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Physical Geography > Chapter 1 - Introduction To Earth > Flashcards

Chapter 1 - Introduction To Earth Flashcards

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1
Q

Earth’s diameter is closest to ___ km.

A

12,000

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2
Q

The response to earth’s rotation is…

A

Polar Flattening

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3
Q

The first nearly correct measurement of the earth’s circumference was made by…

A

Eratosthenes

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4
Q

“Greenwich Mean Time” is also known as…

A

Universal Time Coordinated

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5
Q

The sun’s rays are directly overhead at the ___ on or about December 21.

A

Tropic of Capricorn

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6
Q

The north end of the earth’s axis points towards…

A

Polaris

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7
Q

How many degrees of latitude are between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn?

A

47

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8
Q

The Greenwich Meridian is also known as the…

A

Prime Meridian

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9
Q

At the equator, a given point on earth’s surface travels about ___ km/hr.

A

1,600

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10
Q

Near the North Pole, one degree of latitude extends ___ km on the ground.

A

111

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11
Q

At the North Pole, one degree of longitude extends ___ km on the ground.

A

0

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12
Q

The world is divided into ___ standard time zones.

A

24

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13
Q

Before time zones were created in the 1880s, one could encounter ___ time standards on a rail trip across the U.S..

A

More than 20

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14
Q

Of the following, which is a greater circle?

A

Equator

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15
Q

Of the following, which is the first day of spring?

A

Vernal Equinox

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16
Q

The maximum distance between earth and sun occurs in July and is called the ___.

A

Aphelion

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17
Q

On June 21, the sun’s rays are directly over the…

A

Tropic of Cancer

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18
Q

The fact that at any time during the year, the earth’s axis is parallel to it’s orientation at all other times is called its parallelism, or…

A

Polarity

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19
Q

Russia contains ___ time zones.

A

9

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20
Q

The altitudinal difference between the top of the tallest mountain and the bottom of the deepest ocean trench is CLOSEST to ___ km.

A

20

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21
Q

The U.S. Spans ___ time zones.

A

6

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22
Q

The closest position taken by the earth relative to the sun is ___ million km.

A

147

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23
Q

When the circle of illumination just touched the arctic circle and the North Pole is dark, the date is closest to…

A

December 21

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24
Q

The geographic grid mine 180 degrees of longitude from the prime meridian is the…

A

180th meridian

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25
Q

Our solar system contains ___ moons revolving around the planets.

A

More than 100

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26
Q

A cross section of earth cut from pole to pole would reveal which shape?

A

Ellipse

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27
Q

How many time zones are contained within Alaska?

A

1

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28
Q

A ___ separates earth into two hemispheres.

A

Great circle

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29
Q

Longitude is divided into multiples of ___ degrees for the purpose of delimiting standard time zones.

A

15

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30
Q

Eratosthenes was the first to accurately measure the earth’s…

A

Circumference

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31
Q

Universal Time Coordinated is also known as…

A

Greenwich Mean Time

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32
Q

The 0 degree meridian is the same line as the…

A

Prime Meridian

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33
Q

A spot on the earth’s surface rotates fastest at the…

A

Equator

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34
Q

One degree of longitude equals 0 miles on the ground at the…

A

North Pole

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35
Q

The distance of 150 million km is CLOSEST to being…

A

The average earth/sun distance

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36
Q

The MilkyWay is one of, at least, ___ galaxies in the universe.

A

200 billion

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37
Q

The earth/sun aphelion occurs once per year during the month of…

A

July

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38
Q

When the sun’s rays are directly overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn, it is…

A

December 21

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39
Q

At the time of the aphelion, earth is ___ million km from the sun.

A

152

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40
Q

The MilkyWay is a galaxy some ___ light years in diameter.

A

100,000

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41
Q

The solar system’s Jovian planets are more likely composed of…

A

Gas

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42
Q

The moon is some ___ km from earth.

A

385,000

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43
Q

In science, the term theory is…

A

The highest order of understanding

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44
Q

At the International Date Line, there is a change of…

A

Day

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45
Q

The farthest north the vertical rays of the sun ever reach north of the equator occurs on or about…

A

June 21

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46
Q

Standardization in world time zones dates from…

A

1884

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47
Q

The earth is 3.3% closer to the sun during the northern hemisphere ___ than when it is farthest away.

A

Winter

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48
Q

On both the spring and fall equinoxes, the sun’s rays are vertically overhead at the…

A

Equator

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49
Q

The highest numbered latitude used in the geographic grid is ___ degrees.

A

90

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50
Q

Which of the following is a central meridian in the standardized time zone…

A

15 degrees W

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51
Q

A ___ is a vertical piece of metal on a sundial.

A

Gnomon

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52
Q

The constant angle between earth’s axis and the plane of the ecliptic is called earth’s…

A

Polarity

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53
Q

The circle of illumination just touches the Antarctic circle on or about…

A

June 21

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54
Q

The acceptance of a theory or hypothesis is based on…

A

A preponderance of evidence

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55
Q

Numbered meridians are…

A

Semicircles

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56
Q

The most important physical effect of the earth’s rotation is…

A

The alternation of sunlight and darkness

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57
Q

The solid, inorganic portion of the earth system is known as the…

A

Lithosphere

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58
Q

The size of the universe is best described as…

A

Vast beyond comprehension

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59
Q

A nebula is…

A

A cloud of gas and dust.

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60
Q

The surfaces of the inner planets of our solar system seem to be composed of…

A

Mineral matter

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61
Q

The MilkyWay is one of over ___ galaxies in the universe.

A

Many billions

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62
Q

After it was part of a nebula and before it was the sun, our sun was a…

A

Protostar

63
Q

Mt. Everest is the tallest mountain on earth and its altitude is closest to ___ m.

A

9,000

64
Q

The best description of the actual shape of the earth is an…

A

Oblate spheroid

65
Q

The earth is one of ___ planets in the solar system.

A

8

66
Q

The earth rotates about its…

A

Axis

67
Q

Which of the following is NOT defined by latitude?

A

Meridian

68
Q

Which of the following distances is CLOSEST to the actual distance associated with one degree of latitude?

A

100km

69
Q

Which of the following best describes the latitude and longitude of North America?

A

Northern & Western Hemispheres

70
Q

Suppose you are standing on the standard time meridian of 75 degrees W. Which would be the next standard time meridian to your west?

A

90 degrees W

71
Q

Which of the following takes the longest time?

A

A revolution of the earth

72
Q

The angular inclination of the earth’s axis with respect to a line perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic is…

A

23.5 degrees

73
Q

At the June solstice, day length varies from ___ hours at the equator to ___ hours at the North Pole.

A

12,24

74
Q

The perihelion is during the month of…

A

January

75
Q

Which of the following subsystems includes all living things on earth?

A

Biosphere

76
Q

Pluto is now classified as a…

A

Dwarf planet

77
Q

The earth’s polar and equatorial diameters vary by ___ percent.

A

0.3

78
Q

The line connecting the points of maximum flattening on earth’s surface is called the…

A

Axis

79
Q

Which of the following is also an entire great circle?

A

Equator

80
Q

In angular measurement, a minute contains ___ seconds.

A

60

81
Q

At the equator, one degree of latitude is approximately equal to…

A

One degree of longitude.

82
Q

The “natural” baseline which serves as a baseline to measure longitude…

A

Does not exist.

83
Q

The term “a.m.” means…

A

Before solar noon.

84
Q

Any standard time zone extends ___ degrees of latitude to the east and west of the central meridian.

A

7.5

85
Q

An Equinox has the property of…

A

12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night at all latitudes.

86
Q

When the vertical rays of the sun cross the equator on their way northward, the date is known as ___ in the northern hemisphere.

A

The vernal equinox

87
Q

Geography is…

A

A combination of physical and social sciences

88
Q

Earth is…

A

One of the inner planets.

89
Q

The universe is thought to be on the order of ___ billion years old.

A

13.7

90
Q

Our earthly grid system is also referred to as a ___ and consists of lines of latitude and longitude.

A

Graticule

91
Q

Which of the following is not contained within earth’s system of latitude and longitude?

A

A longitude of 185 degrees E

92
Q

The cause of the earth’s seasons is the…

A

Polarity of the axis

93
Q

In NYC, this is the shortest day of the year and the sun is also the lowest in the sky.

A

December solstice

94
Q

At times, latitudes higher than ___ degrees can have 24 hours or more of continuous darkness.

A

66.5

95
Q

The plane of the ecliptic is…

A

At an angle from the plane of the equator.

96
Q

Using a gnomon, one can…

A

Tell local time.

97
Q

The Sun is a star in the ___ Galaxy.

A

MilkyWay

98
Q

The shape of the MilkyWay is similar to a…

A

Spiral-shaped disk

99
Q

The amount of time the earth takes to revolve around the sun is most properly known as a…

A

Tropical year

100
Q

___ is considered a dwarf planet.

A

Pluto

101
Q

___ is the deepest spot in the ocean.

A

Mariana Trench

102
Q

To earth people, Polaris is an important star because…

A

It is a guide for navigation.

103
Q

The graticule of the earth is also known as…

A

Latitude & longitude

104
Q

One can tell it is solar noon by observing…

A

The length of shadows.

105
Q

What happened between 4.5 and 5 billion years ago?

A

The beginning of our solar system occurred.

106
Q

The word geography comes from the Greek, meaning…

A

Earth description

107
Q

Which of the following is not a major topic taught in a course of introductory physical geography?

A

Population

108
Q

The shape of earth’s orbit around the sun is an…

A

Ellipse

109
Q

The ___ is the name of the plane on which the earth revolves.

A

Ecliptic

110
Q

Pluto’s orbit is in the…

A

Kuiper belt

111
Q

The ___ Equinox of the Southern Hemisphere takes place when the vertical rays of the sun cross the equator on the journey southward.

A

Vernal

112
Q

The “living zone” in the atmosphere extends from earth’s surface to an altitude of approximately ___ km.

A

5

113
Q

The origin of the universe is incompletely understood and is called…

A

The “Big Bang”

114
Q

Earth rotates on it’s rotational axis. A plane at a right angle to and bisecting earth’s axis is known as the…

A

Plane of the equator

115
Q

Earth revolves around the North Star.

A

False

116
Q

The North Star is also known as Polaris.

A

True

117
Q

Almost all countries in the world base their time on UTC.

A

True

118
Q

The circle of illumination divides the earth into a light and dark hemisphere.

A

True

119
Q

The prime meridian was adopted as a result of an international conference in 1884.

A

True

120
Q

The plane of the ecliptic is the same thing as the perihelion.

A

False

121
Q

The equator is an example of a great circle in the geographic grid.

A

True

122
Q

The vertical rays of the sun take one year to travel from the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn and back to the Tropic of Cancer.

A

True

123
Q

The northern hemisphere’s vernal equinox occurs on September 23.

A

False

124
Q

The Tropic of Cancer is an example of a great circle.

A

False

125
Q

The plane of the equator and the plane of the ecliptic are the same thing.

A

False

126
Q

The earth’s circumference is close to 40,000km.

A

True

127
Q

In the northern hemisphere the longest day of the year is at the vernal equinox.

A

False

128
Q

The shortest distance between the earth and the sun during the year is approximately 147 million km.

A

True

129
Q

The northern hemisphere’s shortest day of the year is at the autumnal equinox.

A

False

130
Q

At the equator, the sun’s rays at noon strike the earth at an angle of 90 degrees above the horizon twice each year.

A

True

131
Q

On December 22, all areas inside the Antarctic circle are in daylight for a full 24 hours.

A

True

132
Q

The earth year’s length of 365.25 is known as the perihelion.

A

False

133
Q

At the North Pole, the speed of rotation of the earth is 0 km/hr.

A

True

134
Q

Larger angles of solar incidence concentrate solar energy in smaller areas of earth’s surface.

A

True

135
Q

The international date line and the 180th meridian are the same line.

A

False

136
Q

There are 24 minute for each degree of latitude.

A

False

137
Q

At one time, several nations had their own prime meridians.

A

True

138
Q

There is a parallel or meridian for every degree, minute, and second on the globe.

A

True

139
Q

The international date line follows the arctic and Antarctic circles.

A

False

140
Q

The vertical distance between earth’s highest mountain and deepest ocean trench is approximately 20km.

A

True

141
Q

The circle of illumination is a small circle.

A

False

142
Q

The lowest point of the sea bottom is approximately 11,000 meters below sea level.

A

True

143
Q

The international date line is in the middle of a time zone.

A

True

144
Q

Russia occupies 3 time zones.

A

False

145
Q

In the northern hemisphere, days become continually shorter after March 22.

A

False

146
Q

The adoption of daylight savings time would be of little value for most nations in the tropics.

A

True

147
Q

All planets in our solar system rotate from east to west.

A

False

148
Q

The sun makes up more than 99% of the mass of our solar system.

A

True

149
Q

When one crosses the prime meridian the time zone does not change.

A

True

150
Q

Our solar system is known as the MilkyWay.

A

False

151
Q

The vertical rays of the sun are present at the arctic circle during the June solstice.

A

False

152
Q

The vertical rays of the sun migrate between 23.5 degrees N and 23.5 degrees S.

A

True

153
Q

The coriolis effect deflects wind and water currents.

A

True

Physical Geography (7 decks)

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