Final Geography Test Cards

Front 1

What is Geography?

Back 1

The study of the features of Earth and it's atmosphere, coming from the latin words for "earth description". The two kinds of Geography are physical geography, or environmental geography, and cultural geography, or the way people interact with the environment.

Front 2

What is a map?

Back 2

A two dimensional representation of Earth and the spatial distribution of selected phenomena.

Front 3

What is map scale?

Back 3

Map scale is the thing that determines the relationship between length measured on the map and the actual distance. The scale types are Graphic Map scales, which uses a line between two points on a map to compare distances, Fractional map scales, which show fractionally how close the map scale is to the real world scale, and Vertical map scale, which states clearly what 1 inch is to real world distance.

Front 4

What determines a map's accuracy?

Back 4

Equivalence, the size ratio clarity, and Conformality, how well the visual looks equivalent to the actual shape and look of the Earth.

Front 5

What is latitude?

Back 5

The vertical measurement on the globe made by circles that wrap around the earth horizontally.

Front 6

What is longitude?

Back 6

Horizontal measurement on the globe made by lines that go down the side of the earth.

Front 7

What is the U.S.G.S. quadrangle system and what are base lines and meridians?

Back 7

A system of mapping developed by the U.S.G.S. that fits the lines of latitude to the form of the earth, while base lines are particular lines of latitude dividing property north and south while meridians are degrees of longitude dividing the earth into its east and west quadrants, three major points connecting the two in california being Mt. Homboldt, Mt. Diablo, and San Bernadino.

Front 8

What are townships?

Back 8

Townships are quadrants in us land from 6 to 54 square miles and with 36 square miles being the norm. A survey township is usually 6 by 6 miles square, or 23, 040 acres.

Front 9

What are sections?

Back 9

Sections of a township are numbered first right to left at the top, next right to left on the next line, and then continuously so for 36 sections. Directionally you point to one by putting its direction relative to others in its area first, then its more general direction, like one would be the south west part of the north western section.

Front 10

What did you learn about reading legal descriptions?

Back 10

Property may be measured by metes, or actual measured distances such as feet or yards, or bounds, which are measured by landmarks to determine the boundaries of a property.

Front 11

Lots in Subdivisions?

Back 11

2 or more.

Front 12

What are parcels in a parcel map?

Back 12

Land lots.

Front 13

What are climate controls?

Back 13

Things that effect the elements of weather and climate, aka temperature, moisture content, pressure, and wind. These are latitude, distribution of land and water, general circulation of the air moisture, general circulation of the oceans, altitude, topographic barriers, and storms.

Front 14

What is a condensation nuclii?

Back 14

The particulates that gather around cities and volcanoes that moisture can condensate onto, causing clouds and storms.

Front 15

What is the ozone layer?

Back 15

A layer in atmosphere which is 15 to 48 kilometers up, and is also called the ozonosphere. Ozone is greatest about 25 kilometers above sea level, but only accounts for 15 parts per million of the atmosphere.

Front 16

What are the atmospheric elements?

Back 16

Temperature, pressure, wind, and moisture content.

Front 17

What are ocean currents?

Back 17

The motion and circulation of the ocean which moves the warm water poleward and the cool water equator ward. Warm currents are found on the eastern coasts of continents and cool currents of the western coasts.

Front 18

What is the Coreolis effect?

Back 18

The coreolis effect is something that applies to any object moving freely of the earth's surface, such as planes and the such, and that as they are above the ground the earth below them will rotate from west to east.

Front 19

What is adiabatic cooling?

Back 19

This is cooling through expansion due to the molecules no longer bumping into each other as much.

Front 20

What is insolation?

Back 20

Incoming solar radiation, which can be averaged over a year to be the solar constant, which is 1372 water per square meter, about 1 joule per second meter.

Front 21

What is advection?

Back 21

The horizontal transfer of heat or cold through fluids, such as wind or water.

Front 22

What is the importance of particulates?

Back 22

They cause condensation and can absorb or reflect solar radiation.

Front 23

What is latent heat?

Back 23

Heat energy present in phase changes, when it is stored it is a cooling process, but when it is released it is a heating process. It is involved in the balance water consistently keeps with temperature.

Front 24

What is the average lapse rate?

Back 24

The rate measured with which temperature will change for altitude, which is 6.5 degrees celsius per 1000 meters, saying it will get 6.5 degrees colder as you get 1000 meters higher.

Front 25

What are cyclones and anticyclones?

Back 25

Cyclones are low pressure centers that in the northern hemisphere move counterclockwise and in the southern hemisphere move clockwise. Anticyclones are high pressure centers that in the northern hemisphere move clockwise and in the southern hemisphere move counterclockwise.

Front 26

What is the pressure gradient?

Back 26

It is the pressure difference within the air, continuously seeking out the low pressure zones. Cyclones are low pressure zones that are forced into high pressure zones, while anticyclones are the opposite.

Front 27

What are the horse latitudes?

Back 27

Areas in the subtropics of the ocean that have no wind going anywhere, thus the worst place for a ship.

Front 28

What is the polar front?

Back 28

Cold air rush coming from the poles.

Front 29

What is general atmospheric circulation?

Back 29

The movement of cold air towards the equator and warm air poleward via air currents.

Front 30

What is windward leeward?

Back 30

Windward is towards the oncoming weather or wind and leeward is downwind.

Front 31

What is the hydrologic cycle?

Back 31

The circulation of our planets water throughout its surface area.

Front 32

What is evapotranspiration?

Back 32

The combined water coming into the atmosphere from transpiration from plants and evaporation from land water.

Front 33

What is saturated air?

Back 33

Air heavy with water.

Front 34

What is dry and wet adiabatic lapse rate?

Back 34

The capacity for air to carry water before it has to condensate it, hot carrying more than cold.

Front 35

What are air masses?

Back 35

Large parcels of air. They must be more that 1600 kilometers across and several kilometers deep, must have uniform properties/relatively non changing, they must be distinct from the surrounding air.

Front 36

What is the squall line?

Back 36

A narrow band of high winds associated with a cold front, caused by the struggle of fronts.

Front 37

What are the types of fronts?

Back 37

Cold fronts, warm fronts, stationary fronts, and occluded fronts.

Front 38

What are thunderstorms?

Back 38

Violent convective storms accompanied by thunder and lightning, created when a cumulonimbus has enough humidity and particulates to create enough charge to form a supercell cloud, causing the storm.

Front 39

What is Koppen's system?

Back 39

It is a system used to classify different types of climates. You have A - tropical humid climates, B - dry climates, C - Mild midlatitude climates, D - Severe midlatitude climates, E - Polar climates, and H - Highland Climates. Then you have the sub degrees, af is tropical wet, aw is tropical savanna, am is tropical monsoon, BWh is subtropical desert, BSh is subtropical steppe, BWk is midlatitude desert, BSk is midlatitude steppe, Csa and cab is mediterranean hot summer/warm summer, Cfa, Cwa, and Cwb are Humid Subtropical with no dry season hot summer/dry winter hot summer/dry winter warm summer, Cfb and Cfc is No dry season warm summer/no dry season cool summer. Dfa dfb dwa and dwb are all humid continental, and dec dfd dec and dad are al subarctic. ET is Tundra and EF is Ice cap. H is just high elevation climates.

Front 40

What is the difference between Weather and Climate?

Back 40

Weather is the current state, climate has to be constant condition.

Front 41

What is a mediterranean climate?

Back 41

Climates found at 35 degrees north and south and are rare, have modest precipitation, mild temperatures, clear skies and abundant sunshine.

Front 42

What is a cirque?

Back 42

A hollow formed by erosion left by a glacier.

Front 43

What is earth's water budget?

Back 43

97.2% oceans with 2.8% for everything else, 2.15 on glaciers, 0.62 groundwater, 0.009 freshwater lakes, 0.008 saline lakes, 0.005 soil moisture, 0.001 atmosphere, and 0.0001 streams.

Front 44

What are tides?

Back 44

Swells in the ocean caused by the moon and centripetal force, coming in spring tides and neap tides, perigees and apogees. Spring tides are the times of largest tides and is when the moon is closest to the sides of the earth, while neap tides are the opposite, perigees when the sun is in alignment and apogees when it is not.

Front 45

What is the character of water?

Back 45

No taste no smell, turns solid at 0 degrees celsius, and boils at 100 degrees celsius. It has liquidity, ice expansion, surface tension, capillarity due to adhesion, solvent ability, and specific heat.