Physical Geography Final Exam Review

What spatial scales do we deal with in physical geography? 

What are winds that flow parallel to lines of latitude?

Material that falls under the influence of gravity with little or no transporting agent

A relatively fluid downhill movement of weathered rock, loose sediments and soil

The equation for river discharge is ___.

What is Earth’s actual shape?

Oxygen makes up what percentage of molecules within the atmosphere?

The porous and permeable layer that can be at least partially saturated

. A solid, inorganic substance that has a specific chemical formula and ordered atomic structure

Which is not a force that determines wind speed and direction at the surface?

Ground shaking becomes weaker with increasing distance from the focus

Upper layer of soil moves faster than the layers below, which tilts vertical objects downslope

The Richter scale is based on ____.

What causes Earth to bulge at the equator? 

What are winds that flow parallel to lines of longitude?

Soil is _______.

Which element in Earth’s crust is largest by weight?

Why do carbon dioxide concentrations vary seasonally?

Which ocean layer’s temperature decreases the sharpest with increasing depth?

Which of these causes chemical weathering?

Lava that has a smooth, billowy, or ropy surface

Soil that forms directly from the residue left by weathering of local bedrock

______________ raster cell size equates to ______________ resolution.

What is a body of air that possess horizontally uniform temperature, humidity, and density?

The process by which the temperature changes due to the movement of air horizontally.

Form from pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living organisms

Rocks, mountains, and volcanoes are examples of which sphere?

What type of projection accurately depicts shapes but exaggerates sizes?

Which layer exists directly below Earth’s crust?

What does ITCZ stand for?

The movement of groundwater from the subsurface to the surface

Gases whose percentages within the atmosphere do not change season to season or year to year

The Coriolis force deflects winds to the _________ in the Northern Hemisphere and to the _________ in the Southern Hem.

How long does it take for Earth to complete one revolution around the sun?

The top layer darkened by organic material

The boundary between the unsaturated zone and the saturated zone underground

Two boundaries that slip past each other laterally

Dead leaves decomposing into humus most closely describes which process?

What kind of vertical motion is associated with surface low pressure systems?

Raindrops may never reach the ground because of vegetation and evaporation due to what?

Which element exists in Earth’s inner core?

Which kind of converging plate boundaries are responsible for the formation of the Andes Mountains?

A 1020 mb high pressure system and a 996 mb low pressure system are separated by 500 miles. How do you increase PGF?

Why have carbon dioxide concentrations increased over the last few decades?

After you test your hypothesis, what is the next step you should take?

Which of these causes biological weathering?

When net water transport is directed toward a coastline and begins to pile up just offshore, which process is induced?

The type of volcano that has very steep sides and usually a small crater at the top

. A(n) ___________ process happens when no heat exchange occurs.

The color of a mineral when made into a fine powder

Defined as the portion of rainfall, snowmelt, and/or irrigation water that runs over the soil surface toward the stream

Processes that move material to another place under the influence of transporting agents

Allow water to easily infiltrate and percolate into the soil

Which element in Earth’s crust is not within the top eight by weight?

In the Northern Hemisphere, air flows counter-clockwise in a _________ and clockwise in a __________.

10% sand, 70% silt, 20% clay

Which is not a way that carbon moves from the lithosphere/biosphere to atmosphere?

Why does the top ocean layer have the highest temperature?

Which kind of waves produced by Earthquakes can pass through solid and liquid material?

The Moho Discontinuity describes what?

The amount of water that soil can hold against the force of gravity

The movement of organic matter and minerals within the soil by water or plants/animals describes which process?

What is it called when temperature increases with height?

Form when other rock types are subject to heat and pressure

What does ‘geo’ mean?

A resource that is replenished naturally over a relatively short period of time is ______.

Why is there less of an annual temperature range in San Francisco, CA compared to Omaha, NE?

Which is a way that carbon moves from the atmosphere to the lithosphere/biosphere?

Which one is not a way that we divide Earth into two hemispheres?

Leaves falling from trees to the ground most closely describes which process?

40% sand, 40% silt, 20% clay

During La Niña, what region of the ocean has the highest pos. sea surface temperature anomalies (departure from average.

Starts with a slope failure in which a block of rock or soil breaks loose and slides over a distinct surface

A measure of the kinetic energy of the molecules in a substance

Occurs when soil can’t keep up with high rainfall or snowmelt rates

Refers to the movement of water within soil

Nitrogen makes up what percentage of molecules within the atmosphere?

Why does the subtropical jet exist?

What does ‘bio’ mean?

Which of these are not a type of system?

1.    A proposal intended to explain certain facts or observations that has not been formally tested

Why does temperature in the stratosphere increase with height?

Why did continental drift occur?

Which kind of converging plate boundaries are responsible for the formation of Himalayan mountains?

1.    Hotter objects emit _________ radiation than cooler objects do and at ____________ wavelengths.

In the multi-cell model, subpolar surface lows exist at which latitudes?

Due to freezing/melting of water, water enters cracks in ground. As it freezes, it expands, cracking the rock.

The volume of water passing a given cross-section in its channel within a certain amount of time

Which is a component of soil?

Pieces of rock loosened by weathering literally fall through the air

A description of how minerals break into pieces

What are extensive, mound-studded plains in the ocean that are at a great depth?

Downward emission of radiation by the atmosphere is called what?

Which is not an assumption of the one-cell model?

60% sand, 10% silt, 30% clay

A representation of a spherical surface as a flat surface

Groundwater contains which fraction of the freshwater supply on Earth?

Which of the three cells is considered to be a thermally indirect circulation?

Why are more atmospheric molecules concentrated closer to Earth’s surface? 

. A type of igneous rock that forms when lava cools rapidly above the Earth's surface