Geo Test 3

Front 1

Why are geographers generally more interested in plants than in animals?

Back 1

-Plants stay in one place

Front 2

When a scientific name for an organism is given, such as Bubulcus ibis, what is designated by the first part?

Back 2

-Genus

Front 3

Which location would have the highest net primary productivity?

Back 3

-Brazil

Front 4

To which cycle are alfalfa, clover, soybeans, and lightning significant?

Back 4

-Nitrogen

Front 5

Which pair exemplifies a food chain?

Back 5

-Mice and hawks

Front 6

Which of the following exemplifies the fundamental unit in a food chain?

Back 6

-Grass

Front 7

What process is exemplified by Minamata disease that resulted in fish contamination by methyl mercury chloride from industrial wastewater?

Back 7

-Biomagnification

Front 8

Which situation best exemplifies natural selection?

Back 8

-Pollutants darken tree bark allowing birds to see and eat the lighter colored moths on the trunks. The darker population expands and eventually becomes a new species.

Front 9

What is the impact of extinction on the range of an organism?

Back 9

-The range is eliminated

Front 10

How much garbage does the average person produce in a month?

Back 10

-150 pounds

Front 11

When our oil supply is depleted, a new material will need to be used to produce _________.

Back 11

-plastic

Front 12

Which of the following would be considered household hazardous waste?

Back 12

- a can of spray paint

Front 13

What hazardous material do electronics contain, making them important to recycle properly?

Back 13

-lead

Front 14

What hazardous material do fluorescent light bulbs contain, making it important to dispose of them properly

Back 14

-mercury

Front 15

___________ would help prevent the creation of leachate.

Back 15

-Capping the landfill when it is filled to capacity

Front 16

Although “dry tombing” or capping a landfill after it is full is necessary, what problem can it create?

Back 16

-Biodegradable waste can remain for decades in a landfill.

Front 17

For which organism is wind a more important influence?

Back 17

-Dandelions

Front 18

What layer of Earth lies directly below the Moho?

Back 18

-Mantle

Front 19

How are metamorphic rocks formed?

Back 19

-Preexisting rock is altered through heat and pressure.

Front 20

Do metamorphic rocks look like the preexisting rock from which they form?

Back 20

-sometimes, but not always

Front 21

What is foliation?

Back 21

-banding in metamorphic rocks that results from the reorientation of minerals

Front 22

How will foliation in continental metamorphic rocks formed during subduction be oriented?

Back 22

-perpendicular to the direction of plate movement

Front 23

What would you call a granite that has undergone metamorphism and now exhibits foliation?

Back 23

-gneiss

Front 24

What mineral family includes the feldspars, quartz, and micas?

Back 24

-Silicates

Front 25

What rock class results when deep burial of the rock causes enough pressure and heat to make the mineral matter recrystallize?

Back 25

-Metamorphic

Front 26

Which situation would result in the formation of an intrusive igneous rock?

Back 26

-Molten rock filling and cooling in a crack in the bedrock

Front 27

Which describes the normal formation of sedimentary deposits?

Back 27

-They form horizontal layers called strata.

Front 28

What is the gravitational equilibrium of Earth's crust?

Back 28

-Isostacy

Front 29

In studying geomorphology, why is process important?

Back 29

The processes act to shape and change the Earth's surface

Front 30

What is the solid rock of Earth's crust?

Back 30

-Bedrock

Front 31

Considering climatic factors, at which location is soil likely to have the most advanced development?

Back 31

-Southern Florida

Front 32

Why is the time factor such an important soil-development consideration?

Back 32

-Soil forms very slowly and is difficult to manage.

Front 33

What is a colloid?

Back 33

-Soil particles smaller than 0.1 micrometers

Front 34

What soil order is found on an active floodplain where periodic erosion and deposition provide little chance for pedogenic processes?

Back 34

-Entisols

Front 35

What soil is associated with the Great Plains?

Back 35

-Mollisols

Front 36

Which of the following sets of soils is the most fertile?

Back 36

-Mollisols and alfisols

Front 37

Worldwide, what are the two most extensive soils?

Back 37

-Entisols and aridisols

Front 38

Which adaptation would be suitable for a xerophytic plant?

Back 38

-Extensive, long, thin, shallow root system

Front 39

What floristic association is dominated by widely spaced trees?

Back 39

-Woodland

Front 40

As latitude increases, generally, what happens to the elevation of the tree line?

Back 40

-The elevation of the tree line decreases in both hemispheres.

Front 41

What type of environmental adaption does the Siren lacertian (Great Siren)—an eel-like amphibian—exhibit when it burrows into mud during a drought and secretes a moisture-sealing cocoon over its body?

Back 41

-Estivation

Front 42

What cooperative behavior does the Amphiprion pecula (clown fish) exhibit as it lives and shelters in the stinging tentacles of sea anemones for protection from predators?

Back 42

-Commensalism

Front 43

What accounts for the uniqueness of the Australian zoogeographic region?

Back 43

-Continental drift and plate tectonics

Front 44

Which biome is common to Australia, California, South Africa, central Chile, southern Spain, and Tunisia?

Back 44

-Mediterranean woodland and shrub

Front 45

Which biome is distinguished by its locations in the Northern Hemisphere, pines, firs, spruces, tamaracks, larch, aspen, moss, lichen, bogs, swamps, slow plant growth, and limited fauna including bears, birds, and mosquitoes?

Back 45

-Boreal forest

Front 46

What biome is generally best associated with humid continental, marine west coast, and humid subtropical climates?

Back 46

-Midlatitude deciduous forest

Front 47

What is one of humankind's most successful skills?

Back 47

-Elimination of other living organisms

Front 48

What biome is most threatened globally by habitat modification?

Back 48

-Tropical rainforest

Front 49

How does the introduction of an exotic organism impact an ecosystem?

Back 49

-The exotic organism takes resources and space from the habitat of other organisms.

Front 50

Why are geographers concerned with the biosphere?

Back 50

-

Front 51

Describe the carbon cycle.

Back 51

-the transfer of carbon from carbon dioxide to living matter and then back again to carbon dioxide
-carbon dioxide from atmosphere is photosynthesized into carbohydrate compounds (assimilation)
-the change from carbon dioxide to living matter and back to carbon dioxide

Front 52

What is the importance of photosynthesis to the flow of energy through the
biosphere?

Back 52

-responsible for life.
-solar energy drives processes in the biosphere through photosynthesis
-production of organic better by chlorophyll plants and bacteria
-the plants then release carbon dioxide and water for other organisms to live

Front 53

In order for photosynthesis to occur, what things are required?

Back 53

-light
-carbon dioxide
-water
-chlorophyll

Front 54

Approximately how many species of plants are there?
Approximately how
many species of animals are there?

Back 54

-600,000
-1,200,000

Front 55

How is carbon converted in the biosphere into carbohydrate compounds?

Back 55

-

Front 56

If the biosphere is to function properly, why must its components be recycled?

Back 56

-

Front 57

How is carbon converted in the biosphere into carbohydrate compounds?

Back 57

-carbohydrates cycle through the biosphere when animals eat either photosynthesizing plants or other animals that have eaten these plants
-plant respiration portion of the stored energy in carbohydrates are consumed by the plant

Front 58

If the biosphere is to function properly, why must its components be recycled?

Back 58

-to sustain life on Earth

Front 59

What is the driving force behind all life cycles in the biosphere?

Back 59

-the Sun

Front 60

What is photoperiodism?

Back 60

-the response of an organism to the length of exposure to light in a 24 hour period

Front 61

Explain the difference between nitrogen fixation and denitrification.

Back 61

nitrogen fixation= conversion of gaseous nitrogen into forms that can be used by plant life
denitrification= the conversion of nitrates into free nitrogen in the air

Front 62

Describe the food pyramid

Back 62

-energy transferred through the ecosystem from large numbers of "lower" forms of life through the "higher" forms
-as organisms at one level are eaten my the next level

Front 63

herbivores

Back 63

-plant eating animals
-primary consumers

Front 64

carnivores

Back 64

-meat eaters
-secondary consumers

Front 65

omnivores

Back 65

-eat both plant and animals
-secondary consumers

Front 66

What are biofuels? What is the controversy surrounding biofuels?

Back 66

-biofuels consist of ethanol and biodiesel
-ethanol =fermented from crops
-biodiesel= chemically processed veggie oil or animal fat
-ethics of using land to grow crops for fuel rather than for food

Front 67

What are the sort-term effects of wildfires? What are the long-term effects of wildfires? Why do some trees need periodic wildfires to sweep through in order for that species to reproduce?

Back 67

-short term= usually temporary (the biota is changed)
-Long term= can be permanent
wild fires can be helpful to the seeding or sprouting of plants and maintenance of certain types of forests

Front 68

Explain the oxygen cycle.

Back 68

-the movement of oxygen by various processes through the environment
-oxygen is released through photosynthesis and is taken up by living organisms
-molecular oxygen(plants, water oxygen (evaporation), carbon dioxide (animals), recycled through the biosphere via photosynthesis

Front 69

What are edaphic factors?

Back 69

-having to do with soil
-influence biotic distributions

Front 70

What two things determine the availability of moisture to plants?

Back 70

-temperature
-wind

Front 71

ecosystems

Back 71

-all the organisms in an area and their interaction with the immediate environment

Front 72

ecotones

Back 72

-transition zone of competition in which the typical species of one biome intermingles with those of another

Front 73

biomes

Back 73

-global scale of broader grouping of plants and animals. Large recognizable assemblage of plants and animals loving in a functional relationship with the environment

Front 74

Describe plant succession.

Back 74

-the process of one type of vegetation is replaced naturally by another
-occurs after catastrophic natural events

Front 75

What are the basic characteristics that distinguish plants from animals?

Back 75

-roots to gather nutrients, moisture, and anchor
-stems, branches, leaves

Front 76

What characteristics are associated with birds and mammals but not with other groups of animals?

Back 76

-they are endothermic (body temp stays the same under any climate)

Front 77

What is a biome? How many biomes do most scientists commonly accept?

Back 77

-any large recognizable assemblage of plants and animals over a large area that have similar adaptations and relationships within an environment and climate
-10 major biomes

Front 78

physiological way animals adapt to the environment.

Back 78

-ears for regulating body temp
-fur for protecting from cold
-webbed toes making swimming easier

Front 79

behavioral way animals adapt to the environment

Back 79

-seek shelter
-shift from diurnal to nocturnal
-migration, hibernation, estivation

Front 80

reproductive animals adapt to the environment

Back 80

-nest building
-hastened estrus
-den prepping

Front 81

tropical rainforest

Back 81

-consistent rainfall and hight temps
-greatest biodiversity
-large trees(canopy)
-undergrowth because lack of light
-scarce large animals (mostly creepy crawlies)

Front 82

tropical deciduous forest

Back 82

-high temps all year, little rainfall
-shorter trees
-less diverse ground level vertebrates (monkeys, birds, lizards)

Front 83

tropical savanna

Back 83

-tall grassland
-seasonal rainfall (ITCZ)
-big game mammals

Front 84

What is unique about the Mediterranean woodland and shrub biome?

Back 84

-dry summers, wet winters
-woody shrubs
-grassy woodland
-fires are common in summers

Front 85

Which biomes are characterized by an absence of trees?

Back 85

-tundra

Front 86

What happens to the soil in the rainforest after the vegetation is cleared for
agriculture?

Back 86

-it loses its nutrients
-most nutrients are stored in the plant itself

Front 87

mutualism

Back 87

-mutual beneficial relationship between 2 organisms
-tick bird removing ticks from ungulates

Front 88

commensalism

Back 88

-2 dissimilar organisms living together with no injury to either
-burrowing owls share a home with prairie dogs

Front 89

parasitism

Back 89

-one organism living on or in another, obtains nutrients from host
-mistletoe is a parasite of forest trees

Front 90

List and briefly describe the five principal groups of vertebrates

Back 90

1. fish- only vertebrates that can breath under water
2. amphibians- semiaquatic animals
3. reptiles- land base
4. birds- feathered reptiles
5. mammals- produce milk

Front 91

How are monotremes different than other mammals? Which animals are
classified as monotremes?

Back 91

-egg-laying mammals
-echidna
-duck bill platypus

Front 92

transpiration

Back 92

-transfer of moisture to the atmosphere from plants and evaporation from soil and plants

Front 93

evaporation

Back 93

-liquid water is converted to gaseous water vapor
-cooling process latent heat is stored

Front 94

respiration

Back 94

-stored energy in carbohydrates consumed by the plant
-carbohydrates are oxidized, releasing water, carbon dioxide, and heat energy

Front 95

evergreen

Back 95

-needle leaf trees
-softwood gymnosperms
-sheds leaves on a sporadic or successive basis but always appears fully leaved

Front 96

deciduous

Back 96

-an annual which all leave die and fall from tree due to cold or dry weather
-hardwood and angiosperm
-broad leaved

Front 97

needle-leaf trees

Back 97

-a sliver of tough, leathery waxy needles
-evergreens
-softwood gymnosperm

Front 98

broadleaf trees

Back 98

-leaves are flat and expansive in shape
-deciduous
-hardwood angiosperm

Front 99

What is plant succession?

Back 99

-the process of one type of vegetation is replaced naturally by another

Front 100

What are epiphytes? How do epiphytes differ from other plants?

Back 100

-they hang from or perch on tree trunks and branches
-get nutrients from air instead of the structure it is attacked to
-"air plants" don't root in soil
-orchids

Front 101

What is an “exotic” plant or animal? Why do exotics cause problems in the
ecosystem?

Back 101

-non-native plant or animal that becomes established in a new environment
-they can completely change and take over an ecosystem alternating entire regional ecosystem

Front 102

Why are animals and plants in competition with each other? For what do they
compete?

Back 102

rivalry for space and resources
-antagonism and predation

Front 103

What is riparian vegetation?

Back 103

-stream side growth in dry regions
-stream courses may be lined with trees, but no other trees are found in the landscape

Front 104

What are some typical ways that seeds are dispersed throughout the
environment?

Back 104

-wind, water, and animals help disperse

Front 105

What is extinction? Name some famous examples of mass extinction

Back 105

-extinct over the entire world, eliminated forever from the landscape
-Dinos

Front 106

Which region of the world has the most distinctive flora and fauna?

Back 106

-Australia region

Front 107

flora and fauna

Back 107

-flora-plants
-fauna- animals

Front 108

hydrophytes

Back 108

-living permanently immersed in water

Front 109

hygrophytes

Back 109

-moisture loving plants require soaking with water

Front 110

symbiosis

Back 110

-mutually beneficial relationship between 2 organisms

Front 111

What is regolith? What is the relationship between weathering and regolith?

Back 111

-layer of broken and partly decomposed rock particles that cover bedrock
-weathering penetrates into regolith (topography)

Front 112

Describe the horizons in order in an idealized soil profile.

Back 112

O,A,E,B,C, and R

Front 113

colloids

Back 113

-organic and inorganic microscopic particles of soil that represent the chemically active portion of particles in soil

Front 114

cations

Back 114

- an atom or group of atoms with positive electrical charge

Front 115

Describe CEC (cation exchange capacity) and
its relationship to soil fertility.

Back 115

-the acidity/alkalinity of soil is determined by its CEC

Front 116

The soil-forming factor which is said to make soil more than "just dirt" is
what? Approximately what percent of soil is comprised of organic matter?

Back 116

-5%
-biological factor

Front 117

Why are earthworms so important to soil?

Back 117

-improve structure
-increase fertility
-lessen danger of erosion
-deepen the profile of soil

Front 118

Why does soil tend to be deepest on flat land?

Back 118

-soil develops at the bottom more rapidly that it is eroded away at the top
-surface erosion is very slow

Front 119

porosity

Back 119

-amount of pore space between soil particles or between pads.
-soil capacity to hold water

Front 120

permeability

Back 120

-interconnected pore space through which water can move

Front 121

What pH levels are associated with neutral, acidic, and basic (alkaline) soils?

Back 121

-neutral=7
-acidic= 1-6
-alkaline=8-14

Front 122

What generates most of the metabolic activity in soil?

Back 122

-microorganisms
-help release nutrients

Front 123

Which soils are the highest rated soils for overall agricultural productivity?

Back 123

-Alfisols
-Mollisols

Front 124

Which soil order covers the greatest surface area on Earth?

Back 124

-Entisols

Front 125

What soil classification system do we use in the US?

Back 125

-soil taxonomy

Front 126

Which soil order is mainly found in the tropics?

Back 126

-Laterization
-oxisols

Front 127

Describe why the vertisol soil order is associated with the shifting of buildings’ foundations.

Back 127

-"swelling" and "cracking" clay
-absorbs water, then expands
-wen dry, cracks form

Front 128

Describe the characteristics of the aridisol soil order. Where is the soil order primarily found?

Back 128

-sandy, dry,
-New mexico, arid regions, deserts

Front 129

Which soil order is associated with permafrost?

Back 129

-Gelisols

Front 130

Which soil order is derived from volcanic ash?

Back 130

-Andisols

Front 131

Which soil order contains a lot of decayed plant material?

Back 131

-Mollisols

Front 132

What is capillary water?

Back 132

-remains after gravitational water has drained away
-consists of moisture held at surface of soil particles by surface tension

Front 133

Eluviation

Back 133

-gravitational water picks up fine particles of soil from the upper layers and carries them downward

Front 134

Field capacity

Back 134

-max amount of water that can be retained in the soil after gravitational water has drained away

Front 135

Humus

Back 135

-dark colored, gelatinous, chemically stable fraction of organic matter on or in the soil

Front 136

Illuviation

Back 136

-fine particles of soil from upper layers are deposited at a lower level

Front 137

Laterization

Back 137

-the dominant pedogenic regime

Front 138

Leaching

Back 138

-dissolved nutrients are transported down in solution and deposited deeper in soil

Front 139

Loam

Back 139

-soil texture in which none of the 3 principle soils separates

Front 140

Parent material

Back 140

-weathered fragments of rock from which soil is made

Front 141

Ped

Back 141

-large mass or clump that soil particles tend to aggregate into and that determines structure of the soil

Front 142

Salinization

Back 142

-principle soil moisture movement is upward because of a moisture deficit

Front 143

Separates

Back 143

-size groups within the standard classification of soil particle size

Front 144

Solum

Back 144

-true soil that includes only the top 4 horizons
-O,A, E, B

Front 145

igneous rock

Back 145

-formed by solidification of molten magma
-plutonic (intrusive)
-salt & pepper, black

Front 146

sedimentary rock

Back 146

-detrital (clastic)
-chemical and organic
-fine grain (sand)
-limestone
-formed of sediment that is consolidated by combination of pressure and cementation

Front 147

metamorphic rock

Back 147

-foliated, non-foliated
-slate, marble, glossy, green
-was originally something else but has been changed by massive forces of heat from within Earth

Front 148

When subjected to metamorphism, limestone becomes what? Sandstone becomes what? Shale becomes what?

Back 148

-limeston becomes marble
-sandstone becomes quartzite
-shale becomes slate

Front 149

The basic classification of rock types is based on their what?

Back 149

-petrology

Front 150

What is the difference between topography and relief? Is the topography we see today
permanent (i.e., it will never change)?

Back 150

-topography= surface configuration of earth (stay the same)
-relief= the difference in elevation between the highest and lowest points in an area. World relief is 12 miles

Front 151

How old do scientists believe the Earth is? When did life appear on Earth?

Back 151

-4.6 billion years, Earth
-542 million or 3.8 billion life

Front 152

What is foliation?

Back 152

-minerals in a metamorphic rock show an alignment or orientation
-platy, wavy, or banded texture
-slate, schist, gneiss
-Mnt. Rushmore

Front 153

What does the term strata mean?

Back 153

-distinct layers of sediment or layers in sedimentary rock
-horisontal layers

Front 154

Describe what scale is as detailed in the Focus section about a hike in Horseshoe Park.

Back 154

-on a hike you can see rock type, vegetation, and slope
-can no longer see sandbar, bank, or dry pond

Front 155

Describe the theory of plate tectonics. What proof has been used to verify this theory?

Back 155

-massive lithospheric rearrangement based on the movement of sentimental size plates
-geological, paleontological, seismic, magnetic evidence

Front 156

What is magma?

Back 156

-molten material below Earth's surface
-made of silica

Front 157

What is Uniformitarianism?

Back 157

-"present is the key to the past"
-the process now happening has also happened in the past

Front 158

The remains of plants and animals can produce limestone. Describe this process. What
mineral compound is involved?

Back 158

-calcium carbonate
-precipitate from the water into the pore space between sediment grains
-compaction and cementation consolidates and transforms the sediment to rock

Front 159

internal process

Back 159

-geomorphic process from below the surface
-volcanos, folding, faulting

Front 160

xternal processes

Back 160

-destructive process that denude or wear down the landscape
-weathering, mass wasting, erosion

Front 161

Inner core

Back 161

-solid, dense
-innermost portion of Earth
-made of iron, nickel, and silicate

Front 162

Outer core

Back 162

-liquid (molten) shell beneath the mantle that encloses Earth's inner core
-made of iron, nickel, silicate

Front 163

Mantle

Back 163

-beneath the crust and surrounding the core
-"plastic"

Front 164

Crust

Back 164

-the outer most layer of Earth

Front 165

What is the Moho?

Back 165

-the base of the crust there is a change in mineral composition

Front 166

What are the three ways that sedimentary rock can be formed? Give an example of each

Back 166

-Detrital rock= composed of fragments of preexisting rocks (cobbles, gravel, sand, shale)
-Chemical= formed by precipitation of solids from ions in solution (calcium carbonate, limestone)
-Organic=compact remains of dead plant material (lignite coal)

Front 167

Distinguish between extrusive and intrusive rocks. How does the rate of cooling of igneous
rocks affect the crystal size?

Back 167

-extrusive=volcanic. Formed from the cooling of lava or bonding of pyroclastic materials on the surface (lava cools rapidly, crystals are small)
-Intrusive= plutonic. Form from the cooling of magma below the surface. (takes so long to cool, the crystals can grow large)

Front 168

Distinguish between continental crust and oceanic crust. What are the main minerals in
each?

Back 168

-continental crust= less dense. Made of basalt. floats
-oceanic= rock and granite, dense, can be pushed down and will sink

Front 169

What is foliation in regards to metamorphic rock?

Back 169

-fine grained slate (low grade)
-colliding plates, create stresses necessary to produce foliated metamorphic rocks

Front 170

What is fracking? What problems are associated with fracking?

Back 170

-mining technique to remove trapped natural gas from rock and sand formations that are deep underground
-uses a lot of water
-pollution in water, air, and fluid disposal
-disturb land surfaces

Front 171

Asthenosphere

Back 171

-plastic layer of the upper mantle
-dense and very hot rocks
-weak and easily deformed

Front 172

Geomorphology

Back 172

-study of characteristic origin and development of landforms

Front 173

Lithosphere

Back 173

-tectonic plates made of the crust and upper rigid mantle
-"Earth's sphere" entire solid Earth

Front 174

Mieneral

Back 174

-inorganic substance chemical composition
-crystal structure