Natural Hazards Test Preparation
Course Introduction
This course explores the science behind natural hazards such as earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, and landslides. Students will examine the causes, frequency, and impacts of these events on human societies and the environment. The course also covers methods for hazard prediction, risk assessment, and disaster mitigation, integrating case studies of recent and historic natural disasters. By understanding both the physical processes and the societal responses to natural hazards, students will become better equipped to evaluate risk and contribute to community resilience planning.
Recommended Textbook
Elemental Geosystems 6th Edition by Robert W. Christopherson
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16 Chapters
1791 Verified Questions
1791 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/1106
Page 2
Chapter 1: Foundations of Geography
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140 Verified Questions
140 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21752
Sample Questions
Q1) Earth's circumference is greatest when measured around the A) poles.
B) equator.
C) subtropics.
D) prime meridian.
Answer: B
Q2) The \(\underline {\text { larger }}\) the scale of a map, the ________ the area covered by the map and the ________ detail it provides.
A) larger; more
B) larger; less
C) smaller; more
D) smaller; less
Answer: C
Q3) Photosynthesis in a plant leaf is an example of an open-system operation.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) At least three methods of expressing scale on maps are: ________, ________,
Answer: written; graphic; representative fraction
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Chapter 2: Solar Energy, Seasons, and the Atmosphere
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169 Verified Questions
169 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21753
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following lists the correct sequence of gases, from most to least, in terms of percentage within the homosphere?
A) nitrogen, argon, oxygen, xenon, carbon dioxide
B) nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, trace gases
C) oxygen, PAN, ozone, nitrogen, carbon dioxide
D) nitrogen, oxygen, neon, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide
Answer: B
Q2) On its way to Earth, the solar wind first encounters
A) the atmosphere.
B) the magnetosphere.
C) Earth's surface.
D) the lower atmosphere.
Answer: B
Q3) Relative to the speed of light, Earth is, on average, only 8 minutes and 20 seconds from the Sun.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Atmospheric Energy and Global Temperatures
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130 Verified Questions
130 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21754
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is true regarding anthropogenic heat production in cities?
A) It can contribute 250 percent more heat energy in winter than is contributed by insolation.
B) It contributes little heat energy relative to that arriving from insolation.
C) It is too small to be considered a relevant part of the energy budget.
D) The production of this heat energy contributes very little to air pollution.
Answer: A
Q2) Longwave radiation (+ LW) arriving at the surface
A) comes primarily from infrared energy emitted by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
B) comes directly from the Sun.
C) comes from diffuse solar radiation.
D) comes from UV radiation reflected from the bottoms of clouds.
Answer: A
Q3) The reflective quality of a surface is called its albedo and is expressed as a percentage.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulation
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105 Verified Questions
105 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21755
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is true of objects and wind moving over distance and time on Earth's surface?
A) They are always deflected from a straight path to the \(\underline {\text { west } }\) in the Southern Hemisphere.
B) They are affected only by the pressure gradient and friction force.
C) They are always deflected to the right by the friction force.
D) They are apparently deflected from a straight path to the \(\underline {\text { right } }\) in the Northern Hemisphere.
Q2) The pressure gradient force and the friction force together produce geostrophic winds along Earth's surface.
A)True
B)False
Q3) As air temperature increases, the speed of the molecules in a mass of air ________ and the air pressure ________.
A) increases; increases
B) increases; decreases
C) decreases; increases
D) decreases; decreases
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Chapter 5: Atmospheric Water and Weather
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161 Verified Questions
161 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21756
Sample Questions
Q1) Hurricanes derive their energy from
A) the latent heat of vaporization.
B) the latent heat of fusion.
C) the heat of condensation.
D) the latent heat of sublimation.
Q2) Tornadoes are ranked in terms of wind speed and related property damage using the ________ scale.
A) Beaufort
B) Fujita
C) Mercalli
D) Richter
E) Saffir-Simpson
Q3) When hurricanes first form in the Northern Hemisphere, they usually travel from ________, and later from ________ as they move to higher latitudes.
A) east to west; west to east
B) west to east; east to west
C) north to south; west to east
D) any path is equally likely
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Chapter 6: Water Resources
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83 Verified Questions
83 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21757
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following are true?
A) 80 countries face impending water shortages.
B) 1.1 billion people lack access to safe water.
C) 1.8 billion people lack access to adequate sanitary facilities.
D) In the next 50 years, water availability per person is expected to drop by 74%.
E) All of the above are true.
Q2) The water balance for Kingsport, Tennessee exhibits
A) a net water surplus (SURPL) during each month of the year.
B) net demands for water for 10 months of the year.
C) water deficits in the summer months.
D) water deficits each month of the year.
Q3) The texture and structure of the soil dictate
A) potential evapotranspiration.
B) available pore spaces (i.e., the soil's porosity).
C) flow of water through soil (i.e., the soil's permeability).
D) hygroscopic water.
E) Both B and C are correct.
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Chapter 7: Global Climate Systems
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104 Verified Questions
104 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21758
Sample Questions
Q1) Climatic regions are characterized by distinctive weather patterns.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which is false regarding the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon?
A) It creates the largest variation in climate from year to year on a global scale.
B) It involves higher than normal pressure in the western Pacific and lower than normal pressure in the eastern Pacific, reversing the trade winds.
C) It brings rain to some areas and drought to others, but these effects are neither predictable nor consistent.
D) It is linked to droughts in India, floods in the southwestern U.S., and droughts in South Africa and Australia.
E) It is completely understood now, and can be predicted decades in advance.
Q3) The moderating effects of the ocean on nearby polar climates is reflected in the A) Tundra climate classification.
B) Ice Cap and Ice Sheet climate classification.
C) Subarctic climate classification.
D) Polar Marine climate classification.
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Chapter 8: The Dynamic Planet
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100 Verified Questions
100 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21759
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is false regarding Earth's magnetic field?
A) It causes magnetic particles in cooling magma to align with magnetic field lines.
B) Transition periods, during which reversals occur, last an average of about 4000 to 8000 years.
C) Earth's magnetic field will probably reverse in the next few thousand years.
D) A given field orientation can last billions of years.
Q2) The presence of 180-million-year-old salt domes in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. indicates that
A) the area was once volcanically active.
B) the area was subjected to plate collisions, which caused metamorphism to occur.
C) subsidence is now occurring due to the withdrawal of magma from the region.
D) a sea used to cover the area but subsequently evaporated.
E) None of these are indicated.
Q3) Three types of rock-forming processes compose the
A) tectonic cycle.
B) rock cycle.
C) hydrologic cycle.
D) mineral cycle.
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Chapter 9: Earthquakes and Volcanoes
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99 Verified Questions
99 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21760
Sample Questions
Q1) The undulating form that gives Earth's surface its character and general configuration is called
A) relief.
B) an order of relief.
C) topography.
D) crust.
Q2) The eventual catastrophic eruption of Mount Saint Helens was A) a total surprise.
B) within only a few days of the first earthquake.
C) not preceded by any physical activity.
D) related to seafloor subduction at the west coast of North America.
Q3) Normal faults are associated with A) tensional forces.
B) compressional forces.
C) plate convergence.
D) transcurrent forces.
Q4) Ductile rocks are more likely to bend in response to stress than are brittle rocks.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Weathering, Karst Landscapes, and Mass Movement
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161 Verified Questions
161 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21761
Sample Questions
Q1) Hydration involves
A) a chemical weathering process.
B) swelling and stress within a rock with the addition of water.
C) frost action.
D) the action of wind.
Q2) In 1973, part of the flat ground on which a subdivision was located became saturated and began to flow toward the Saint Lawrence River at speeds of up to 26 kmph (16 mph). The ground that flowed consisted of silts and clays-not large, rocky regolith. What type of mass wasting event was this?
A) debris avalanche
B) soil creep
C) Earth flow
D) lahar
Q3) A flood recurrence interval of 100 years means that floods of that size will occur only once every 100 years.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Chapter 11 River Systems and Landforms
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Chapter 12: Wind Processes and Desert Landscapes
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73 Verified Questions
73 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21762
Sample Questions
Q1) Which side of a dune typically has a slope angle equal to that of the angle of repose for sand?
A) windward
B) leeward
C) stoss
D) top
Q2) Buttes, mesas, and inselbergs represent
A) pinnacles of rock and rock masses that were uplifted by compressional forces.
B) erosional remnants of a once extensive and continuous rock layer.
C) erosional remnants of vertically tilted strata.
D) the erosional remnants of volcanoes (i.e., volcanic necks).
Q3) The impact of saltating particles acts to
A) initiate the movement of other particles.
B) suppress the movement of other particles.
C) abrade surfaces.
D) both A and C
E) both B and C
Q4) Water is essential to the formation of a desert pavement.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: The Oceans, Coastal Processes, and Landforms
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75 Verified Questions
75 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21763
Sample Questions
Q1) A longshore current involves all of the following except A) effective wind direction.
B) effective wave direction.
C) waves of transition.
D) transportation of large amounts of sand and coastal materials.
Q2) A beach acts to stabilize a shoreline by absorbing wave energy, even though materials are in almost constant motion.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Regular patterns of smooth, rounded waves are called A) breakers.
B) wave ripples.
C) wave trains.
D) swells.
Q4) Plunging breakers develop where the bottom profile of the coast is steep.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The salinity of seawater averages 3.5 percent, or 35 parts per thousand.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Glacial and Penglacial Landscapes
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95 Verified Questions
95 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21764
Sample Questions
Q1) Viking colonies in Iceland apparently were deserted because of a
A) rise in sea level brought about by a minor period of global warming in 14th century.
B) drop in temperature that occurred during the "Little Ice Age."
C) decline in food production.
D) both A and C
E) both B and C
Q2) The Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps is an example of a nunatak.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A general term for a mass of perennial ice, resting on land or floating shelf-like in the sea adjacent to land is
A) the snowline.
B) an iceberg.
C) a glacier.
D) moraine.
Q4) Glacial ice can form during the duration of a single winter season in most glacial areas.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 15: The Geography of Soils
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101 Verified Questions
101 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21765
Sample Questions
Q1) The principal natural soil-forming factors
A) are both dynamic and passive in nature.
B) include climate, parent material, topography, biotic processes and time.
C) are all inorganic.
D) include peds, separates, solums, and horizons.
E) Both A and B are related soil forming factors.
Q2) B horizons are often ________ in color because of ________.
A) dark; accumulation of humus
B) dark; it is made of dark colored, mafic minerals
C) reddish or yellowish; the minerals they contain are often chemically oxidized
D) reddish or yellowish; the minerals they contain are often chemically reduced
Q3) A pedon is imagined as
A) a soil profile.
B) a hexagonal column encompassing from 1 m² to 10 m² in surface area.
C) a basic sampling unit in soil surveys.
D) All of these are correct.
Q4) Soil scientists no longer consider climate a relevant factor in determining soil characteristics.
A)True
B)False
Page 16
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Chapter 16: Ecosystems and Biomes
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171 Verified Questions
171 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21766
Sample Questions
Q1) The ecology of the biome in which the giant redwoods trees occur is failing.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The ________ trees of the tropical seasonal forest and scrub biome lose their leaves during the season of ________.
A) deciduous; low sun
B) deciduous; high sun
C) semi-deciduous; low sun
D) semi-deciduous; high sun
E) coniferous; high sun
Q3) Midlatitude grasslands are the transition zone between
A) tropical savannas and taiga.
B) timber and desert.
C) temperate rain forests and desert.
D) temperate rain forests and taiga.
Q4) The landscape on the fresh lava flows from the Kileua volcano
A) is recovering through secondary succession.
B) has formed a pioneer community as succession begins.
C) is now a climax community.
D) will never recover.
Page 17
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Chapter 17: Earth and the Human Denominator
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24 Verified Questions
24 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/21767
Sample Questions
Q1) According to the author of the text, who should speak for Earth?
A) economists
B) military leaders for nuclear superpowers
C) physical geographers and other scientists who study the natural world
D) political leaders
E) all of the above
Q2) This region has the highest per-capita energy use.
A) North America
B) Asia
C) Europe
D) South America
Q3) Which of the following is incorrect in describing the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill?
A) It occurred March 24, 1989 in Prince William Sound.
B) It involved 41.64 million liters (11 million gallons) of oil.
C) It spilled from a double-hulled, modern tanker on an assigned route.
D) It struck a reef outside the normal shipping lane.
E) It contaminated and ruined portions of 2415 km (1500 mi) of coastline.
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