Geo Test 1

What type of reasoning involves the collection and direct analysis of data without making predictions?

Induction

A theory is NOT as well tested as a hypothesis.

False

Energy enters and leaves planet Earth whereas matter does not. Earth is therefore a(n) _________ system with respect to energy and __________ with respect to matter.

Open/closed

Earth's internal heat comes largely from...

Fission of radioactive elements like uranium

_____ is when a steady-state system exhibits a changing trend over time such as in the case of global warming

Dynamic equilibrium

____ is a measure of the quantity of matter in an object and usually expressed as grams and kilograms.

Mass

Which of the following statements about elemental abundances is TRUE?

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe

All radiation has the same amount of energy regardless of wavelength.

False

Which of the following is an example of force?

Gravitational pull on the Earth by the Moon and Sun

Different map layers can be overlain and compared within a geographic information system.

True

A radar transmitter on a satellite orbiting Earth can emit short bursts of energy towards Earth's surface in order to study the atmosphere, oceans, and landforms. This is an example of _____

Active remote sensing

Which of the following statements best describes Earth's geoid?

Surface representation of sea level that is distorted relative to a perfect ellipsoid

The balance between ______ and _______ forces keeps a planet in orbit around the Sun?

Gravitational and centrifugal

Thermonuclear reactions within the Sun's core include each of the following
except...

Conversion of electrons to protons

The following are steps in the formation of our solar system from an initial gas cloud called the solar nebula: (a) Smaller planetesimals accrete into larger bodies; (b) Nebular dust and gases undergo gravitational collapse; (c) Formation of the proto-sun

b-c-a-d-e

Collision of the Earth with a Mars-sized object 4.5 billion years ago, followed by ejection of Earth material into space, is thought to have been responsible for formation of the ____

Moon

Outside of Earth, what two solar system bodies have recently been found by spacecraft to contain water?

Mars and our moon

The largest volcanoes discovered in our solar system to date are found on ____

Mars

Which of the following statements does NOT apply to the Kuiper Belt?

Also known as the Asteroid Belt

Dark lines within the Sun's spectrum, known as Fraunhofer lines, are thought to...

represent wavelengths within the Sun's spectrum that are absorbed by elements like hydrogen on the Sun

The intensity of the solar wind reaching Earth is thought to increase during times of decreased sunspot activity.

False

Which of the following statements regarding solar radiation is TRUE?

Radiation emitted by Earth is of longer wavelength than radiation received from the Sun

For the following figure, note that the white dots on top of the various images of Earth represent the North Pole. Which image of Earth, relative to the Sun, corresponds to Spring (Vernal) Equinox?

Earth position directly above the Sun

Which of the following statements regarding the figure below is TRUE?

The greatest intensity of solar radiation occurs within the visible portion of the electomagnetic spectrum

What two processes were responsible for accumulation of free oxygen (O2) in Earth's early atmosphere beginning around 3.6 billion years ago?

Photosynthetic cyanobacteria and photochemical dissociation of water vapor

Earth's modern atmosphere consists of 78% _________ and 21% __________ along with other gases in much smaller amounts.

Nitrogen/oxygen

An ozone layer within Earth's stratosphere was already well-developed by 3.5 billion years ago

False

Which of the following statements regarding Earth's atmospheric layers is TRUE?

Temperature decreases with height within both the troposphere and mesosphere

The ozone layer within the stratosphere is useful in that it protects us from incoming UV radiation from the Sun.

True

Which of the following images will result in the trapping of ground level ozone? Note that for the two graphs on the left, the horizontal axis shows decreasing temperature towards the left while the vertical axis shows increasing altitude towards the top.

Image B

The World Health Organization recently established a link between poor health and ___

Particulate matter

What is the following figure telling us?

Yearly variation in the height of the ozone column over Antarctica

Which of the following is NOT considered Anthropogenic pollution?

Water Vapor

Which of the following are considered aerosols?

Small particles of dust, soot, and pollution suspended in the air

Changing direction of light's movement within the atmosphere without altering its wavelengths is known as ________.

Scattering

Insolation at Earth's surface is higher near the poles than along the equator.

False

Which of the following has the highest albedo?

Fresh Snow

Which of the following can result in the cooling of Earth's surface?

Cloud-albedo forcing where increasing cloud cover causes an increase in atmospheric albedo

How do greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and water vapor warm the atmosphere?

Greenhouse gases delay the transfer of longwave radiation from Earth into space

How is latent heat transferred from surface water to the atmosphere?

Evaporation

Conduction is the principle way of transferring sensible heat...

through soil and rock

The figure below shows yearly temperature profiles for a marine city along the coast and a continental city located within the interior of a continent. Both cities are near the same latitude. Which profile is more likely to represent the continental city?

Right profile

Which of the following statements more likely applies to land than water?

Heats up faster during the day and cools down faster at night

Which of the following correlates the effects of air temperature on the human body with wind speed?

Wind Chill

On land, the highest annual values for latent heat of evaporation occur in ________ and the highest values for sensible heat occur in ________.

Tropical rain forests/subtropical deserts

On a sunny summer afternoon, at which of the following locations would temperatures be highest?

Downtown Houston