Essentials of Geography
Unlike absolute location, this type of location describes a place in relation to other places.
What is Relative Location?
Earth’s distance from the Sun is not the main reason for seasons. Instead, name the factor most responsible.
What is the Tilt of Earth’s axis (23.5°)?
In the homosphere, gases are mixed evenly. At what altitude does the heterosphere begin, where gases separate by weight?
What is 80 km (50 mi)?
The percentage of insolation reflected by a surface is known as this property. Snow has one of the highest.
What is Albedo?
A set of interrelated components that interact with each other is called this.
What is a System?
Give one example of how the theme of Movement explains global interdependence.
What is trade networks, migration, diffusion of technology, or cultural exchange?
During which solstice is the North Pole tilted maximally toward the Sun, and what latitude receives the overhead Sun?
What is the Summer Solstice; Tropic of Cancer (23.5°N)?
Why is the thermosphere extremely hot but would not feel hot to us?
What is because particle motion (temperature) is high, but the air density is too low to transfer heat?
Why is Earth’s average temperature 15°C instead of −18°C without greenhouse gases?
What is the greenhouse effect, which delays outgoing longwave radiation?
In systems theory, outputs that discourage further change are called this type of feedback.
What is Negative Feedback?
Explain how the concept of Human–Earth Relationships is illustrated by climate change.
What is humans modifying the environment (emissions) which feedback into global systems?
Why does the equator experience almost no variation in daylength compared to the poles?
What is because of Earth’s sphericity and the consistent angle of insolation year-round?
How does ozone both absorb UV radiation and cause warming in the stratosphere?
What is absorbing UV splits molecules, releasing heat which raises stratospheric temperature?
Why do deserts typically have large differences between day and night temperatures?
What is low humidity and little cloud cover reduce heat retention?
When Arctic ice melts, exposing darker ocean water that absorbs more solar energy, this type of feedback occurs.
What is a Positive Feedback?
A map projection cannot preserve both of these qualities at once.
What are True Shape and Equal Area?
The “circle of illumination” is created by this process.
What is Earth’s rotation on its axis?
Why are temperature inversions particularly dangerous in urban valleys?
What is they trap pollutants and smog close to the surface, preventing vertical mixing?
Explain how maritime influence moderates coastal temperatures compared to continental interiors.
What is water’s high specific heat and mixing distribute energy, moderating extremes?
A system that maintains its operations over time with only small fluctuations is said to be in this type of equilibrium.
What is Steady-State Equilibrium?
Explain the difference between a steady-state equilibrium and a dynamic equilibrium in Earth systems.
What is steady-state fluctuates around an average with no long-term trend, dynamic equilibrium shows an overall trend?
Analyze how axial parallelism contributes to consistent seasonal patterns year after year.
What is the axis always points toward Polaris, keeping seasonal orientation fixed relative to the Sun?
Explain how CFCs damage the ozone layer, including the role of chlorine atoms.
What is UV strips chlorine from CFCs, chlorine bonds with ozone repeatedly, destroying thousands of O3 molecules?
Analyze why high cirrus clouds can lead to warming while low stratus clouds lead to cooling.
What is cirrus trap outgoing longwave radiation (greenhouse forcing) while stratus reflect incoming shortwave (albedo forcing)?
Analyze how dynamic equilibrium differs from a tipping point.
What is dynamic equilibrium shows long-term trends with fluctuations, while a tipping point is a threshold where the system shifts into a new state?