Introduction to Physical Geography
Exam Solutions
Course Introduction
Introduction to Physical Geography explores the natural processes and features of the Earth's surface, including landforms, climates, vegetation, soils, and water bodies. The course examines how these physical elements interact to shape regional and global environments, while highlighting their influence on human activities. Students gain an understanding of fundamental geographic concepts, spatial patterns, and the dynamic systems that drive environmental change, using tools such as maps, satellite imagery, and geographic information systems (GIS) for analysis and interpretation.
Recommended Textbook
Discovering Physical Geography 3rd Edition by Alan F. Arbogast
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20 Chapters
2538 Verified Questions
2538 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Introduction to Physical Geography
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54 Verified Questions
54 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Geography is just the study and definition of the location of countries,capital cities,rivers,and oceans.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) How are physical geography and deforestation related?
Answer: As tropical rainforests are cleared,the problems of soil erosion,loss of wildlife habitat,and species extinctions increase.These problems are of interest to physical geographers.
Q3) Spatial analysis is used by
A) physical geographers.
B) cultural geographers.
C) historical geographers.
D) all of these.
E) none of these.
Answer: D
Q4) Physical geography overlaps with the field of biology.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: The Geographers Tools
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172 Verified Questions
172 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) This orbit keeps pace with the Sun's westward progress as the Earth rotates.
A) Sun-synchronous orbit
B) continental orbit
C) geosynchronous orbit
D) geostationary orbit
E) none of these
Answer: A
Q2) On a typical thematic map of the United States,which of the following would not be usually depicted?
A) national and state boundaries
B) location of major floodplains and earthquake zones
C) location of major cities
D) the course of major rivers
E) state capitals
Answer: B
Q3) Latitude is made up of great circles.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Earth-Sun Geometry and the Seasons
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107 Verified Questions
107 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain the seasonal changes in the number of daylight hours per day for a position at the upper latitudes (66.5ºN)of the Northern Hemisphere.
Answer: In the winter,the Sun at solar noon appears lower and lower in the sky,until at the Winter Solstice the Sun never rises above the horizon,so my 24-hour day is all night. As we progress toward the Summer Solstice,the Sun rises higher and higher in the sky (at solar noon),until at the solstice it never dips below the horizon,so I have 24 hours of daylight.
Q2) In the Northern Hemisphere,as the season moves from summer to fall the position of the noontime Sun migrates further south in the sky on a daily basis.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The circle of illumination on Earth
A) is constantly migrating across the surface of the Earth.
B) is the boundary between day and night.
C) never moves.
D) all of these.
Answer: A,B
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Chapter 4: The Global Energy System
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144 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The greenhouse effect is responsible for making the Earth hospitable for life.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The solar constant has a value of ____ W/m² at the top of the atmosphere.
A) 137,000
B) 13,700
C) 1370
D) 137
E) 13.7
Q3) Hotter objects emit shorter wavelength electromagnetic radiation than colder objects.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Hotter objects emit more electromagnetic radiation than colder ones.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The solar constant has a value of 1370 watts per square meter at the top of the atmosphere.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Global Temperature Patterns
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110 Verified Questions
110 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Select all of the following statements that are true about the stratosphere.
A) It ranges in altitude from 12 km to 50 km.
B) This is where the ozone layer can be found.
C) Most active weather occurs here.
D) It ranges in altitude from 50 km to 80 km.
E) Commercial jet liners routinely travel here.
Q2) What is meant by the term urban heat island? What are some of the causes?
Q3) The mesopause is the layer of the atmosphere located between the mesosphere and the stratosphere.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Fill in the blanks with the correct words to make the following statement true: One of the reasons ______ environments tend to be warmer than ______ environments is that _______ surfaces tend to be covered with soil in which forest and grass grow.
Q5) The environmental lapse rate in the tropopause is 6.4°C per 1000 m.
A)True
B)False
Q6) In which hemisphere would you find the smallest annual range of air temperatures over the oceans? Why?
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Atmospheric Pressure, wind, and Global
Circulation
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116 Verified Questions
116 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) At sea level,the air pressure is 1013.25 mb.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Gyres are large oceanic circulatory systems that form because currents are deflected by landmasses.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In the Northern Hemisphere,descending air spirals in a ___[1]____ direction,and upon reaching the surface it ___[1]_____.
Answer 1 Choices: clockwise counterclockwise vertical
Answer 2 Choices: converges diverges
Q4) The horizontal transfer of air between low- and high-pressure systems is known as advection.
A)True B)False
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Chapter 7: Atmospheric Moisture and Precipitation
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100 Verified Questions
100 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A drop of water contains about a million molecules.
A)True
B)False
Q2) How much does water expand when it freezes?
A) 9%
B) 0%
C) -4%
D) 15%
Q3) It has reached 134° F in Death Valley.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Water molecules have both a positive and a negative end.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Uplift that occurs along the boundary of contrasting bodies of air.
A) convectional uplift
B) orographic uplift
C) frontal uplift
D) convergent uplift
E) cyclonic uplift
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Chapter 8: Air Masses and Cyclonic Weather Systems
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Sample Questions
Q1) The air mass that originates over the Gulf of Mexico is the
A) cT.
B) mP.
C) cP.
D) cA.
E) mT.
Q2) Which of the following are true about midlatitude cyclones?
A) Prior to the development of a midlatitude cyclone, the polar front is a stationary front.
B) Their formation is typically independent of the jet stream.
C) Their formation is called cyclogenesis.
D) The mT air mass is most likely to be associated with the precipitation.
E) They are formed by two air masses interacting only in the upper atmosphere.
Q3) On a weather map,a line with triangles indicates a(n)
A) storm surge.
B) warm front.
C) stationary front.
D) occluded front.
E) cold front.
Q4) The cloud type BEST associated with lightning and thunder is the __________.
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Chapter 9: Global Climates and Global Climate Change
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173 Verified Questions
173 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Select all of the following that are used to reconstruct past climates.
A) ice cores
B) the work of palynologists
C) prehistoric written records
D) dendrochronology
E) fossil evidence
Q2) The mechanism that pumps moisture into the southeastern United States.during the summer is the Bermuda Low.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The climate that is found in eastern Peru,eastern Angola,western Thailand,Cuba,and northern Australia is
A) hot low-latitude desert.
B) hot low-latitude steppe.
C) tropical savanna.
D) tropical rainforest.
E) tropical monsoon.
Q4) The study of short-term atmospheric phenomena is the field of climatology.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: Plant Geography
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152 Verified Questions
152 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) At the end of plant succession the maximum variety of plants in an area should be achieved; this is the formation of the __________ vegetation.
Q2) The first plants to grow in an area after a disturbance are called
A) succulents.
B) pioneer species.
C) climax vegetation.
D) decomposers.
E) riparian growth.
Q3) A community of plants,animals,and microorganisms that are linked by energy and nutrient flows is BEST called a(n)
A) biomass
B) riparian zone
C) xerophyte
D) ecotone
E) ecosystem
Q4) The pampas of Argentina are in the east central part of the country.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Areas of tall grasses in the midlatitude grasslands are called __________.
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Chapter 11: The Global Distribution and Character of Soils
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137 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Very small,evenly divided solids that do not settle in solution are called
A) colloids.
B) chroma.
C) sand.
D) epipedons.
E) solum.
Q2) A regional soil-forming process in which soluble salts are cycled within the soil is
A) podzolization.
B) gleization.
C) calcification.
D) laterization.
E) salinization.
Q3) Which of the following are characteristics of mollisols?
A) form through calcification
B) contain mollic epipedons that overlie mineral matter that is more than half saturated with base ions
C) commonly associated with polar regions
D) the most fertile and productive soils
E) associated with grasslands
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Page 13
Chapter 12: Earth S Internal Structure, rock Cycle, and Geologic Time
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Sample Questions
Q1) Identify whether the following rocks are either "intrusive" or "extrusive" and "felsic" or "mafic."
Rhyolite [1] [2]
Answer 1 Choices: Extrusive
Intrusive
Answer 2 Choices: Felsic
Mafic
Q2) Quartz,calcite,and feldspar are rocks.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The Hadean,Archean,and Proterozoic comprise the time referred to as __________.
Q4) The dominant mineral in limestone is A) quartz. B) feldspar. C) calcite.
D) carbon. E) olivine.
Q5) When limestone undergoes metamorphism,it becomes __________. Page 14
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Page 15
Chapter 13: Tectonic Processes and Landforms
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131 Verified Questions
131 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Appalachian Mountains were formed by one major period of mountain building during the Devonian.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The scale used to measure earthquake magnitude is the __________ scale.
Q3) The logarithmic scale used to measure the strength of an earthquake is the:
A) Mercalli Scale.
B) Richter Scale.
C) Mohs Scale.
D) Fujita Scale.
E) Saffir-Simpson Scale.
Q4) Mount Capulin is a composite cone.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The fastest moving plate has historically been the
A) North American.
B) South American.
C) Pacific.
D) Nazca.
E) Indian.
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Chapter 14: Weathering and Mass Movements
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130 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The wettest form of mass wasting is
A) slump.
B) debris slide.
C) soil creep.
D) debris flow.
E) mudflow.
Q2) Fissures or breaks in rock along which no movement has occurred are called
Q3) The types of mechanical weathering include which of the following?
A) plant wedging
B) salt-crystal growth
C) frost wedging
D) oxidation
E) exfoliation
Q4) A type of mechanical weathering involves plant roots growing into rock cracks and prying the rock apart.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The mass wasting that is continually active on a hillside and causes retaining walls to tilt and topple is soil __________.
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Chapter 15: Groundwater and Karst Landscapes
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105 Verified Questions
105 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Rocks with high carbonate content dissolve through the process of A) infiltration.
B) saturation.
C) carbonation.
D) depression.
E) dehydration.
Q2) Under most circumstances,water that falls to the surface of the Earth is not absorbed by the soil
A)True
B)False
Q3) What process is associated with cave formation,and what type of rock feature needs to be present?
Q4) The state of _______ contains the greatest percentage of the High Plains (a.k.a.Ogallala)Aquifer area (highest percentage of total aquifer area).
A) Nebraska
B) Kansas
C) Colorado
D) Texas
E) Oklahoma
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Chapter 16: Fluvial Systems and Landforms
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Sample Questions
Q1) A first-order stream is typically the largest stream in a stream system.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Streams with water flowing in them all year long are called ephemeral streams.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A confluence is the place where two streams join together.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A knickpoint is a place where the stream gradient is significantly steeper than other locations within the stream.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Waterfalls are a result of the presence of a knickpoint.
A)True
B)False
Q6) The low,frequently flooded surface that results mostly from point bar formation is called the river floodplain.
A)True
B)False
Page 19
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Chapter 17: Glacial Geomorphology: Processes and Landforms
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Sample Questions
Q1) Lakes that are created by moving glaciers are called A) arêtes.
B) Roche moutonnées.
C) horns.
D) cirques.
E) tarns.
Q2) Nearly 77% of all freshwater on Earth is stored as ice.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The Greenland ice sheet covers _____% of the island of Greenland.
A) 99
B) 95
C) 80
D) 46
E) 35
Q4) A kame is a large mound of sediment deposited along the front of a slowly melting glacier.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What is the difference between alpine glaciers and continental glaciers?
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Chapter 18: Arid Landscapes and Eolian Processes
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain why the backslope,crest,and slip face are important on sand dunes?
Q2) How can desertification be reversed?
Q3) Approximately 25% of Earth's surface is covered by loess deposits.
A)True
B)False
Q4) This type of dune is produced from strong winds blowing in one direction while transporting small amounts of sand.
A) barchan
B) star
C) transverse
D) parabolic
E) dome
Q5) The process through which formerly vegetated landscapes become desert is called desert production.
A)True
B)False
Q6) The speed of the wind blowing over arid locations impacts the size of the particle picked up.
A)True
B)False
Page 21
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Chapter 19: Coastal Processes and Landforms
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Sample Questions
Q1) The highest of high tides are called ______ tides.
A) spring
B) direct
C) neap
D) eustatic
E) opposite
Q2) The vertical measurement of a wave from its crest to the base is called A) wave trough. B) wavelength.
C) wave amplitude.
D) wave height.
E) wave base.
Q3) What are spits and baymouth bars? What process are they associated with,and why are they important?
Q4) The lowest of high tides are a result of neap tides.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Tsunamis are relatively small waves when they reach the shoreline.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 20: Population Growth and Environmental Impacts
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Sample Questions
Q1) Discuss the differences in growth rates between developed and developing countries.
Q2) Given the poor-quality nutritional content of bamboo shoots and the Giant Panda's inability to digest cellulose efficiently,on average a Giant Panda must feed ______ hour a day.
A) 2-4
B) 4-6
C) 6-8
D) 8-10
E) 10-12
Q3) The term used to describe an expansion of cities outward from the original core land is __________.
Q4) Clearing native vegetation in arid and semi-arid areas typically raises the water table because of
A) lower interception and lower transpiration.
B) greater rainfall.
C) evapotranspiration increases drawing water up to the surface.
D) capillary action decreases, holding water at higher elevations.
E) nonnative plants releasing more water to the soil.
Q5) The Industrial Revolution began in the __________ / century.
Page 23
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