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Physical Geography > Chapter 1 - The Geographer's Toolkit > Flashcards

Chapter 1 - The Geographer's Toolkit Flashcards

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1
Q

physical geography

A

the study of Earth’s living and nonliving physical systems and how these systems change naturally through space and time or are changed by human activity

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2
Q

system

A

a set of interacting parts or processes that function as a unit

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3
Q

process

A

a stepwise progression of events

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4
Q

geography

A

the study of spatial relationships among Earth’s physical and cultural features and how they develop and change over time

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5
Q

anthropogenic

A

created of influence by people

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6
Q

spatial scale

A

refers to the physical size, length, distance, or area of an object (e.g. a cloud or rainforest)

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7
Q

temporal scale

A

the window of time used to examine phenomena and processes as well as the length of time over which they develop and change

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8
Q

map

A

a two-dimensional representation of a location’s surface; can be drawn at any spatial scale

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9
Q

large-scale perspective

A

makes geographic features look large to show more detail (e.g. a map of UCF’s main campus)

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10
Q

small-scale perspective

A

makes geographic features small to cover broad regions (e.g. a map of Florida)

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11
Q

energy

A

the capacity to do work on or to change the state of matter

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12
Q

matter

A

any material that possesses and occupies space

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13
Q

radiant energy

A

the energy of electromagnetic waves, such as light or x-rays

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14
Q

photosynthesis

A

a process by which plants, algae, and some bacteria convert the sun’s radiant energy to stored chemical energy

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15
Q

chemical energy

A

energy in a substance that can be released through a chemical reaction

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16
Q

geothermal energy

A

heat from Earth’s interior

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17
Q

atmosphere

A

the layer of gases surrounding Earth that extends outward from the surface of the Earth for hundreds of kilometers, containing more than a dozen different gases and performs many functions crucial to life, such as providing life-sustaining oxygen and blocking the harmful rays from the sun

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18
Q

biosphere

A

all life on Earth

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19
Q

crust

A

the rigid outermost portion to Earth’s surface

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20
Q

lithosphere

A

Earth’s rigid crust plus the heated layer beneath it

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21
Q

hydrosphere

A

encompasses all of Earth’s water in its three states: solid, liquid, and gas

22
Q

cryosphere

A

the frozen portion of the hydrosphere

23
Q

positive feedback

A

a process by which interacting parts in a system destabilize the system

24
Q

negative feedback

A

a process by which interacting parts in a system stabilize the system

25
Q

weather

A

the state of the atmosphere at any given moment and is made up of ever-changing events on time scales ranging from minutes to weeks

26
Q

climate

A

the long-term average of weather and average frequency of extreme weather events

27
Q

erosion

A

the scouring and stripping away of rock fragments loosened by weathering through flowing water, ice, or wind

28
Q

deposition

A

the laying down or depositing of sediments that are being transported by flowing water or ice

29
Q

geographic grid

A

a coordinate system that uses latitude and longitude to identify locations on Earth’s surface

30
Q

latitude

A

the angular distance measured from Earth’s center to a point north or south of the equator

31
Q

parallel

A

points of the same latitude connected together to form a line

32
Q

tropics

A

geographic region between 23.5 degrees north and south latitude

33
Q

prime meridian

A

counterpart to the equator: the 0 degree starting point of which all lines of longitude are determined

34
Q

longitude

A

the angular distance measured from Earth’s center to a point east or west of the prime meridian

35
Q

meridian

A

points of the same longitude connected together to form a line

36
Q

global positioning system (GPS)

A

a global navigation system that was developed in the 1970s and 1980s by the US Department of Defense and uses more than 30 satellites operated by the US government to determine the geographic coordinates of any location

37
Q

cartography

A

the science and art of map making

38
Q

equal-area map projection

A

preserves the true areas of continents at the expense of their true shapes

39
Q

conformal map projection

A

preserves the true shapes of continents at the expense of their true areas

40
Q

great circle

A

a continuous line that bisects the globe into two equal halves and represents the shortest distance between two points on Earth

41
Q

map scale

A

specification of how much the real world has been reduced on the map

42
Q

topography

A

the shape and physical character of Earth’s surface in a given region

43
Q

elevation

A

the vertical distance of a land surface above or below mean sea level

44
Q

relief

A

the relative difference in elevation between two or more points on Earth’s surface

45
Q

contour lines

A

lines of equal elevation in relation to sea level

46
Q

remote sensing

A

technologies such as aerial photography and satellite data that collect physical information and data without direct contact with the subject

47
Q

radar

A

short for radio detection and ranging; active remote sensing to study Earth’s surface by sending rapid pulses of radio waves and receives the return signals reflected off Earth’s surface to create detailed and precisely georeferenced three-dimensional reconstructions of surface topography

48
Q

digital elevation model (DEM)

A

a three-dimensional representation of Earth’s land surface or underwater topography

49
Q

doppler radar

A

an active remote sensing technology that is widely used in the study of the atmosphere and meteorology

50
Q

geographic information system (GIS)

A

processes and analyzes large volumes of spatial data using computers to capture, store, analyze, and display spatial data, providing visual tools to help users gain a better understanding of the spatial relationships among geographic phenomena

Physical Geography (10 decks)

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