Geography of Natural Environments Solved
Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Geography of Natural Environments explores the physical features and processes that shape the Earths surface, with an emphasis on climate, landforms, vegetation, and water systems. The course examines how natural systems interact and change over time, considering factors such as weathering, erosion, and plate tectonics. Students will learn to analyze spatial patterns of natural phenomena and understand the critical roles they play in supporting biodiversity and human communities. Through case studies and practical activities, the course also addresses contemporary environmental challenges, including resource management and the impacts of human activity on natural environments.
Recommended Textbook
Physical Geography A Landscape Appreciation 10th Edition by Darrel Hess
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
20 Chapters
3397 Verified Questions
3397 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/1271 Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Earth
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
198 Verified Questions
198 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25073
Sample Questions
Q1) Russia occupies 3 time zones.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) The Earth rotates about its
A) great circle.
B) revolution.
C) inclination.
D) axis.
E) Equator.
Answer: D
Q3) "Greenwich Mean Time" is also known as ________.
A) Universal Time Coordinated
B) European Time
C) the perihelion
D) Polaris
E) the Plane of the Ecliptic
Answer: A
Q4) The ________ points at the star Polaris.
Answer: North Pole or Earth's axis
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 3
Chapter 2: Portraying Earth
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
166 Verified Questions
166 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25074
Sample Questions
Q1) A major advantage in using oblique aerial photography is the easy measurement of Earth features.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) ________ is the science of obtaining reliable measurements from photographs.
A) Sonar
B) Orthophotomapping
C) Remote sensing
D) Photogrammetry
E) Satellite imaging
Answer: D
Q3) The scale of a map can never be constant all over the entire map.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) ________ is an active form of remote sensing based on sound.
Answer: Sonar
Q5) A ________ is another name for a loxodrome.
Answer: rhumb line
Page 4
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 3: Introduction to the Atmosphere
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
170 Verified Questions
170 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25075
Sample Questions
Q1) Lower levels of air become compressed by the weight of the air above.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) A variable gas in the atmosphere nearly absent from the higher elevations is
A) carbon dioxide
B) ozone
C) sulfur dioxide
D) carbon monoxide
E) water vapor
Answer: E
Q3) At an elevation of 16 kilometers (in the lower stratosphere), atmospheric pressure is approximately one-________ of what it is at the surface.
A) tenth
B) thousandth
C) quarter
D) half
E) hundredth
Answer: A
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 5
Chapter 4: Insolation and Temperature
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
188 Verified Questions
188 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25076
Sample Questions
Q1) Kelvins can be converted to degrees Celsius by adding ________ to the Celsius reading.
Q2) Air is an excellent conductor of heat.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Approximately 15 percent of the world's electrical power is provided by solar energy.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The energy emitted from the Sun is a product of ________.
A) fission
B) fusion
C) radioactive decay
D) geysers
E) none of the above
Q5) In the ________ latitudes, more energy leaves the top of the atmosphere than is received at the top of the atmosphere during a year.
Q6) Lines connecting points of equal pressure are isotherms.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 6
Chapter 5: Atmospheric Pressure and Wind
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
171 Verified Questions
171 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25077
Sample Questions
Q1) There are two jet streams in the world, one in the northern and one in the Southern Hemisphere.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The "trigger" of ENSO is
A) solar fluctuations
B) increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide
C) the change of pressure across the Southern Pacific
D) unknown
E) closely tied to the Arctic Oscillation
Q3) El Niño is most closely associated with A) Africa.
B) strengthening of a subtropical high.
C) weakening of a cold current.
D) normal weather around the world.
E) the polar front jet stream.
Q4) Land breezes are usually weaker than sea breezes.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The ________ is associated with Greenland and has a "warm" and a "cold" phase.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 7
Chapter 6: Atmospheric Moisture
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
178 Verified Questions
178 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25078
Sample Questions
Q1) ________ refers to water vapor leaving the Earth's surface through plants.
A) Evaporation
B) Potential evapotranspiration
C) Transpiration
D) All of the above
E) None of the above
Q2) Convective precipitation is common in the Arctic winters.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The intertropical convergence migrates north and south of the Equator on a seasonal basis.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The hydrologic cycle refers to the ________.
A) totality of forms of precipitation
B) unending circulation of Earth's water supply
C) flow of rivers
D) groundwater flow to the surface
E) latent heat of vaporization
Q5) Frontal activity is most prevalent in the ________ latitudinal zone.
Page 8
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 7: Atmospheric Disturbances
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
163 Verified Questions
163 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25079
Sample Questions
Q1) What process seems to weaken hurricanes?
A) travel over warm ocean water
B) eyewall replacement
C) divergence of winds aloft
D) convergence of winds at the surface
E) the strengthening of updrafts
Q2) Almost any area in the high or low latitudes can act as an air mass source region.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which front is shown on weather maps as a line with alternating semicircles and triangles on the same side of the line?
A) warm front
B) cold front
C) stationary front
D) occluded front
E) none of the above
Q4) A north-south meandering of the winds aloft is known as ________ flow.
Q5) Diagram and explain the relationship between the winds aloft and the formation of a middle latitude cyclone.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 9
Chapter 8: Climatic and Climate Change
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
187 Verified Questions
187 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25080
Sample Questions
Q1) In what year did Köppen first publish his classification system?
A) 1492
B) 1760
C) 1850
D) 1918
E) 1971
Q2) Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the tropical humid climates?
A) The shortest daylengths are not much shorter than the longest daylengths.
B) The Sun is high in the sky every day of the year.
C) The intertropical convergence zone is rarely overhead.
D) Precipitation is plentiful over the year.
E) They experience warm temperatures all year long.
Q3) ________ is the climate of western Europe.
Q4) The lowest temperature ever recorded was recorded in Antarctica.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Draw and label a schematic climograph for Los Angeles, California in the Csa climate. Exact numbers are not required but seasonal patterns are important.
Q6) Explain the Cap-and-Trade idea for influencing greenhouse gas emissions.
Q7) ________ is a climate with no pronounced dry season.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 10
Chapter 9: The Hydrosphere
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
183 Verified Questions
183 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25081
Sample Questions
Q1) A ________ is a flattish surface area sometimes submerged in water and dominated by grasses and sedges.
Q2) Lakes comprise about ________ percent of the globe's unfrozen freshwater surface.
A) 1
B) 10
C) 50
D) 90
E) 100
Q3) At any one time, a majority of Earth's water is in motion in the hydrologic cycle.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Most freshwater lakes have but one surface outlet.
A)True
B)False
Q5) An ice shelf is a flattish, tabular mass of ice unattached to the land.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Many lakes are ________, meaning they contain water only during the wet season.
Page 11
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 10: Cycles and Patterns in the Biosphere
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
163 Verified Questions
163 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25082
Sample Questions
Q1) The present binomial system of biological classification was devised by A) Darwin.
B) Wallace.
C) Huxley.
D) Linnaeus.
E) Aristotle.
Q2) The absence of light is an absolute limitation on terrestrial vegetation.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Fluctuation in the photoperiod stimulates seasonal behavior in both plants and animals.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which components are necessary for photosynthesis to occur?
A) carbon dioxide and light
B) carbon dioxide, light, and water
C) water, oxygen, and light
D) oxygen and light
E) water and light
Q5) ________ refers to the conversion of nitrates into free nitrogen.
Page 12
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 11: Terrestrial Flora and Fauna
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
172 Verified Questions
172 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25083
Sample Questions
Q1) The timing of an entire life cycle into a few days after a rain and then followed by a long period of dormancy is a characteristic of ________ plants.
A) xerophytic
B) hydrophytic
C) hygrophtic
D) most
E) tall
Q2) In most of the world, broadleaf trees are deciduous.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The major biome characterized by relative absence of trees is the ________.
A) tundra
B) savanna
C) steppe
D) desert
E) all of the above
Q4) An animal is ________ if it is able to maintain a constant body temperature.
Q5) The banded vegetation of higher mountains is called "vertical zonation".
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 13
Chapter 12: Soils
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
171 Verified Questions
171 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25084
Sample Questions
Q1) Gravitational water is ________.
A) a temporary form of soil moisture
B) the same thing as capillary water
C) present when the wilting point is reached
D) the same thing as hygroscopic water
E) the most important source of water for plants
Q2) The most weathered and leached of all soils are the ________.
A) Spodosols
B) Alfisols
C) Inceptisols
D) Aridisols
E) Oxisols
Q3) Dead plant parts are known as ________ when they accumulate on the surface of the soil.
A) humus
B) organic debris
C) microorganisms
D) nutrients
E) litter
Q4) The analogy between palimpsest and soils means that ________.
Page 14
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 13: Introduction to Landform Study
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
174 Verified Questions
174 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25085
Sample Questions
Q1) Draw a sketch and describe the pathways by which igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks may change into each other.
Q2) Which of the following is NOT necessarily an attribute of a mineral?
A) It must be found in nature.
B) It must be made up of inorganic substances.
C) It must have economic value.
D) It must have the same chemical composition wherever found.
E) It must form a regular pattern of crystals.
Q3) Magmas with low amounts of silica are associated with mafic rocks.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The first life appeared during ________ time.
A) Pleistocene
B) Triassic
C) Precambrian
D) Holocene
E) dinner
Q5) Granite is a type of rock which has cooled from magma.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 15
Chapter 14: The Internal Processes
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
174 Verified Questions
174 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25086
Sample Questions
Q1) Earth's crust is composed of at least ________ major plates and a number of smaller ones.
A) two
B) a dozen
C) fifty
D) seventy-five
E) one hundred
Q2) Paleomagnetism is used to show that the continents drifted apart.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The Lewis Overthrust is a well known feature in the Appalachian Mountains.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Water collected in small bodies along a recently active fault line forms ________.
A) playas
B) sag ponds
C) dikes
D) sills
E) reservoirs
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 16
Chapter 15: Preliminaries to Erosion: Weathering and Mass Wasting
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
164 Verified Questions
164 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25087
Sample Questions
Q1) The major end product of chemical weathering is (are) ________.
A) silts
B) clays
C) sands
D) talus
E) airborne dust
Q2) Which of the following is NOT associated with biological weathering?
A) expansion of rock cracks by tree roots
B) flaking of rock particles because of lichens present
C) leaching of nutrient minerals from rocks
D) disintegration of rock by burrowing animals
E) formation of rock joints
Q3) Oxidation in rocks is often initiated by oxygen dissolved in water.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Mudflows tend to follow the local drainage network.
A)True
B)False
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 17
Q5) Explain the mechanics of solifluction and the landforms expected as a result of solifluction.
Chapter 16: Fluvial Processes
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
168 Verified Questions
168 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25088
Sample Questions
Q1) The Niger River in Africa has built the largest delta in the world.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The most prominent of all depositional landscapes is the ________.
A) oxbow lake
B) cut-off
C) meander scar
D) floodplain
E) backswamps
Q3) Davisian theory is usually referred to as the ________.
A) geomorphic cycle
B) equilibrium theory
C) rejuvenation theory
D) stream development theorem
E) idea of concave slopes
Q4) ________ theory is the currently accepted explanation of landform development.
Q5) A lake can be viewed as a ________ base level.
Q6) All natural deltas are in a triangular shape.
A)True
B)False
Page 18
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 17: Karst and Hydrothermal Processes
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
123 Verified Questions
123 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25089
Sample Questions
Q1) Water flowing into sinkholes frequently disappears into ________.
A) karst
B) swallow holes
C) bedding planes
D) joints
E) geysers
Q2) ________ is the term for solution topography in areas of limestone bedrock.
A) Hydrothermal
B) Dripstone
C) Doline
D) Travertine
E) Karst
Q3) In hydrothermal situations, superheating of water is possible because of the presence of ________.
A) joints
B) bedding planes
C) sodium bicarbonate
D) high pressure
E) lava
Q4) Initial excavation and ________ are the two principal stages in cave formation.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 19
Chapter 18: The Topography of Arid Lands
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
172 Verified Questions
172 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25090
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following landforms does not belong with the others?
A) pillar
B) natural bridge
C) alluvial fan
D) badlands
E) butte
Q2) In arid regions, differential erosion tends to be best developed in areas of
A) sandstone rocks
B) massive metamorphic rocks
C) sedimentary landscapes
D) massive igneous rocks
E) minimal weathering
Q3) Using the concept of the water balance that you learned in earlier chapters, speculate why basins of interior drainage are found only in the western United States.
Q4) The fastest moving of all types of dunes are barchan dunes.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The sandiest of all deserts is the ________ Desert.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 20
Chapter 19: Glacial Modification of Terrain
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
166 Verified Questions
166 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25091
Sample Questions
Q1) Some Pleistocene glaciers were still retreating as recently as ________ years ago.
A) 900
B) 9,000
C) 90,000
D) 900,000
E) 9,000,000
Q2) ________ is compressed snow which might change into glacial ice.
A) Nunatak
B) Névé
C) Cirque
D) Ablation
E) Calcium carbonate
Q3) The Holocene is ________.
A) an epoch in Earth history
B) the present time in Earth history
C) a postglacial time or a glacial interlude
D) the part of Earth history that started 11,000 years ago
E) correctly described by all of the above
Q4) The centers of spread for Pleistocene ice were in ________ latitudes.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 21
Chapter 20: Coastal Processes and Terrain
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
146 Verified Questions
146 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25092
Sample Questions
Q1) A group of anthozoan animals is responsible for the formation of ________.
A) beaches
B) coral reefs
C) spits
D) bleached reefs
E) ria shorelines
Q2) The Great Barrier Reef is associated with ________.
A) Greenland
B) Australia
C) California
D) Florida
E) South Africa
Q3) The ________ is regularly covered and uncovered by the rise and fall of tides.
A) berm
B) offshore zone
C) beach
D) backshore zone
E) foreshore zone
Q4) From the origin of an ocean wave, explain how it travels along the open ocean and then changes as it eventually comes ashore.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 22