________ sensing that uses light to image Earth's surface.

remote

Open systems are virtually everything on our planet, and your body is a great example. It's anything that utilizes...

resources outside of itself to sustain itself.

Geographers are interested in ________.

scale

Maps have to have a ________, it specifies how much the real world has actually been reduced.

scale

Geographers employ two types of scale: spatial _______ and ________ scale.

scale/temporal

Large spatial __________ may better reveal local processes, and small spatial scales often better reveal broad geographic patterns.

scales

temporal _________ also allows geographers to determine whether processes actively shaping the landscape in the past are still at work today.

scales

A biogeographer mapping the current ranges of penguin species across the Southern Hemisphere would employ a _____ scale perspective.

small

When you ask questions about tens of thousands of kilometers, or planetary earth questions, those are __________ scale questions.

small

Almost all life on Earth is a physical manifestation of _____ energy.

solar

The atmosphere is set in motion by...

solar

The biosphere is powered by...

solar

Which technology is most commonly used to map the seafloor?

sonar

how we know mountains are hidden deep in the ocean, you would say _____________.

sonar

All maps reduce the size of geographic______.

space

Spatial refers to _________ , and it's the idea of the size, length, distance, or area of an object.

space

Geographers employ varying ____________ and temporal scales to study any given phenomenon or process.

spatial

Which type of scale would primarily be employed by a geographer studying the physical space occupied by a specific day's migration of Canada geese in North America?

spatial scale

Geographers are interested in all of these types of activities, both __________ and temporally.

spatially

What are the two subzones based on latitude?

subtropical and polar

What is an example of radiant energy?

sunlight

What is the difference between temperature and heat?

tempurature is the energy ie the average speed of molecular movement (or level of excitation) within a substance or an object, and it is measured with a thermometer. Heat is the energy transferred between materials or systems due to their temperature differences.

Scientific hypotheses must be

testable

1013.25 millibars

the average sea level air pressure above any individual or item on sea level on planet Earth.

What factors cause seasonality to increase farther inland?

the continental effect meaning how easy it is to have wide ranges of temperature rather than steady averages in maritime climate... caused by prevailing winds.

In what portions of the atmosphere do auroras occur?

the ionosphere

_____ regulates and determines the atmosphere's chemistry over time scales of millions of years.

the lithsophere

What is air pressure?

the result of the weight of a column of air pushing down on an area

Physical Geography is...

the study of Earth's living and nonliving physical systems, and how they change through space and time naturally or by human activity.

Geograph is defined as...

the study of the spatial relationships among Earth's physical and cultural features, and how they develop and change through time.

What would happen to it if axial tilt were 90°?

the subsolar point (the orange dot) would migrate from the South Pole to the North Pole and then back again within the period of 1 year. This would create extreme seasonal change.

In a positive feedback system...

the system becomes destabilized and changes.

What and where are the three major globalzones that are based on latitude?

the tropics, midlatitudes, and high latitudes. Orange indicates areas with surface water temperatures up to 32°C (90°F). Violet indicates surface water near freezing (0°C [32°F]). Surface seawater temperature is high in the tropics. Around the 55th parallel, at the boundary of the midlatitudes and high latitudes, the water transitions to near-freezing temperatures. At high latitudes, seawater is always near freezing.

What are aphelion and perihelion and when do they occur?

they are when earth is closest to the sun. They occur in January and July.

what are our clouds made out of?

they're made out of liquid water and aerosols.

Temporal scale is referring to __________.

time

Digital elevation models are digital representations of land surface or underwater _____________.

topography

Are clouds end at the ________ and the reason is because of the temperature inversion in the stratosphere. That troposphere the upper limit is known as the tropopause, just like all of the upper limits of all the layers.

troposphere

List the four layers of the atmosphere that are based on changes in temperature with altitude.

troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere