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The Natural Environment
Exam #1
167
Geography
Undergraduate 3
02/25/2016
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Term
In terms of energy, the Earth system is a/an __________
 Definition
Open system
Term
Honolulu's longitude:
 Definition
157° W
Term
A line of geographic grid that runs north-south direction on a map is __________
 Definition
Meridian
Term
Each hour, Earth rotates through __________ of longitude.
 Definition
15°
Term
Greenwich was given the honor of being named the site of 0° longitude, the __________ Meridian, because of England's major contributions to the science of navigation.
 Definition
Prime
Term
There are two main branches of geography: __________ geography and __________ geography
 Definition
Human, physical
Term
At June solstice, all areas north of the Arctic Circle experience continuous sunlight (24 hours a day).
 Definition
true
Term
The earth's circumference is about:
 Definition
25,000 miles
Term
At places to the east of a given location, the time is later, and at places to the west the time is earlier.
 Definition
true
Term
The angular distance measured north or south of the Equator is called
 Definition
Latitude
Term
The scientific method process starts from _________
 Definition
formation of a hypothesis
Term
The word geography derives from Greek roots meaning to write about the _
 Definition
Earth
Term
The Global Positioning System is an orbiting network of at 24 __________ maintained by the Department of Defense
 Definition
Satellites
Term
When you move eastward across the International Date Line you move ahead one day (Friday becomes Saturday).
 Definition
false
Term
The _________ passes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in London, England.
 Definition
prime meridian
Term
Evaporation releases large amounts of energy leaving more to heat the air and causing warmer temperatures.
 Definition
false
Term
It turns out that atmospheric gases (on Earth and elsewhere) absorb __________ radiation very strongly. This causes a warming of planetary surfaces by a process we know as the greenhouse effect.
 Definition
longwave
Term
A term most often used to describe the radiant energy emitted from the Sun in the visible and near ultra-violet wavelengths:
 Definition
shortwave radiation
Term
Earth has an energy surplus in the tropics and an energy deficit for the polar areas.
 Definition
true
Term
Because of their __________ heat capacity, ocean surfaces heat and cool very slowly.
 Definition
high
Term
The tropical areas receive __________ radiation from the Sun than they lose to space.
 Definition
more
Term
Which of the following visible lights has the shortest wavelength?
 Definition
blue
Term
Sunlight is strongly absorbed through the atmosphere to heat it.
 Definition
false
Term
The __________ Hypothesis states that life on Earth, collectively, actively controls climate and maintains near-optimal conditions.
 Definition
gaia
Term
Greenhouse effect is
 Definition
The warming of an atmosphere by its absorbing and reemitting infrared radiation while allowing shortwave radiation to pass on through.
Term
The angle of sunlight to the surface depends on
 Definition
Latitude
Term
Venus is far cooler than Earth because it is completely enshrouded by clouds.
 Definition
false
Term
The noon Sun will be directly overhead at the Tropic of Cancer on:
 Definition
summer solstice
Term
Albedo does not vary widely between surfaces.
 Definition
false
Term
The value of Solar Constant is significantly different between the Equator and the North Pole:
 Definition
false
Term
Air flows from High to Low and Coriolis deflection produces __________ winds in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres between about 30° and 60° latitude.
 Definition
Westerly
Term
The composition of atmosphere significantly varies with elevation up to 80 km.
 Definition
false
Term
At surface Highs, also called __________, wind spirals slightly outward, away from the center.
 Definition
ridges
Term
The wind blowing in a circle around the Low center would flow in a counterclockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere.
 Definition
true
Term
In the upper atmosphere, PGF and Coriolis combine to cause wind to blow __________ to the isobars.
 Definition
parallel
Term
__________, the great Greek philosopher who influenced centuries of scientific thought, did not believe that wind was air at all: "For the same air persists both when it is in motion and when it is still. Hence wind is not ‘air’ at all, for then there would also have been wind when the air was not in motion, seeing that the same air which formed the wind persists."
 Definition
aristotle
Term
The two most abundant gasses in the modern atmosphere are:
 Definition
nitrogen and oxygen
Term
The Coriolis force sets air in motion and determines wind speed.
 Definition
false
Term
Gyres transport heat poleward on the __________ sides of ocean basis
 Definition
western
Term
At the Equator, the warm surface causes High pressure.
 Definition
false
Term
Evaporation is a __________ process.
 Definition
cooling
Term
A famous adage for mariners, called Buys-Ballot's law, states that, "In the Northern Hemisphere, if you stand with your back to the wind; the low pressure area will be on your __________."
 Definition
left
Term
In Troposphere, temperature __________ with elevation.
 Definition
decreases
Term
Normal sea-level atmospheric pressure is:
 Definition
1013.2 hPa
Term
The vertical motion in the tropics is so well defined that it has a name: the ___________ Cell.
 Definition
Hadley
Term
The maximum amount of water vapor that the air can hold is called the __________.
 Definition
Saturation vapor pressure
Term
Raindrops form by collision and coalescence of cloud droplets, i.e. they strike each other and __________.
 Definition
Merge into a larger drop
Term
When air cools to the __________, water vapor in the air condenses into liquid water.
 Definition
dew point
Term
Humidity is a measure of the amount of __________ in the atmosphere.
 Definition
water vapor
Term
San Francisco's fog mostly forms in __________ cooling.
 Definition
advection
Term
The Kilauea volcano puts out huge quantities of cloud condensation nuclei, flooding the downwind "airshed" of south Kona with small atmospheric particles, which we see as __________.
 Definition
vog
Term
In the Northern Hemisphere, because of the Coriolis Effect, the path of moving object is deflected toward
 Definition
right
Term
__________ refers to the actual temperature profile in the atmosphere.
 Definition
environmental lapse rate
Term
The fundamental principal of cloud formation is fairly simple:
 Definition
warm air rises
Term
Earth's average albedo is about
 Definition
30%
Term
Deflection and reradiation of insolation by atmospheric gasses, dust, ice and water vapor
 Definition
scattering
Term
A Thermal Wind blows
 Definition
Cool area to warm area
Term
Rain over the continents collects into rivers that erode and shape the landscape.
 Definition
true
Term
Over the ocean (a large water body) more __________ temperature is expected than over the land.
 Definition
moderate
Term
The temperature at which relative humidity becomes __________ is called the dew point.
 Definition
100%
Term
Natural phenomena group conveniently into four categories, atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere, each of which acts independently with the others.
 Definition
true
Term
The earth’s circumference is about:
 Definition
25k miles
Term
Because the Earth spins on its axis once a day, centrifugal force causes it to flatten somewhat, making the equatorial diameter larger than the polar diameter. This gives Earth a slightly __________ shape.
 Definition
oblate
Term
For example, if you stood at the North Pole, you would be about __________ miles closer to the center of the Earth than if you stood at sea level on the Equator
 Definition
13
Term
The science of __________ attempts to provide a very precise mathematical description of Earth's shape. Geodesy has become an extremely important tool in the modern era of satellite measurements, which are used to determine everything from property boundary location to the swelling of Kilauea caldera.
 Definition
geodesy
Term
The __________ refers to the spherical coordinate system of latitude and longitude used to locate positions uniquely anywhere on Earth's surface.
 Definition
geographic grid
Term
Equator, North Pole, and South Pole are all names of specific __________ of latitude.
 Definition
parallels
Term
Geography is a (an) __________ science.
 Definition
old
Term
At December __________ (about 21 December), the noontime Sun is directly overhead at 23.5° South, the Tropic of Capricorn.
 Definition
solstice
Term
At June solstice, all areas north of the Arctic Circle experience continuous sunlight (24 hours a day).
 Definition
true
Term
Greenwich was given the honor of being named the site of 0° longitude, the __________ Meridian, because of England's major contributions to the science of navigation.
 Definition
prime
Term
The International Date Line (IDL) bisects the __________ Ocean, touching almost no land area.
 Definition
pacific
Term
Honolulu’s latitude:
 Definition
21 degrees N
Term
When you move eastward across the International Date Line you move ahead one day (Friday becomes Saturday).
 Definition
false
Term
The invention of accurate, portable __________ provided the key to one of the most vexing problems in the long history of navigation: how to find longitude accurately.
 Definition
clocks
Term
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the time at __________.
 Definition
greenwich
Term
if contours were needed to show the shape of the land, then perhaps a __________ would be preferred.
 Definition
topographic map
Term
Scale refers to the ratio between distance on the map and distance in the real world.
 Definition
true
Term
A __________ shows the shrinkage as a ratio.
 Definition
representative fraction
Term
The __________ map is extremely useful in navigation as it shows lines of constant compass direction, called rhumb lines, as straight lines.
 Definition
mercator
Term
Great Circle routes are the shortest distance between two points on the Earth's surface.
 Definition
true
Term
Remote sensing means collecting information at hand.
 Definition
false
Term
The Earth is thought to have formed by the __________ (gradual accumulation of mass) of material that formed the early solar system.
 Definition
accretion
Term
2. Initially, Earth was probably too cold to retain atmospheric gases, so our modern air layer has developed entirely since that time.
 Definition
false
Term
3. __________ reacts in the presence of water and is also absorbed in photosynthesis.
 Definition
carbon dioxide
Term
4. __________ has been a relatively recent (in geologic time) addition to our atmosphere, building up over the past 2 billion years.
 Definition
oxygen
Term
5. __________ study long-term, or average, phenomena of the atmosphere.
 Definition
climatologists
Term
6. Atmosphere is a thick, relatively homogenous, layer of mostly Nitrogen and Oxygen.
 Definition
false
Term
7. The weight of the air above any elevation contributes to the __________ at that point.
 Definition
atmospheric pressure
Term
8. Pressure is commonly recorded in __________.
 Definition
millibars (mb)
Term
9. Sea level pressure near the Hawaiian Islands on a typical trade wind day averages around __________ inches of Mercury.
 Definition
29.92
Term
10. Air pressure decreases with altitude.
 Definition
true
Term
11. The most widely recognized atmospheric layers are based on __________ change with height.
 Definition
temperature
Term
12. The lowest layer, containing 90% of the entire air mass and the home of virtually all weather phenomena, is the __________.
 Definition
troposphere
Term
13. In troposphere layer, air temperature increases with height at an average of about 3.6 °F per 1000 feet (6.5 °C per km).
 Definition
false
Term
14. __________ is a very important layer to living things as it contains atmospheric ozone.
 Definition
stratosphere
Term
15. Ozone strongly absorbs __________ light, which, in high intensities, can be fatal to living organisms.
 Definition
ultraviolet
Term
16. Although the temperature of the __________ is high, the molecules are so far apart that you would freeze solid if exposed.
 Definition
thermosphere
Term
17. Function also defines atmospheric layers. Perhaps the most important functional layer to living things is the __________, without which life at the surface could not exist.
 Definition
ionosphere
Term
18. The Sun radiates energy produced by nuclear fusion reactions that slowly convert hydrogen to helium.
 Definition
true
Term
19. The energy released works its way to the Sun's surface and spreads into space as __________ radiation.
 Definition
electromagnetic
Term
20. A rule of physics states that: the hotter the object, the longer the wavelengths emitted.
 Definition
false
Term
21. The surface of the Sun, at about 10 million °C, emits about 8% of its energy as UV, 39% as visible light, and 53% at near infrared wavelengths. Together, these are often referred to as __________ radiation.
 Definition
shortwave
Term
22. Bees can see into the ultraviolet range.
 Definition
true
Term
23. When the solar beam counters tiny particles, like molecules, the shortest wavelengths are scattered much more strongly than longer wavelengths in a process called __________ scattering.
 Definition
rayleigh
Term
24. Because of a wavelength-selective scattering, less blue light diffuses throughout atmosphere than other colors producing the familiar blue sky.
 Definition
false
Term
25. A non-wavelength selective process, called Mie scattering, produces red-colored light, making evening sky appear red, for example.
 Definition
false
Term
26. Scattering through both modes causes some sunlight to approach Earth (and your eye) from a direction other than the Sun. This scattered light is called __________ radiation
 Definition
diffuse
Term
27. The best-known __________ phenomenon is the rainbow.
 Definition
refraction
Term
28. Refraction (combined with scattering) provides an interesting, and highly elusive, optical phenomenon: the green flash.
 Definition
true
Term
29. At one time, Hawai'i had what was probably the densest solar radiation monitoring network in the world.
 Definition
true
Term
30. In Hawai‘i, the sunlight pattern basically matches the cloudiness pattern, thus mountains generally receive more total solar energy than coastal and, especially, leeward areas.
 Definition
true
Term
The Earth animates the Sun.
 Definition
false
Term
The percentage of sunlight reflected from a surface is called its
 Definition
albedo
Term
The asphalt will usually be much __________ than concrete because more sunlight is absorbed by the surface.
 Definition
hotter
Term
Asphalt has a much lower albedo than forest or grass. Because of this, when cities replace natural vegetation, the area usually becomes much hotter. Climatologists call this effect a/an __________.
 Definition
urban heat island
Term
Overall, the Earth reflects about __________ % of sunlight directly back to space.
 Definition
32%
Term
In general, an increase in thin cloud cover would cause __________ because thin clouds are very good at trapping surface radiation, but have a relatively low albedo.
 Definition
warming
Term
Earth radiates in __________ (4 to 100 micrometers) bands that we cannot generally see.
 Definition
far infrared
Term
We call Earth radiation wavelengths __________, or terrestrial radiation.
 Definition
longwave
Term
10. It turns out that atmospheric gases (on Earth and elsewhere) absorb __________ radiation very strongly. This causes a warming of planetary surfaces by a process we know as the greenhouse effect.
 Definition
longwave
Term
11. You can see lava glowing. But as lava cools, the glow fades and disappears. This means that it has stopped radiating.
 Definition
false
Term
12. The greenhouse effect is said to "release heat," making the planet's surface cooler than it would be without a greenhouse effect.
 Definition
false
Term
13. Sunlight is strongly absorbed through the atmosphere to heat it.
 Definition
false
Term
14. The main greenhouse gas for the Earth is water vapor.
 Definition
true
Term
15. Venus is far cooler than Earth because it is completely enshrouded by clouds.
 Definition
false
Term
17. Over a complete year, planet Earth absorbs the same amount of energy from the Sun as it emits to space, regardless of the magnitude of the greenhouse effect.
 Definition
true
Term
18. The amount of terrestrial radiation emitted to space and the amount of sunlight absorbed from the Sun does not vary greatly from place to place over the surface of the Earth.
 Definition
false
Term
20. Earth has an energy surplus in the tropics and an energy deficit for the polar areas.
 Definition
true
Term
21. Winds and oceans carry heat from the tropics to the polar areas.
 Definition
true
Term
22. All of our weather systems and ocean currents are a direct result of this constant flow of heat from the tropics to the poles.
 Definition
true
Term
23. Near the ground surface, far more energy is used (available) to heat the air when __________ water is present.
 Definition
no
Term
24. Evaporation releases large amounts of energy leaving more to heat the air and causing warmer temperatures.
 Definition
false
Term
25. On the map, lines of equal temperature are called __________.
 Definition
isotherms
Term
26. On a global scale, sunlight energy causes most differences in __________ from place to place.
 Definition
temperature
Term
27. The angle of sunlight to the surface depends on __________.
 Definition
latitude
Term
28. Because of their __________ heat capacity, ocean surfaces heat and cool very slowly.
 Definition
high
Term
29. The annual temperature varies greatly in the tropics.
 Definition
false
Term
30. An extremely important climate control on Hawaiian weather is the __________ inversion.
 Definition
temperature
Term
2. __________ in a weather chart show lines of equal pressure.
 Definition
isobars
Term
3. The difference in pressure between two places produces a force that sets air in motion (creating wind) called the __________.
 Definition
pressure gradient force
Term
4. The Coriolis force sets air in motion and determines wind speed.
 Definition
false
Term
5. The higher the pressure gradient, the greater the wind speed.
 Definition
true
Term
6. The closer isobars are together, the greater the wind speed.
 Definition
true
Term
7. The constant rotation of planet Earth on its axis affects the __________ of wind.
 Definition
direction
Term
8. In the Northern Hemisphere, relative to the surface, moving air will deflect to the _____.
 Definition
right
Term
9. Coriolis is a turning force for wind.
 Definition
true
Term
10. __________ only affects a shallow layer of wind near the Earth’s surface.
 Definition
friction
Term
11. The Earth’s surface acts as a/an __________ to air movement.
 Definition
brake
Term
12. Weather vanes, which indicate wind __________.
 Definition
direction
Term
13. In the upper atmosphere, PGF and Coriolis combine to cause wind to blow __________ to the isobars.
 Definition
parallel
Term
14. At the Earth’s surface, the wind flows almost parallel to the isobars, slightly toward __________ pressure.
 Definition
lower
Term
15. The wind blowing in a circle around the Low center would flow in a counterclockwise direction in the Northern Hemisphere.
 Definition
true
Term
16. Wind near the center of Highs is often strong.
 Definition
false
Term
17. A famous adage for mariners, called Buys-Ballot's law, states that, "In the Northern Hemisphere, if you stand with your back to the wind; the low pressure area will be on your __________."
 Definition
left
Term
18. At Low pressure centers, air __________.
 Definition
rises
Term
20. Over warm surface areas, the air heats, expands, and rises. This can often spawn a large Low pressure.
 Definition
true
Term
21. Midlatitude continental areas, such as central Asia and North America, become very cold in winter. This can ___________ air pressure to a very strong ____________, which dominates the winter weather of these areas
 Definition
raise, high
Term
22. Surface temperature always determine the overlying air pressure.
 Definition
false
Term
23. When air __________, few clouds form and mostly clear skies prevail.
 Definition
sinks
Term
24. At the Equator, the warm surface causes High pressure.
 Definition
false
Term
25. The vertical motion in the tropics is so well defined that it has a name: the ___________ Cell.
 Definition
hadley
Term
26. Rising air along the Equator produces deep clouds, thunderstorms, and rain in a band called the __________.
 Definition
Intertropical Convergence Zone
Term
27. Sinking air near 30° latitude causes High pressure areas called the __________ Highs
 Definition
subtropical
Term
28. Air flows from High to Low and Coriolis deflection produces __________ winds in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres between about 30° and 60° latitude.
 Definition
westerly
Term
29. Gyres transport heat poleward on the __________ sides of ocean basis
 Definition
western sides
Term
30. During the daytime, the local wind blows from the higher pressure over the ocean toward lower pressure over land. This wind is called __________.
 Definition
sea breeze
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