Unit 2: Physical Geography (P1)

Question 1

What are the 4 major Geological Eras?

Answer 1

Cenozoic (0-65 M years ago)

Mesozoic (65 - 248 M years ago)

Palezoic (248 - 540 M years ago)

Precambrian (540 - 4500 M years ago)

Question 2

Precambrian Era

Answer 2

[earliest life , 88% of history]

Major Geologic Events:
- Precambrian shields (eg. Canadian, Brazilian, African, and Australian Shields) are formed

Major Biological Events :
- First single-celled organisms
- First multi-celled organisms

Question 3

Palezoic Era

Answer 3

[ancient life , 7% of history]

Major Geologic Events :
- Periods when large parts of North America are covered by shallow seas
- Appalachians formed (Northeastern North America)

Major Biological Events :
- First plants and animals appear on land
- Large swamps (Coal eventually formed from this vegetation)
- First insects
- (Age of amphibians and fish)

Question 4

Mesozoic Era

Answer 4

[middle life , 4% of history]

Major Geologic Events:
- Shallow seas in the interior of North America at various times
- Innuitian Mountains formed (Canadian Arctic region today)
- Formation of the Rocky Mountains begins

Major Biological Events:
- First birds and mammals
- First flowering plants
- Age of reptiles, such as dinosaurs

Question 5

Cenozoic Era

Answer 5

[recent life , about last 1% of history]

Major Geologic Events:
- Formation of the Rocky Mountains completed
- Continents take on their present shape
- Ice sheets cover much of North America

Major Biological Events :
- Modern forms of life evolve
- Human beings develop
- age of mammals

Question 6

Palezoic Era is the age of….

Answer 6

amphibians and fish

Question 7

Cenozoic Era is the age of….

Answer 7

mammals

Question 8

Mesozoic Era is the age of….

Answer 8

reptiles, such as the dinosaurs

Question 9

History of continental drift theory?

Answer 9

Alfred Wegener noticed that continents fit together like a puzzle piece + same species in diff continents

was ridiculed until more research was done to find out he was right

• thermal convection in the mantle could move the continental crust on top of it.
• When Earth’s magnetic field slips, magnetic material in the deep earth (hot magma) preserve the fingerprint (cools/hardens in2 rock), geologists can analyze rock and trace back history –seafloor was spreading apart at ridged where new rock was oozing up from the hot mantle

Question 10

What is continental drift theory?

Answer 10

states that Earth’s continents were once joined together as a single supercontinent called Pangaea, and over time, they have gradually drifted apart to their current positions

Question 11

Plate tectonics is a modern update on what earlier theory?

Answer 11

Continental Drift Theory

Question 12

What is the mantle?

Answer 12

the rocky inner layer above the Earth’s core

Question 13

what is the lithosphere

Answer 13

the Earth’s solid outer layer

Question 14

Explain Convergent boundaries.

Answer 14

where plates collide into one another. Where those plates meet, Earth’s crust crumbles and buckles into mountain ranges. (eg: India & Asia came tg abt 55 M yrs ago 2 create the Himalaya Mountains. As the mash-up continues, those mountains grow higher and higher)

Question 15

What is Subduction in relation to plate boundaries?

Answer 15

Converging plates don’t always collide upward. Sometimes, an ocean plate (which is made of denser rock than landmasses) collides with a continental plate, in which case it “subducts” or dives beneath the other plate. It then descends into the Earth’s mantle, the layer underneath the crust, melts in the mantle’s hot magma, and is spewed out in a volcanic eruption.

Question 16

Explain Divergent boundaries.

Answer 16

tectonic boundaries where plates “diverge” or are tugged apart.

Question 17

What is created when plates diverge under the ocean?

Answer 17

mid-ocean ridges

Question 18

Explain Transform boundaries.

Answer 18

where plates move sideways in relation to each other.

Also the slip-sliding motion of plate boundaries that triggers many earthquakes.

Question 19

Generally what is the rate of plate movement?

Answer 19

rate of one to two inches (three to five centimeters) per year, according to National Geographic

• about as fast as fingernails

Question 20

What is the Ring of Fire

Answer 20

a path along the Pacific Ocean with a bunch of active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes

Question 21

Erosional processes?

Answer 21

weathering, erosion, deposition

Question 22

erosion?

Answer 22

the moving of broken-up pieces of rock.

Question 23

weathering?

Answer 23

the breaking down of rocks.

Question 24

deposition?

Answer 24

The building up of eroded materials in a new location.

Question 25

Who came up with the Continental Drift Theory?

Answer 25

Alfred Wegner

Question 26

what is the longest geographic era?

Answer 26

precambrian

Question 27

what is the shortest geographic era?

Answer 27

cenozoic

Question 28

definition: plate tectonics

Answer 28

the theory that Earth's outer shell is made up of individual plates that move, causing earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains, and the formation & destruction of areas of the crust the theory that Earth's outer shell is divided into large slabs of solid rock, called “plates,” that glide over Earth's mantle

Question 29

definition: mid ocean ridge

Answer 29

a feature created by the spreading of the sea floor where 2 plates are diverging. The best-known example runs through the Atlantic Ocean from north to south

Question 30

The mid-Atlantic ridge is which type of plate boundary?

Answer 30

Divergent

Question 31

What is an oral tradition?

Answer 31

a community's cultural/historical traditions passed down by word of mouth or example from one generation to another without written instruction.

Question 32

Where is the Ring of Fire?

Answer 32

surrounds the Pacific Ocean, from The tip of South America to Southern Asia The Ring is the boundary between the Pacific oceanic plate and the continental plates that surround it

Question 33

Interrelationships of the Ring of Fire

Answer 33

(Economic) Engineers learned lessons during the San Andreas earthquakes that helped them build safer structures. (Social) Japan’s society and culture has been shaped by the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions - Drumming (sound like an eruption) - Lifestyle (Hot springs, having to clean ash off of cars) - Evacuation drills - Domed roof malls (Environmental) Japanese Snow Monkeys have adapted to living near volcanic hot springs. (Social) Indonesia - Religious ceremonies linked to the themes of fire and death (Economic) Indonesia - People mine sulfur from volcanoes, which is very dangerous. (Economic) Indonesia - The ash from the volcanoes helps to create fertile soil that crops can grow in (Environment) In Hawaii new land is created when the lava cools from erupting volcanoes.

Question 34

What was the name of the most recent supercontinent, and how many years ago did it form?

Answer 34

Pangea. It was formed about a billion years ago

Question 35

on the moment magnitude scale, are the numbers multiplied or added?

Answer 35

multiplied

Question 36

Which Earth layer is convectional currents that cause the Earth's plates to move are located in?

Answer 36

The Mantle

Question 37

name the ice sheet that covered our region of Canada during the most recent ice age

Answer 37

Laurentide ice sheet

Question 38

Why are the first three glacial advances not important to Canada today?

Answer 38

most evidence of them was wiped out by the 4th one

Question 39

What are the two broad categories of glacial effects?

Answer 39

erosional - advancing /getting bigger depositional - retreating/getting smaller

Question 40

What is the Gulf Stream?

Answer 40

a warm ocean current that goes from the equator up the east coast of the U.S

Question 41

What are interrelationships?


Answer 41

connections within/between natural/human environments interconnected parts of an environment or work together to form a system relationships that exist within & between system (s) and the impact they have on e/o

Question 42

What is Geographic Perspective


Answer 42

the environmental, economic, political, and/or social implications of issues, events, developments, and/or phenomena make decisions/judgements to solve problems

Question 43

What is "Patterns and Trends" 


Answer 43

characteristics that are similar & repeating in natural/human environments (patterns) characteristics/traits that exhibit a consistent tendency in a particular setting over a period of time (trends) characteristics may be spatial, social, economic, physical or environmental analyse connections between characteristics to determine patterns , analyse connections between those characteristics over time to determine trends