Mid Term Review Questions
Geography 205
David Snyder
1. What are the size and shape of the Earth? How was the size calculated by Eratosthenes?
2. Describe the difference between longitude and latitude. In what way is latitude important for understanding some physical geographical processes? Why isn't longitude as important as latitude for explaining geographical processes.
3. In what ways can a map be distorted? What are the benefits and problems of a Mercator map?
4. Describe the relationship between the Earth and the sun? Describe Earth’s position in the solar system and galaxy.
5. Why does the length of the day vary? Why do we have seasons? How do they vary between different locations on the planet? What are revolution and rotation?
6. What is insolation and what factors affect it? How do the various wavelengths of light, such as infrared, visible and ultraviolet interact with the earth and the atmosphere to create various processes in the atmosphere. This could include phenomenon relating to heating and cooling, the ozone layer, and the greenhouse effect.
7. What are the three principal ways in which the Earth's motions change that may alter the climate over thousands or millions of years.
8. What is the composition of the atmosphere and how has it changed over time? Why has it changed over time?
9. What are the layers of the atmosphere and how do their characteristics change with elevation (temperature, content)?
10. Describe the problems with the greenhouse effect and the ozone hole. How did these arise, what are their implications?
11. What is a temperature inversion and why can it be a problem? In what sort of places do they occur?
12. How does altitude affect temperature? What are the various lapse rates, why do they occur?
13. How do land and water respond to heating differently? How does water content affect air temperature on a short-term (daily) basis and a seasonal basis? How is this pattern reflected on a global temperature map?
14. Why is there wind? What factors affect it’s direction? What are the effects of the Coriolis Effect? What are some global and local winds, how are they caused?
15. What are high and low pressure? How are they caused? Explain the global patterns of high and low pressure. What is the Jet Stream, why does it exist? Explain the migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, how does this bring about a monsoonal climate in South Asia?
16. Explain dew points, humidity, stability and instability.
17. What are some of the major categories of clouds and how do they form? How does fog occur?
18. Explain convectional precipitation.
19. Explain orographic precipitation and explain a rainshadow.
20. What are the various air masses and their general characteristics? How does frontal precipitation occur?
21. What are tornadoes and hurricanes? Why do they usually occur where they do?
22. How does soil leaching occur? How are reddish, whitish and brownish soils interpreted? What is humus? Loess?
23. How is ocean circulation similar to atmospheric circulation? What is the pattern of warm and cold water circulation? Where is there upwelling of cold water and why is this significant?
24. What happens during an El Nino weather pattern? How does this alter weather patterns on both sides of the Pacific Ocean?
25. What are the general characteristics of the various climate-types and why do they occur in their respective locations?
26. Why does Fairbanks have hotter summers and colder winters than Anchorage. Consider concepts such as locations relative to water, latitude and air mass locations.
27. Why are the cities of Seward and Whittier warmer and wetter than Anchorage?
28. Which high and low air pressure cells tend to dominate Anchorage in summer and winter?
29. Which kinds of climatic regions are present in Alaska? What explains their locations?
30. Why are there so many lakes in Barrow, Alaska, a place that receives about the same amount of precipitation every year as Las Vegas, Nevada. (Hint: it has a lot to do with temperature).