Geology
Study of rocks and minerals
Meteorology
Short term weather phenomenon
Biogeography
Study of the distribution of living things on earth
Hydrology
Study of flowing water
Climatology
Study of long term weather patterns
Pedology
Study of soils
Physical Geography
geology, meteorology, biogeography, hydrology, climatology, pedology
Human Geography
Political, economic, cultural
Political Geography
Nations
Economic Geography
Flow of money, goods, and services
Cultural Geography
People and nations
Environmental Spheres
atmosphere, lithosphere, biosphere
Atmosphere
Gaseous parts of the earth
Hydrosphere
Contains all water
Subdivision=cryosphere (all frozen water on earth)
Lithosphere
Contains all rocks and minerals on earth
Biosphere
Place where 3 spheres occur together
Creates a zone where life can take place
Steps of the Scientific Method
1. Observation
2. Hypothesis
-null: statement of no difference
3. Experiment
-Repeat
4. Theory
5. Share Findings
Fission
Dividing process (radioactive decay)
Bigger molecule + Proton = radioactive
Fusion
2 small things added to make one large thing (extremely high temps are required)
1 hydrogen+ 1 hydrogen = helium
Terrestrial Planets
Mercury, Venus and Earth
Jovian Planets (gaseous planets)
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
2600 ybp
Greeks reasoned earth to be a sphere
1. ship example
2. moon example
2200 ybp
Eratosthenes calculated circumference
calculated: 43,000 km
actual: 40,000 km
How is earth NOT a perfect sphere?
It is wider across at the equator than it is from pole to pole. It is called an Oblate Spheroid.
Great Circles
1. Divide the earth into two equal halves.
2. Represent the shortest distance between two points.
What if two points are diametrically opposed?
They can be connected with an infinite number of great circles.
Small Circle
ANY circle that is NOT a great circle
Latitude
1. Called parallels because they are always parallel to each other.
2. Measured in angular degrees.
3. Run east/west and measure distances north and south of the equator.
4. Angle is formed by two lines, one from the center of the earth to the equator and
Latitude of the Equator
0 degrees
Latitude of the Tropics
23.5 degrees north and south
Latitude of the arctic and arctic circles
66.5 degrees north and south
What are common names for area of latitude?
1. low, middle, and high latitudes
2. equatorials; runs along equator (starts wind)
3. tropical; between the tropics
4. subtropical
5. polar
Longitude
1. lines are called meridian
2. run north and south
3. measure distances east and west of the prime meridian
4. measured in angular degrees
5. lines furthest apart at the equator and converge at the poles
6. all meridians are half great circles
How is angle formed?
Two lines, one going from the center of the earth to the prime meridian at the equator and one going from the center of the earth to the meridian in question at the equator.
What degree is the international date line?
180 degrees (east and west must be used)
What degree is the prime meridian?
0 degrees (east and west must be used)
Finer Measurement
1. one degree = 60 minutes
(minutes are denoted with a single hatch mark)
Example: 45 min = 45'
2. one minute = 60 seconds
(seconds are denoted with a double hatch mark)
Example: 37 degrees 45' 18" North
52 degrees 36' 22" West
Converting DMS to Decimal Degree Format
Example: 34 degrees 25'
=34 degrees + 25/60 degrees
=34 degrees + .0461 degrees
=34.416
Earths motions
rotation and revolution
Rotation
1. earth rotates from west to east
2. rotational speed is fastest at the equator and slowest at the poles
Revolution
1. aphelion: earth passes furthest away from the sun (july 4)
2. Perihelion: earth passes closest to the sun (January 3)
Inclination
1. the rotational axis is tilted 23.5 degrees away from the vertical
2. axis tilt = 23.5 constant
Polarity
1. earths rotational axis always points in the same direction
Declination of the Sun
1. latitude where noon sun is directly overhead
2. latitude where incoming rays of noon sun are perpendicular to the earths surface
Tangent Rays of the Sun
touch the earth at one point instead of intersecting at 2 points
Equinoxes
1. occur on or near march 20th and September 22 (12 hour day, 12 hour night)
2. declination is at the equator and the tangent rays touch at the north and south poles
3. on these days the circle of illumination bisects all parallels so every place on earth
The Solstices
1. on the June solstice the declination of the sun is at 23.5 degrees north
2. on the December solstice the declination of the sun is at 23.5 degrees south
3. on both days the tangent rays of the sun touch the earth at 66.5 degrees north and 66.5 degrees
The Analemma
1. graphic figure used to find the declination of the sun on any day of the year
2. to use it, find date then go straight across to the left side and read the latitude
3. top of figure = 23.5 degrees north
bottom of figure = 23.5 degrees south
Solar Altitude
1. refers to the apparent elevation of the sun above the horizon at noon for a given latitude
2. Arc distance: the number of degrees of latitude between the latitude in question and the declination of the sun
3. Solar altitude = 90 degrees minus the arc d
Lengths of Daylight
the amount of time a location on the earth will spend inside the circle of illumination
Standard Time Zones
1. earth is divided into 24 time zones, each zone is 15 degrees of longitude wide
(360 degrees / 24 hours = 15 minutes / hour)
2. The time at the prime meridian is referred to as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
3. International clocks like UTC and ZULU are set
The U.S. Time Zones
1. Has 4 zones for the continental area, plus one for Alaska and one for Hawaii
2. boundaries are not straight lines they are fit into boundaries of political division
Daylight Savings Time
1. Begins in the spring (one hour is added to standard time)
2. in the fall we return to standard time (one hour is subtracted from DST, helps to avoid wasted daylight hours
Sunrise/Sunset Corrections
1. earth rotates 15 degrees of longitude per hour
2. 60min / 15 degrees = 4min / degree (a location west you will see sunset 4 min later) (you will see the sunrise 4 min before them)
(S.I. to English) cm to inches
cm * 0.394 = in
(S.I. to English) meters to feet
m * 3.281 = ft
(S.I. to English) km to miles
km * 0.621 = mi
(English to S.I.) inches to cm
in * 2.540 = cm
(English to S.I.) feet to meters
ft * 0.305 = meters
(English to S.I.) yards to meters
yds * 0.914 = meters
(English to S.I.) miles to km
miles * 1.609 = km
feet to inches
1 foot = 12 inches
miles to feet
1 mile = 5280 feet
miles to inches
1 miles = 63,36 inches