Chapter 1 & 2 Part 2 Essentials of Geography

Question 1

What is the Earth’s dimensions?

Answer 1

Polar Circumference = 40,008 km (24,860 miles)
Equatorial Circumference = 40,075 km (24,902 miles)

Polar Diameter = 12,714 km (7,900 miles)
Equator Diameter = 12,756 km (7,926 miles)

Question 2

What is an Earth’s “Geoid?”

Answer 2

A surface within or around the Earth that is everywhere normal to the direction of gravity and coincides with the mean sea level in the oceans.

Question 3

What is Latitude?

Answer 3

Lines that run east and west (left to right) (think horizon)
It is parallel to the Earth’s Equator.
Measures the north and the south at an angle from the center (core) of the Earth.

Question 4

What is a line connecting all points along the same latitudinal angle?

Answer 4

Parallel

Question 5

What is Longitude?

Answer 5

Line that run north and south (up and down) (think ladder).
This is where the Prime Meridian (Greenwich, England) lies.
Measures East or West of an angle form the center of the Earth.

Question 6

What is a line connecting all points along the same longitude?

Answer 6

Meridian

Question 7

What is a great circle?

Answer 7

Any circle of Earth’s circumference whose center coincides with the center of Earth. (The size is equal to the Earth’s size).

Question 8

What is small circles?

Answer 8

Any circle that do not share Earth’s center and size, being smaller than the original size of Earth.

Question 9

What is meridian lines in terms of great circles?

Answer 9

Meridians are 1/2 of a great circle that crosses each parallel at right angles and passes through the poles.

Question 10

What are parallels in terms of great circles?

Answer 10

All parallels, except the equatorial parallel, diminish in length towards the poles.

Question 11

What parallel is a great circle?

Answer 11

The Equatorial parallel.

Question 12

What is Prime Meridian?

Answer 12

A line of 0 degrees longitude.
Runs through the original site of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, England.

Question 13

How was Greenwich, England selected by international agreement?

Answer 13

By an 1884 treaty.

Question 14

What became the world’s standard time?

Answer 14

Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)

Question 15

What is the International Date Line (IDL)?

Answer 15

A line located at 180 degrees longitude (meridian) on the opposite side of the planet.
This line indicates where each day officially begins (@ 12:01 AM).

Question 16

Where does the new day “sweeps” or moves? Why?

Answer 16

Westward because this movement is by the Earth turning eastward on its axis.

Question 17

Why does the IDL deviate from the 180 degrees meridian?

Answer 17

Due to local administrative and political preferences.

Question 18

What is the time standard for Earth (determined by longitude)?

Answer 18

Earth revolves 360 every 24 hours, having 15 degrees per hour.
Each 15 degrees longitude of 1 hour constitute a new time zone.

Question 19

What is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) also called?

Answer 19

Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)

Question 20

Where is UTC average time calculations kept?

Answer 20

Paris and then broadcasted worldwide.

Question 21

What is a map?

Answer 21

Generalized view of an area from the top down and reduced in size.

Creates a simplifies view of the Earth’s surface that shows where places and things are located.
Helps communicate information efficiently.

Question 22

What is scale?

Answer 22

Ratio of map units to ground units.

Question 23

What is Projection?

Answer 23

Process of transforming spherical Earth to flat map.

Question 24

What does a Title indicate on a map?

Answer 24

Geographic area.
Can also indicate data being presented based on thematic maps.

Question 25

What is Legend?

Answer 25

Explains the meaning of symbols used on the map.

This is key to understanding the map (along with the title).

Question 26

What are the two common expressions of scale?

Answer 26

1. Representative fraction (1:63,350 / 1 unit distance on map = 63,360 unit distance on ground).
2. Graphic Bar/Bar Scale (Scaling shown on map to measure distances on the map in terms of ground distances).

Question 27

What is small scale?

Answer 27

A less detailed map yet with more land coverage (EX. 1:1,000,000)

Sometimes small scale maps can contain “insets” at a larger scale to show detail in a congested area of the small scale map.

Question 28

What is large scale?

Answer 28

A more detailed map yet with less land coverage (EX: 1:10,000).

Question 29

What is direction?

Answer 29

Shows direction of where north is.

If there is no north, assume the top of the map is north.

Question 30

What is Magnetic North?

Answer 30

The north magnetic pole that is located in Nunavut at 78 degrees N 105 degrees W.

Question 31

What is Grid North?

Answer 31

An artificial north that is used on maps which have a rectangular grid (which are commonly used for navigation).

Question 32

What does Thematic maps use symbols for?

Answer 32

Used to display specific data theme.

Question 33

What does reference maps use symbols for?

Answer 33

To show location of physical features (roads, railroads, rivers, lakes, etc.) and non-visible features (boundaries, names, codes of geographic areas).