Physical Geography and the Environment Test Bank
Course Introduction
Physical Geography and the Environment explores the dynamic processes that shape the Earths physical landscape, including landforms, climate, weather patterns, vegetation, and soils. Through the study of natural systems such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere, students gain a deeper understanding of environmental processes and their interrelationships. The course examines how physical geography influences human activities and how human actions, in turn, impact the natural environment, with a focus on sustainability, natural hazards, and resource management. By integrating field observations, spatial analysis, and current environmental issues, students develop skills to critically analyze and interpret the physical world around them.
Recommended Textbook
Physical Geography A Landscape Appreciation 10th Edition by Darrel Hess
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20 Chapters
3397 Verified Questions
3397 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/1271
Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Earth
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198 Verified Questions
198 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25073
Sample Questions
Q1) The International Date Line is in the middle of a time zone.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) The graticule of the Earth is also known as ________.
A) a great circle
B) latitude and longitude
C) the perihelion
D) a standard time zone
E) analemma
Answer: B
Q3) Before time zones were created in the 1880s, one could encounter ________ time standards on a rail trip across the United States.
A) 1
B) 5
C) 7
D) 10
E) more than 20
Answer: E
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Portraying Earth
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166 Verified Questions
166 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) ________ micrometers is a wavelength of visible light (ANY of the wavelengths will do).
Answer: Any wavelength between .36 and .72 micrometers is acceptable.
Q2) A pseudocylindrical projection is a roughly football-shaped map.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Images from radar sensors can be acquired only during the daytime.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) On large scale maps, equivalence and conformity can be
A) simultaneously present.
B) simultaneously approximated for small areas.
C) disregarded if the map is of high latitudes.
D) considered to be the same map property.
E) any of the above
Answer: B
Q5) A ________ is another name for a loxodrome.
Answer: rhumb line
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Chapter 3: Introduction to the Atmosphere
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170 Verified Questions
170 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25075
Sample Questions
Q1) Humans have helped cause the breakdown of the ozone layer through the use of aerosol sprays.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Oxygen is the ________ component of the atmosphere in terms of volume.
A) main
B) second
C) third
D) fourth
E) fifth Answer: B
Q3) The international treaty that bans the use of chlorofluorocarbons is the _______. Answer: Montreal Protocol
Q4) Some types of storms are prominent and frequent enough to be considered climatic controls.
A)True
B)False Answer: True
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Chapter 4: Insolation and Temperature
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188 Verified Questions
188 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25076
Sample Questions
Q1) Advection is a(n) ________ wind movement.
A) horizontal
B) vertical
C) compressional
D) convectional
E) expansive
Q2) Visible light comprises a large part of the electromagnetic energy received by Earth.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The speed of light is closest to ________ kilometers per second.
A) 3,000
B) 30,000
C) 300,000
D) 3,000,000
E) 30,000,000
Q4) Explain the difference between a radational and an advectional inversion.
Q5) The steady, incoming solar radiation received at the top of the atmosphere is named the ________.
Q6) "Convection" means heat is ________.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Atmospheric Pressure and Wind
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171 Verified Questions
171 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25077
Sample Questions
Q1) A(n) ________ is a linear zone of lower pressure between two areas of high pressure.
A) storm
B) anticyclone
C) trough
D) cyclone
E) ridge
Q2) El Niño has been noticed for centuries by fishermen in ________.
A) France
B) Brazil
C) Chile
D) Turkey
E) Antarctica
Q3) Gas molecules in the lower atmosphere
A) are strongly bound to each other.
B) infrequently collide with each other.
C) tend to explode when they collide with each other.
D) tend to stay at rest.
E) are not described by any of the above
Q4) ________ are semipermanent areas of high pressure centered over oceans.
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Chapter 6: Atmospheric Moisture
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178 Verified Questions
178 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25078
Sample Questions
Q1) It is proper to refer to the high latitude lands of the Arctic and Antarctic as "cold deserts."
A)True
B)False
Q2) In terms of the lower part of the troposphere, more than ________ percent of all water vapor is found within 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) of the Earth's surface.
A) 1
B) 10
C) 50
D) 75
E) 95
Q3) In the "Ice Crystal Formation" process, precipitation occurs because ice crystals
A) melt as they fall.
B) form from raindrops.
C) grow at the expense of raindrops.
D) hook together.
E) have a low specific heat.
Q4) In clouds, ice crystals grow at the expense of ________.
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Atmospheric Disturbances
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163 Verified Questions
163 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25079
Sample Questions
Q1) The correct designation for a hurricane is as a/an ________.
A) "enlarged tornado"
B) "super thunderstorm complex"
C) "tropical cyclone"
D) "tropical occlusion"
E) "extratropical anticyclone"
Q2) At any given time, how many extratropical cyclones might one expect to be in existence in the Northern Hemisphere?
A) 1 or 2
B) 6 to 15
C) 25 to 50
D) 50 to 100
E) 100 to 1,000
Q3) The global westerly wind zone most heavily impacts the ________ latitudes.
A) equatorial
B) high
C) middle
D) subtropical
E) horse
Q4) Most midlatitude cyclones begin as waves along the ________ .
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Climatic and Climate Change
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187 Verified Questions
187 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25080
Sample Questions
Q1) Global warming is expected to be greatest in the midlatitudes where humans generate most of the greenhouse gases.
A)True
B)False
Q2) "Night is winter" is best applied to the ________ climate.
A) Af
B) ET
C) BWk
D) Csa
E) Dfa
Q3) The classic marine west-coast climate is the ________.
A) Csa
B) Cfa
C) Cfb
D) Csb
E) Cwa
Q4) The lowest temperature ever recorded was recorded in Antarctica.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The midlatitude desert climate of Central Asia is caused by ________.
Page 10
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Chapter 9: The Hydrosphere
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183 Verified Questions
183 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25081
Sample Questions
Q1) Foraminifera study has shown the oceans are becoming ________.
A) larger
B) deeper
C) more acidic
D) more salty
E) greener
Q2) The Aral Sea is ________.
A) an arm of the Pacific Ocean
B) the largest lake in the world
C) becoming much larger because of the increased melting of glaciers
D) about to disappear because of the diversion of rivers feeding the sea
E) not described by any of the above
Q3) Asia's longest river is the ________.
A) Mekong
B) Ganges
C) Yangtze
D) Hwang Ho
E) Indus
Q4) The gradual movement of water away from the coast is known as a(n) ________ tide.
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Chapter 10: Cycles and Patterns in the Biosphere
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163 Verified Questions
163 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25082
Sample Questions
Q1) Approximately how many species of plants are in existence?
A) 1,500
B) 6,000
C) 150,000
D) 600,000
E) 6,000,000
Q2) According to the food chain concept, it takes ________ kilograms of plankton to make one kilogram of weight gain for a human.
A) 1
B) 10
C) 100
D) 1,000
E) 1,000,000
Q3) Most organisms can exist for months or more without water.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The Linnaean system of classification is binomial.
A)True
B)False
Q5) A(n) ________ is another term for a secondary consumer.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Terrestrial Flora and Fauna
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172 Verified Questions
172 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25083
Sample Questions
Q1) Deforestation of rainforests has led to substantial economic gains for the countries involved.
A)True
B)False
Q2) According to the concept of vertical zonation, changes in ________ are the counterpart of changes in altitude.
A) latitude
B) slope angle
C) precipitation
D) soil
E) longitude
Q3) Which zoogeographic region has the most limited faunal assemblage?
A) the Pacific Islands
B) New Zealand
C) Neotropical
D) Nearctic
E) Palearctic
Q4) "Estivation" is a synonym for "hibernation."
A)True
B)False
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Soils
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171 Verified Questions
171 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25084
Sample Questions
Q1) For all soil orders the surface layer is the ________.
A) epipedon
B) solum
C) bedrock
D) cation
E) hardpan
Q2) In the soil, which of the separates are associated with significant chemical activity?
A) sand
B) silt
C) clay
D) all of the above
E) none of the above
Q3) Which of the following terms is usually associated with soil moisture?
A) wilting point
B) pore spaces
C) field capacity
D) groundwater
E) soil-water budget
Q4) The ________ soil order tends to form the deepest soils.
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Chapter 13: Introduction to Landform Study
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174 Verified Questions
174 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25085
Sample Questions
Q1) The proof for the long-doubted idea of drifting continents came in the form of
A) observation of coastlines
B) understanding of mountains
C) animal distributions
D) analysis of magnetic and seismic patterns
E) glacial ice
Q2) Fragmented mineral material is called sediment.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Within the Earth is molten mineral matter called ________.
A) extrusive material
B) bedrock
C) soil
D) magma
E) rock
Q4) Humans have drilled less than one-thousandth of the distance from the surface to the center of the Earth.
A)True
B)False
Page 15
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Chapter 14: The Internal Processes
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174 Verified Questions
174 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25086
Sample Questions
Q1) Explain several pieces of evidence that combine to make the theory of plate tectonics one that is generally accepted.
Q2) A(n) ________ is a one-sided fold connecting horizontal or gently inclined strata.
A) syncline
B) overthrust
C) symmetrical fold
D) anticline
E) monocline
Q3) ________ is the part of the United States where one could see terranes.
A) Florida
B) The Midwest
C) Maine
D) Arizona
E) Alaska
Q4) According to Wegener, all the continents were once joined together in one continent.
A)True
B)False
Q5) ________ is an area of extensive flood basalts.
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Chapter 15: Preliminaries to Erosion: Weathering and Mass Wasting
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164 Verified Questions
164 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25087
Sample Questions
Q1) Exfoliation is probably the result of unloading and ________.
A) jointing
B) glaciation
C) hydration
D) mechanical weathering
E) salt wedging
Q2) Mechanical weathering is more effective than chemical weathering in the breakdown of the individual grains of a large rock.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Mass wasting and weathering are synonymous terms.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Where the land is flat, ________ exerts a minimal influence on topographic development.
A) water
B) chemical weathering
C) mechanical weathering
D) biological weathering
E) gravity
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Chapter 16: Fluvial Processes
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168 Verified Questions
168 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25088
Sample Questions
Q1) A centripetal drainage pattern is essentially the opposite of a radial pattern.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The total volume of flow in streams is termed ________.
A) the interfluve
B) the delta coefficient
C) discharge
D) turbulence
E) overland flow
Q3) Deltas are built as sediments erode from near the mouth of a stream.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Which of the following DECREASES with increasing stream order number?
A) average stream length
B) average watershed area
C) average stream discharge
D) average stream gradient
E) all of the above
Q5) A ________ is a landform of deposition found on the inside bend of meander channels.
18
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Chapter 17: Karst and Hydrothermal Processes
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123 Verified Questions
123 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25089
Sample Questions
Q1) A large, steep-sided, circular hill of residual limestone bedrock is known as a
A) stalagtite
B) doline
C) mogote
D) sinkhole
E) cavern
Q2) Cavern development is facilitated by the presence of sandstone.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is NOT a component of karst landscapes?
A) steep slopes
B) dry stream valleys
C) sinkholes common
D) swallow holes common
E) extensive stream channels
Q4) Underground water has little importance in the shaping of landforms.
A)True
B)False
Q5) ________ are residual karst features having very steep sides riddled with caves.
Page 19
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Chapter 18: The Topography of Arid Lands
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172 Verified Questions
172 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25090
Sample Questions
Q1) The fastest moving of all types of dunes are barchan dunes.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A desert consisting of a large area of sand dunes is termed a(n) ________.
A) reg
B) erg
C) arroyo
D) wadi
E) salina
Q3) ________ represents the largest region with continuing desertification.
A) The North American Great Plains
B) The Sahara
C) The basin-and-range
D) The Sahel
E) The Amazon rainforest
Q4) Aeolian processes are at their maximum in areas with fine-grained sedimentary materials.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The sandiest of all deserts is the ________ Desert.
Page 20
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Chapter 19: Glacial Modification of Terrain
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166 Verified Questions
166 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25091
Sample Questions
Q1) The presence of multiple medial moraines indicates ________.
A) several glaciers have joined
B) ablation is greater than accumulation
C) accumulation is greater than ablation
D) glacial erosion is particularly weak
E) the presence of a glacial surge
Q2) 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
Q3) In southwestern Wisconsin and parts of surrounding states is a non-glaciated area referred to as the ________ Area.
A) Pleistocene
B) Wisconsin Ice Age
C) Driftless
D) Alpine
E) Moraine
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Page 21
Chapter 20: Coastal Processes and Terrain
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146 Verified Questions
146 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/25092
Sample Questions
Q1) Almost all of the world's oceanic coastlines show evidence of ________ during the past 15,000 years.
A) submergence
B) emergence
C) long-term stability
D) isostasy
E) none of the above
Q2) The most conspicuous geomorphic result of wave refraction is the focusing of wave energy on ________ with the result that they are worn back relatively quickly.
Q3) Which of the following is most closely associated with waves of oscillation?
A) waves of perturbation
B) tsunamis
C) surface waves on deep water
D) backwash
E) swash
Q4) A ________ is a short wall or dam built out from a beach to impede longshore current and force sand deposition on the up-current side of the structure.
Q5) Cliffs and wave-cut ________ are commonly found occurring together.
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