Physical Geography

Question 1

What is the purpose of longitude and latitude?

Answer 1

The are both used to tell absolute locations.

Question 2

What is the International Date Line?

Answer 2

A 180 degree line that runs from the North pole to the South pole, going through the middle of the Pacific ocean.

The IDL separates two consecutive days. Specifically, to the right of the IDL is the “past” (the U.S.) and to the left is the “future” (China).

I think it is help deal with time differences. After all, the sun rises in the East, and f I have already seen the sunset, I am in tomorrow.

Question 3

Where is the equator line?

Answer 3

It runs right to left and splits the Earth into a top part (Northern hemisphere) and a bottom part (Southern hemisphere). The equator line goes through the top of South America and the middle of Africa.

The equator represents latitude 0 degree.

Question 4

Where is the prime meridian line?

Answer 4

It runs up and down and splits the Earth into a left part (Western hemisphere) and a right part (Eastern hemisphere). The prime meridian goes through Greenwich, England.

The prime meridian represents longitude 0 degree.

Question 5

List the seven continents.

Answer 5

1) Asia
2) Africa
3) North America
4) South America
5) Europe
6) Australia
7) Antarctica

Question 6

What is a continent?

Answer 6

Continuous expanses of land

Question 7

What is an ocean? What are the four major oceans?

Answer 7

An ocean is a body of salt water.

1) Pacific ocean (by CAL and China)
2) Atlantic ocean (by NY and Lagos)
3) Artic (by the North pole, above Europe)
4) Indian ocean (under Asia, between Africa and Aussie)

Question 8

What is a sea? What are the 4 major seas?

Answer 8

A “small” body of salt water. It generally said to be the part where the ocean nears the land.

1) Bering sea (next to Alaska)
2) Arabian sea (by the Indian ocean, next to the Middle East)
3) Caribbean sea (next to Cuba and Puerto Rico)
4) Mediterranean sea (between North Africa & South Europe)

Question 9

List the top six rivers in the world?

Answer 9

1) Nile river (In NE, Africa: Egypt thru Sudan)
2) Amazon river (in South America: runs thru Brazil, Peru, & Colombia)
3) Mississippi river ( in U.S.: runs from the top East to the bottom South)
4) Yangtze river (in China)
5) Yellow river (in China)
6) Yenisei (in Russia)

Question 10

List the six most popular mountain ranges?

Answer 10

1) Himalayas (tallest, stretches across Asia: India, China, Nepal)
2) Andes (longest, stretches across the length of South America)
3) Alps (Central Europe, above the boot)
4) Rocky Mountains (Canada to New Mexico: inward West)
5) Sierra Nevada (West, West U.S.: Nevada, California)
6) Appalachian Mountains (East, U.S./ Canada to AL)

Question 11

What is a region? What are the major ways of categorizing the regions of the world?

Answer 11

A region is an area of the Earth with a distinctive feature.

Regions can be categorizes in three ways:
1) physical: defining an area based on geographic location such as North, South, continents, etc. or based on natural features such as mountains, canyons, savannah, tundra, steppes, etc.

2) cultural: defining an area based on the common cultural characteristics of the people that live there. For example, Igbo land, Bread Basket, Sun Belt, Pueblo, etc.
3) political: defining an area based on government e.g. the U.S., Mexico, India, Nigeria, etc.

Question 12

What is a physical system? What are the types of physical systems?

Answer 12

Physical systems are natural phenomena in the world. The types of physical systems are

1) Atmosphere- the gases surrounding Earth (breath, filter)
2) Biosphere- the areas that sustain life forms–involves energy and nutrient flows (i.e. ecosystems).
3) Hydrosphere- all the water forms on Earth
4) Lithosphere- outer regions of Earth including crust and upper mantle

Question 13

What is the difference between weather and climate?

Answer 13

Weather is short-term changes to atmospheric conditions, whereas climate is a region’s long-term weather patterns.

Weather can change on a daily basis, but climate patterns are usually the same for hundreds of years.

Question 14

What is the fundamental factor that cause weather (1)?

Answer 14

The chief factor that influence weather is the uneven heating by the sun (i.e. certain latitudes get more sun than others).

Different amount of sun results in differences in temperature which leads to differences in air pressure. Mixing of different air pressures results in winds. Also, the sun causes evaporation which leads to cloud, humidity, and rain.

Question 15

What are the components of weather (6)?

Answer 15

1) temperature
2) air pressure
3) wind
4) humidity
5) clouds
6) rain

Question 16

What is air mass?

Answer 16

Air mass is the volume of air in an area. The air mass of an area has similar temperature, humidity, and pressure. Storms occur when air masses with different characteristics collide.

Question 17

What are the fundamental forces at work in seasons?

Answer 17

Seasons are different light, temperature, and weather pattern that occurs every year.

The Earth being titled as it revolves around the sun is why we have seasons. The axis pointed toward the sun experiences summer, whereas the axis pointed away from the sun experiences winter.

All in all, Earth’s tilt and its revolution around the sun is the reason why we have seasons.

Question 18

What are the fundamental forces at work in climate?

Answer 18

Climate is the average weather pattern of a region. We are able to have a stable weather pattern because Earth’s relationship to the sun is reasonably stable.

A region’s climate is affected by the region’s latitude (affects solar insolation), elevation (affects air pressure and temperature), and precipitation.

Climate change can result from human led global warming (i.e. increase emitted gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, & nitrous oxide) or from natural changes to Earth’s temperature because of change in Earth’s tilt, elliptical orbit, or wobble (axial precession).

Question 19

What are examples of physical changes that have a short-term effect on Earth?

Answer 19

floods, drought, snow storms, fires

Question 20

What are examples of physical changes that have a long-term effect on Earth?

Answer 20

earthquakes, desertification, erosion, sea dry out

Question 21

What are the mechanisms of erosion?

Answer 21

Erosion is the process whereby weathered rock and soil are moved away by weathering agents such as wind, water, and ice.

There are 3 processes to soil erosion: detachment (separates from soil matrix), transportation (the soil is moved away), and deposition (the soil is placed somewhere else as sediment).

FYI: although erosion is a natural process, we have played a role in increasing the overall rate of erosion.

Question 22

What are the consequence of erosion (3)?

Answer 22

1) loss of fertile farmland, leading to poor crop yield
2) increased sediment in rivers, harming fish and other water animals and reducing water quality
3) increases risk of flooding because the lands does resist/hold water well (#think the levy)

Question 23

What are the causes of desertification (4)?

Answer 23

Desertification is the process whereby fertile lands degrade and turn into deserts.

Desertification is caused by overcropping, overgrazing, deforestation, and droughts.

Question 24

What are the consequences of desertification?

Answer 24

1) reduces fertility and biodiversity
2) hurts means of livelihood, food, & water resources
3) soil erosion
4) affects the climate in the region (reduced rainfall, humidity, etc.)

Question 25

What is the mechanism of earthquakes (1)?

Answer 25

Earthquakes are shaking of the ground. They are cause by sudden release of energy deep in Earth’s crust. For example, a sudden release of energy can occur when faults that have been held together by friction suddenly slip past each other, sending seismic waves that are felt as vibrations and rumblings.

FYI: any movement of tectonic plates (diverging, converging, or transforming) will cause some type of earthquake, sometimes small and other times huge and massively destructive.

Question 26

What are the consequence of earthquakes?

Answer 26

1) death
2) damage to infrastructure (buildings, bridges, pipelines, etc.)
3) tsunami

Question 27

What affects a regions temperature?

Answer 27

latitude (dictates the sun rays you’ll receive), continentality (water body), and altitude.

In fact, albedos (how much light we reflect, snow vs concrete) affect temperature too

Question 28

What is plate tectonics? What are its effects?

Answer 28

Plate tectonics is a theory of how Earth’s land mass moves due to activity deep below the ocean floor, deep below the Earths crust, in the mantle and surrounding areas.

Plate tectonics/ the movement of Earth’s plates transforms Earth’s landscapes via creating earthquakes (thru transforming), mountains (thru converging plates/slam), and volcanos (thru diverging and converging plates/subduction)

Question 29

How are land forms created?

Answer 29

They form through endogenic processes (activities from within the Earth e.g. plate tectonics and rock cycles [the melting, ejecting, & cooling) and through exogenic processes (activities happening on the Earth’s surface e.g. weathering, and erosion)

Question 30

What is weathering?

Answer 30

Weathering is the breaking down of rocks into smaller fragments. There are three main types of weathering: mechanical, chemical, and biological

Question 31

What are the mechanisms of flooding?

Answer 31

1) getting a lot precipitation
2) depleting or somehow disrupting underground water infiltration
3) not having a lot of permeable lands
4) constructing dams and other water projects that disturbing natural river flow
5) deforesting

MAIN IDEA: Don’t tamper with river processes