GES 110 Reading quiz study thing

The longest daylight period at the Equator is approximately:

12 hrs.

The smallest scale on a map is the following.

1:10000

On Dec. 21st, the noon sun is directly overhead at:

23.5° S

The sun's tilt or declination migrates through _____ degrees.

47

Areas located at ________ latitude experience 24 hours of daylight for six months of the year and 24 hours of night for six months of the year.

90 degrees

During summer, cities located near the coast are ________ than those in the interior at the same latitude, while in the winter they are _________.

cooler, warmer

The scientific method:

is a process to disprove hypotheses

Contour lines on a map representing lines of equal temperatures are called:

isotherms

When water freezes into ice, it releases stored energy called:

latent heat

Which factor is the most important when explaining variations in global temperatures?

latitude

Which of the following is easily determined using the position of the Sun or stars?

latitude

An angular distance measured east or west of a prime meridian from the center of Earth is termed:

longitude

14. Land has a ________ specific heat than water and therefore heats more ____.

lower, quickly

What type of feedback maintains stability in a system, i.e., what type of feedback keeps a system functioning properly?

negative

The urban heat island occurs when:

the city center is warmer than the surrounding rural areas

In mid-June, parts of Alaska receive more insolation at the top of the atmosphere than Miami, Florida. This is explained by:

the daylight hours are much longer in Alaska

Geography is a Greek term, which means:

the description of the Earth

When an unsaturated air parcel rises in the atmosphere, it cools at a constant rate called ____.

the dry adiabatic lapse rate

One degree of longitude is the shortest distance at ____.

the poles

The seasons are caused by:

the tilt of the Earth's axis

In the lowest layer of the atmosphere, temperatures stop decreasing with height at the:

tropopause

The layer of the atmosphere where most "weather" takes place is the _______.

troposphere

Biogeography includes the study of all of these except:

volcano types

The ____ is an example of a closed system.

water cycle

Earth's rotation is described as:

west to east

Negative feedback occurs:

when cooler temperatures lead to warmer temperatures

Perihelion occurs during the Northern Hemisphere's:

winter

What feature covers the largest portion of the Earth's surface?

Pacific Ocean

All map projections have this in common.

Some distortions

The ozone hole is located over ________.

the Antarctic in the stratosphere

Which of these can be considered a natural system?

the Earth

One degree of latitude equals one degree of longitude in length only at:

the Equator

What is the name of the process when heat is released into the environment and water changes phases?

condensation

Map projections that attempt to preserve land shapes accurately are called ____ maps.

conformal

Official temperatures are measured using thermometers placed in shelters that are:

ANSWER: d - all of the above white b. placed in the shade c. placed a few feet above the ground d. all of the above

Lines on a topographic map are called ______.

contours

In the Southern Hemisphere, Sydney, Australia's longest daylight hours occurs on:

December 21st

All portions of the Earth's continents and oceans have been accurately mapped.

False

Our U.S. cities are warmer in July since the Earth is closest to the Sun at that time.

False

Which one of the following depicts two or more map layers superimposed or synthesized?

GIS

Climatology includes which one of the following?

How the number of tornadoes in the U.S. has changed over the last 40 years

On which map projection does a straight line produce a true and constant compass direction?

Mercator projection

The Earth is not quite spherical, because:

The equatorial radius is a little larger than the polar radius.

The Southern Hemisphere is sometimes called "the water hemisphere."

True

The atmosphere is stable when there is a temperature inversion near the ground.

True

The shortest distance between two locations on the Earth is along a Great Circle.

True

seasonality involves the variability of both hours of daylight and the altitude of the Sun.

True

The lower atmosphere is considered very stable when there is _____.

a temperature inversion

When the environmental lapse rate is greater than the dry adiabatic lapse rate, the atmosphere is considered:

absolutely unstable

Which of the following terms is typically NOT related to physical geography?

agriculture

The cryosphere includes _____ .

all forms of frozen water

Mid-oceanic ridges are:

all of the above

The hydrosphere includes the:

all of these

Geomorphology includes the study of all these except:

animals

The location of the Earth's orbit where it is farthest from the sun is called the:

aphelion

High latitudes, like England and Scandinavia, receive the most insolation on clear days _____.

at the summer solstice

Which of the following is not an example of equilibrium?

atmospheric carbon dioxide

Ozone is destroyed by CFCs when the ___ in CFCs combines with oxygen.

chlorine

The scientific method involves:

developing a hypothesis

At all times during the year, the circle of illumination:

divides Earth between equal halves of sunlight and darkness

Insolation at the top of the atmosphere at the equator is greatest:

during equinoxes

Our planet and its organisms are sustained by _________.

energy from our star, the Sun

Model building ______________.

entails the controlled simplification of a complex reality

Conservation laws stating that these "can be neither created not destroyed," include all of the following EXCEPT:

entropy

In the Northern Hemisphere summer, the length of daylight increases:

from the equator poleward

The equinox:

has twelve hours of day and twelve hours of night for all locations.

Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere:

have been increasing since the 1950s

Which of the following is NOT a form of remote sensing?

taking a temperature reading with a thermometer

The midnight sun, or 24-hour daylight, occurs on June 22nd ________.

north of the Arctic Circle

The Gulf Stream causes isotherms to bend further ____ over the North Atlantic.

northward

GOES weather satellites provide continuous weather images of the same region as they:

orbit in a position above the same location on Earth

The biosphere includes all of the following EXCEPT:

ozone layer

A major sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide are:

plants

In winter, cold temperatures can cause rain to turn to snow. Once the ground is covered with snow, temperatures remain colder than before. This is an example of:

positive feedback

The ozone layer of the atmosphere is located in the:

stratosphere