Geography Term 1

Question 1

What is a natural disaster?

Answer 1

Any event or force of nature that causes a lot of damage or kills a lot of people.

Question 2

What is an earthquake?

Answer 2

A sudden violent shaking of the ground, typically causing great destruction, as a result of movements within the earth’s crust or volcanic action.​

Question 3

What is a tsunami?

Answer 3

A long, high sea wave caused by an earthquake or other disturbance.​ It can also be a series of waves.

Question 4

What is a volcano?

Answer 4

A volcano is formed when magma reaches the Earth’s surface, causing eruptions of lava and ash. ​

Question 5

What is a landform?

Answer 5

A visually recognizable, naturally formed feature on the Earth’s surface, identified by their shape.

Question 6

What is a landscape?

Answer 6

A landscape is part of the Earth’s surface that can be viewed at one time from one place. The visible appearance of an area, created by a combination of geological, geomorphological, biological and cultural layers that have evolved over time.

Question 7

What is the difference between a natural and built environment?

Answer 7

A natural environment has not been impacted or changed by humans whereas a built environment is an area/place built by humans, e.g. city. ​

Question 8

What are the four main layers of the Earth?

Answer 8

The inner core, the outer core, the mantle, and the crust.

Question 9

What is the Earth’s inner core?

Answer 9

The Earth’s inner core is a very dense solid made from iron and nickel, it is 5,550*c - extremely hot.

Question 10

What is the Earth’s outer core?

Answer 10

The Earth’s outer core is 2,000km thick and liquid.

Question 11

What is the Earth’s mantle?

Answer 11

The Earth’s mantle is semi-molten and about 3,000km thick.

Question 12

What is the Earth’s crust?

Answer 12

The Earth’s crust is the rocky outer layer of our planet.
It is thin compared to the other layers, approximately 5 - 70km thick.

Question 13

What is the Earth’s crust made up of?

Answer 13

The Earth’s crust is made up of pieces called tectonic plates (lithospheric plates).
There are two types of crust, Oceanic crust and Continental crust.

Question 14

What is the difference between Oceanic crust and Continental crust?

Answer 14

Oceanic crust is found under the sea and is thinner and more dense than the continental crust.
The continental crust is what forms or lands.

Question 15

What are convection currents?

Answer 15

Convection currents are movements within the Earth’s mantle cause by the heat of the core. They cause the crust (tectonic plates) to move.

Question 16

What are tectonic plates?

Answer 16

Tectonic plates are the Earth’s crust broken into pieces which ‘float’ on the mantle layer.
These plates are always moving but very slowly, they move apart, collide into one another, and slide against each other.

Question 17

What does convergent mean?

Answer 17

Convergent is two tectonic plates moving and pushing against each other.
Convergent = Clash

Question 18

What does divergent mean?

Answer 18

Divergent is two plates moving away from each other.
Divergent = Divide

Question 19

What does transform (transformative) mean?

Answer 19

Transform (Transformative) is two plates sliding against each other.
Transform (Transformative) = Slide

Question 20

What factors are variations in landscapes influenced by?

Answer 20

Climate, Geographical features - Mountains and rivers, Latitude, Impact of humans, Where landscapes are located.

Question 21

What are some examples of natural disaster?

Answer 21

Volcano, Hurricane/Cyclone, Tornado, Drought, Flood, Earthquake, Tsunami, Landslide, Bushfire, Blizzard, Avalanche,

Question 22

What does proactive mean?

Answer 22

Creating or controlling a situation rather than just responding to it after it has happened.

Question 23

What does reactive mean?

Answer 23

Acting in response to a situation rather than creating or controlling it.

Question 24

What is shoaling?

Answer 24

Shoaling is when a tsunamis speed diminishes, its height grows. This shoaling effect, a tsunami that is unnoticeable at sea, may grow to be several metres or more in height near the coast.

Question 25

What are possible causes of a tsunami?

Answer 25

Possible causes of a tsunami are earthquakes, landslides, volcanic eruptions, explosions and meteorites.

Question 26

What are some ocean observing instruments that can detect tsunamis?

Answer 26

Tide gauges, satellite altimeters and the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) system.

Question 27

What is a tide gauge?

Answer 27

Tide gauges measure the height of the sea surface and are primarily used for measuring tide levels.

Question 28

What is a satellite altimeter?

Answer 28

Satellite altimeters measure the height of the ocean surface directly by the use of electro-magnetic pulses.

Question 29

What is the Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) system.

Answer 29

The Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) system - an array of stations is currently deployed in the Pacific Ocean that give detailed information about tsunamis while they are still far off shore. Each station consists of a sea-bed bottom pressure recorder which detects the passage of a tsunami. (The pressure of the water column is related to the height of the sea-surface)

Question 30

Where are volcanoes generally found?

Answer 30

Volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are either moving together (converging) or moving apart (diverging).
The Earth’s volcanoes are located mostly on the edges of the tectonic plates

Question 31

What is the ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’?

Answer 31

The ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’ is where over 400, or 75% of the world’s active and dormant volcanoes are located.

Question 32

Where are the most dangerous volcanoes found - Converging plate boundaries or diverging plate boundaries?

Answer 32

The world’s dangerous, explosive volcanoes are located where plates are converging. Quieter eruptions occur at the margins of diverging plates or in rift valleys or hot spots.

Question 33

What is the lithosphere?

Answer 33

The rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.

Question 34

What is the asthenosphere?

Answer 34

The upper layer of the earth’s mantle, below the lithosphere, where convection is thought to occur.

Question 35

What does the Richter Scale measure?

Answer 35

The Richter Scale measures the amount of energy released by an earthquake. For and earthquake to move up the Richter Scale, it needs to have 20 times as much energy as the number before.

Question 36

What are seismic waves?

Answer 36

When an earthquake occurs, energy is released from below the earth’s surface creating seismic waves.

Question 37

How are earthquakes measured on a Richter Scale?

Answer 37

Earthquakes are measured on a Richter Scale using seismographs, the lines on a seismograph represents the size of the earthquake.

Question 38

What are social effects?

Answer 38

Social impacts are the impact on people.

Question 39

What are economic effects?

Answer 39

Economic impacts are the impact on the wealth of an area.

Question 40

What are environmental effects?

Answer 40

Environmental impacts are the impact on the landscape.

Question 41

What is the Continental Drift Theory?

Answer 41

One of the earliest theories geologists thought continents moved over time.

Question 42

What is the relief?

Answer 42

The shape of the land’s surface.

Question 43

What is the Ring of Fire?

Answer 43

A horseshoe-shaped area where several tectonic plates meet around the edge of the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the occurrence of a large number of the world’s earthquakes and volcanoes.

Question 44

What is the lithosphere?

Answer 44

The rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.