PLATES
A plate boundary found in the ocean, where two tectonic plates move away from one another.
Divergent Plate Boundary
The transport of weathered rock fragments by wind and rain is called...
Erosion
What is the permeability of soil?
The ability of water to move through the soil
This is the most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere.
Nitrogen
As winds travel across Earth's surface, its rotation causes them to deflect through this effect.
Coriolis Effect
All the land that drains into a specific body of water.
Watershed
Solar intensity is highest here.
The equator.
Convergent plate boundary
These are the five soil horizons.
O-Horizon, A-Horizon, B-Horizon, C-Horizon
List the three soil particle types from highest to lowest water holding capacity.
Clay, Silt, Sand
What are the layers of the atmosphere? List them from the closest to the Earth's surface to the farthest out into space.
Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere
These winds are formed by Ferrell cells and move from west to east
Trade winds.
Name 2 factors that affect how much a watershed drains.
More vegetation = more infiltration & groundwater recharge
Greater slope = faster velocity of runoff & more soil erosion
Soil permeability determines runoff vs. infiltration rates
What affects the Earth's seasons?
Orbit of earth around sun & tilt on axis changes angle.
The pattern of volcanoes & earthquake zones around the Pacific plate.
The Ring of Fire
The O-Soil Horizon is O because of this.
organic matter (plant roots, dead leaves, animal waste, etc) on top of soil.
This soil texture is the best for growing, and considered the most balanced.
Loam
The layer of Earth's atmosphere where weather occurs.
Troposphere
True or False: the Earth's relative spin is slowest at the equator.
False
Name one of the two major nutrients, that frequently travel as runoff, cause algae blooms.
Nitrogen and Phosphorus
Why does the Northern Hemisphere experience summer while the Southern Hemisphere experiences winter.
The Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun, receiving more direct sunlight and longer daylight hours, while the Southern Hemisphere is tilted away.
The most dense of the 2 crusts.
Oceanic
These 2 climate factors affect soil formation the most.
Warmer = faster breakdown of org. matter;
More precip. = more weathering, erosion + deposition
Someone is trying to restore their soil for agriculture that is mainly composed of sand. This would cause. . .
Water draining too fast and not enough water holding for plants
What is the general relationship between altitude and temperature?
As you go up in altitude, temperature drops
List the three atmospheric convection cells in order from the equator to the poles.
Hadley -> Ferrell -> Polar
How does clear cutting (cutting a large section of trees in a forested area) cause erosion.
Loss of stabilizing root structure causes sediment to be swept away more easily.
Higher latitudes receive less solar energy per square meter than the equator because...
Sunlight strikes Earth's surface at a lower angle due to Earth's curvature, spreading the energy over a larger surface area and making it less concentrated
Explain why two continental plates colliding typically form mountains rather than a subduction zone.
Both plates have relatively low-density continental crust, so neither readily subducts; the crust compresses and thickens, forming mountains.
How does limestone as a parent material influence the chemical properties of Florida soil?
The minerals in parent material influence soil pH and nutrient availability; limestone, for example, can help neutralize soil acidity.
What is the relationship between porosity and permeability?
It is inverse
Clay has the highest porosity yet lowest permeability as the pores are numerous but too small to allow for water flow
Explain why air pressure is highest near Earth's surface.
Layers of the atmosphere sit on top of the air particles that lay directly on top of Earth's surface, which have mass and carry weight, and thus compress the air molecules closest to Earth's surface
Explain the following:
1. How the Sun drives atmospheric convection cells
2. How these cells create global winds
3. Why the winds are deflected as they travel across Earth's surface
The Sun unevenly heats Earth's surface, causing warm air to rise and cool air to sink, creating convection cells.
These cells produce differences in air pressure that drive winds from high to low pressure.
Earth's rotation causes the Coriolis effect, deflecting winds to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and left in the Southern Hemisphere.
Low pressure regions are associated with (high/low) precipitation whereas high pressure regions are associated with (high/low) precipitation
Low pressure = HIGH precipitation (Warm, moist air rises and cools, causing water vapor to condense and form precipitation)
High pressure = LOW precipitation (Air sinks and warms, preventing water vapor from cooling and condensing into clouds and precipitation)
Air moves from ____ to _____ pressure, creating _____
HIGH, LOW, WIND