Physical Geography
Exam Answer Key
Course Introduction
Physical Geography explores the natural processes and features of the Earths surface, examining topics such as landforms, climate, weather systems, vegetation, soils, and water bodies. The course provides a scientific foundation for understanding how the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere interact, shaping the worlds diverse landscapes and environments. Students will analyze the causes and effects of natural phenomena, investigate the impact of human activity on natural systems, and develop essential skills in observation, measurement, and geographic analysis.
Recommended Textbook
Visualizing Physical Geography 2nd Edition by Timothy Foresman
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17 Chapters
1832 Verified Questions
1832 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Discovering the Earths Dimensions
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104 Verified Questions
104 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Lines of latitude are called _______.
Answer: parallels
Q2) The arc of a parallel between the prime meridian and a given point on the globe is:
A)a parallel
B)a meridian
C)latitude
D)longitude
Answer: D
Q3) The geographic grid is composed of
A)verticals and horizontals
B)parallels and meridians
C)projections
D)none of the above
Answer: B
Q4) Latitude is the arc of a parallel between the prime meridian and a given point on the globe.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 2: The Earths Global Energy Balance
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129 Verified Questions
129 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Cold objects emit ______ energy than hot objects, and it is of _______ wavelengths.
A)more; longer
B)less; longer
C)more; shorter
D)less; shorter
Answer: B
Q2) Which of the following types of electromagnetic radiation has the longest wavelength?
A)ultraviolet
B)infrared
C)microwaves
D)visible light
Answer: C
Q3) In its gas form, oxygen does not react with other elements very easily.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) Annual insolation amounts are _______ at the poles than the equator.
Answer: lower
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Chapter 3: Air Temperature
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157 Verified Questions
157 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Fans can be used to protect crops from frost because they:
A)blow water vapor out of the area
B)prevent ice crystal growth
C)mix cold near-ground air with warmer overlying air
D)none of the above
Answer: C
Q2) The layer of the atmosphere above the troposphere that contains the ozone layer is called the ________.
Answer: stratosphere
Q3) Temperature tends to ______ with elevation in the mesosphere, and ________ with elevation in the stratosphere.
A)increase / increase
B)increase / decrease
C)decrease / decrease
D)decrease / increase
Answer: D
Q4) The ozone layer is found in the troposphere.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 4: Atmospheric Moisture and Precipitation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Normally, a parcel of air __________ if it is warmer than the surrounding air; conversely, the air parcel will __________ if it is cooler than the surrounding air.
A)remains stationary, sinks
B)rises, remains stationary
C)sinks, rise
D)rises, sink
Q2) The change in the air's temperature with altitude is called the environmental lapse rate.
A)True
B)False
Q3) At Point 1, air is ___________________ by the __________________ adiabatic lapse rate.
A)cooling, dry
B)warming, dry
C)cooling, wet
D)warming, wet
Q4) In warm clouds raindrops begin as snow.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Global Atmospheric and Oceanic Circulation
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138 Verified Questions
138 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The band of rapidly flowing air found aloft above the polar front is a:
A)pressure gradient
B)trade wind
C)polar easterly
D)jet stream
Q2) In a cyclone located in the northern hemisphere winds:
A)converge in a clockwise direction
B)converge in a counterclockwise direction
C)diverge in a clockwise direction
D)diverge in a counterclockwise direction
Q3) An anticyclone is a center of _____ pressure.
Q4) Which of the following is not a characteristic change associated with El Niño conditions?
A)upwelling along the Peruvian coast ceases
B)trade winds weaken
C)a weak eastward equatorial current develops
D)doldrum winds strengthen
Q5) Atmospheric pressure remains constant with increasing altitude.
A)True
B)False
7
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Chapter 6: Weather Systems
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130 Verified Questions
130 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A high-pressure weather system that brings clear calm conditions is a(n)_________.
Q2) Most wave cyclones move from:
A)west to east
B)east to west
C)north to south
D)south to north
Q3) An intense local storm associated with a tall, dense cumulonimbus cloud in which there are very strong updrafts of air is known as a thunderstorm.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Types of anticyclone include wave anticyclones, tropical anticyclones, and tornados.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Weather conditions associated with an anticyclone include A)clear skies
B)thunder and lightening
C)hail
D)none of the above
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Chapter 7: Global Climates and Climate Change
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148 Verified Questions
148 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Weather systems in the mid-latitudes usually move from:
A)west to east
B)east to west
C)north to south
D)south to north
Q2) The tropical desert precipitation regime is characterized by:
A)a dry summer
B)a dry winter
C)dry conditions all year round
D)moist conditions all year round
Q3) The semiarid (steppe)dry climate zones have enough precipitation to support tall grass prairies and some types of forest.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The low-latitude climate group is primarily influenced by continental tropical, maritime tropical, and ___________ air masses.
Q5) The tundra climate experiences eight or more months of frozen ground per year. A)True
B)False
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Chapter 8: Earth From the Inside Out
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79 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The deepest portion of an ocean basin is always in the middle.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which element is the most abundant in Earth's crust?
A)silicon
B)iron
C)calcium
D)oxygen
Q3) Oceanic crust is generally much older than continental crust.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Felsic minerals tend to be:
A)light-colored and silica-rich
B)dark-colored and silica-poor
C)light-colored and silica-rich.
D)dark-colored and silica-poor.
Q5) _____ and silicon are the two most common elements in Earth's crust.
Q6) Based on their origins, rocks can be divided into three distinct families: _______, sedimentary and metamorphic.
Q7) What holds rocks together?
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Chapter 9: Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes, and Volcanoes
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Sample Questions
Q1) Magma is able to rise upward through the Earth's crust because it is less dense than the surrounding rocks.
A)True
B)False
Q2) A fold that forms a trough with the youngest??? rocks in the middle is known as a
Q3) What causes a volcano formed by a hot spot to stop forming?
Q4) The slower moving waves which are generated by an earthquake that usually create an up and down shaking motion are called ________________.
Q5) An elongated region of the crust that has been deformed by continental collision is known as a(n):
A)anticline
B)strike
C)graben
D)axis
E)orogen This term is not in the chapter
Q6) What is the primary difference between a normal fault and a reverse fault?
Q7) Describe the areas of the United States where earthquakes and earthquake hazards have a greater probability of occurring.
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Chapter 10: Weathering and Mass Wasting
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Sample Questions
Q1) __________typically occur in parallel and intersecting planes.
Q2) Daily solar heating and cooling can break up exposed bedrock into smaller pieces.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Where rock is subject to great pressure from overlying and surrounding rocks, the associated squeezing and twisting as a result of tectonic forces causes what?
A)faults
B)crystals
C)sedimentary layers
D)joints
Q4) Oxidation is a type of physical weathering.
A)True
B)False
Q5) When mudflows pick up rocks and boulders, they are called:
A)slide
B)debris flow
C)creep
D)scarification
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Chapter 11: Fresh Water of the Continents
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67 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A body of rock or regolith that is water-saturated, porous, and permeable is known as a(n)__________.
A)aquiclude
B)aquifer
C)aquitard
D)oxbow lake
E)spring
Q2) A(n)__________ occurs in an area where the ground water is heated by hot rock near the surface which can force the ground water to flow out under pressure.
A)aquifer
B)aquiclude
C)oxbow lake
D)geyser
E)ocean
Q3) Stalactites are carbonate deposits that commonly occur on the floors of caves.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The __________ is below the water table in which all the pore spaces are filled with water.
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Chapter 12: Land-Forms Made by Running Water
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following mechanisms are responsible for generating erosional landforms?
A)flowing water
B)earthquake activity
C)lava flows
D)all of these
E)none of these
Q2) A __________ is the flat, low-lying area adjacent to a stream channel that receives overbank flow.
A)flood
B)floodplain
C)oxbow lake
D)levee
E)zone of aeration
Q3) Describe the conditions within a stream that allow it to be described as representing a "graded" condition.
Q4) The Mississippi River is a good example of a braided stream.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Any recent sediment deposit transported by water is known as __________.
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Chapter 13: Landforms Made by Wind and Waves
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Sample Questions
Q1) Wind abrasion blasts sand against exposed rocks to create rock sculptures of various sizes.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Loess deposits are typically composed of:
A)sands and gravels
B)pebbles and cobbles
C)clays and silts
D)sand only
Q3) Crescent-shaped dunes are described as:
A)barchan dunes
B)parabolic dunes
C)star dunes
D)transverse dunes
Q4) Which of the following coastal landforms does not form as a result of erosion?
A)beach
B)sea arch
C)notched cliff
D)stacks
E)sea cave
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Chapter 14: Glacial and Periglacial Landforms
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105 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The last period of glacial advance began about 140,000 years ago.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The man BEST noted for graphing insolation changes on Earth through time in an attempt to understand Pleistocene climatic patterns is:
A)Mohorovic
B)Wegener
C)Eratosthenes
D)Milankovitch
Q3) Yosemite Falls in California would be an example of a
Q4) _____________________ is a hill or mound of water-laid sediment found on the outwash plain.
Q5) Sharp ridges in between two corresponding cirques are known as __________________.
Q6) All till is drift, but not all drift is till.
A)True
B)False
Q7) __________________ is a sinuous ridge of sand and gravel, formed at the bottom of an ice tunnel or channel that drains the ice sheet.
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Chapter 15: Global Soils
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137 Verified Questions
137 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The most naturally fertile soil is considered to be the mollisols.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The movement of material upward or downward in the soil is called:
A)emigration
B)translocation
C)mitigation
D)saltation
Q3) The temperature at which most root growth and germination begins is:
A)0ºC
B)5ºC
C)10ºC
D)15ºC
Q4) Soil texture is important because it influences the:
A)age
B)moisture-holding capacity
C)color
D)acidity or alkalinity
Q5) A pH of 8 tend to be ____________ in terms of alkalinity.
Q6) ___________ are mineral soils without distinct horizons.
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Biogeographic Processes
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105 Verified Questions
105 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Organisms that ingest other organisms as their food source are BEST called:
A)primary producers
B)ecotone
C)consumers
D)legumes
Q2) To preserve global diversity, we must:
A)protect species and their habitats
B)burn the tropical rainforest and replant with hardier species
C)increase carbon dioxide emissions to raise temperatures
D)do ALL of these
Q3) When a relationship develops where one or both species cannot survive alone, the relationship is called:
A)allelopathy
B)mutualism
C)commensalism
D)protocooperation
Q4) Symbiosis includes predation.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What is biodiversity? Cite three ways that biodiversity is important.
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Global Biogeography
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Sample Questions
Q1) The tundra biome is BEST associated with:
A)ice-sheet climate
B)succulents
C)permafrost
D)dry mid-latitude climate
Q2) Most forests in moist climates have two or fewer layers of life-forms, trees, and herbs.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Low-latitude rainforest is found in:
A)Brazil, Indonesia, and central Africa
B)Saudi Arabia, central Australia, and northern Africa
C)Ethiopia and Kenya
D)ALL of these
Q4) Plants that survive for a single season are called:
A)annuals
B)perennials
C)epiphytes
D)xerophytes
Q5) The largest rainforest of the world is the ________________rainforest.
Page 19
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