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75 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Which of the following statements about climate is correct?
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Seasonal temperature changes are more pronounced at high latitudes than at lower altitudes.
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The three-cell model of global wind circulation shows
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three cells of global air flow bordered by alternating bands of high and low pressure.
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The polar easterlies and prevailing westerlies converge at approximately
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60o latitude.
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Which of the following statements about the relationship between deep ocean currents and climate is true?
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In the past, when the North Atlantic deep current slowed or stopped, the Gulf Stream veered southward resulting in global cooling.
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The climate zone (or biome) associated with rainfall of 25 to 35 centimeters per year is
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semiarid
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The climate zone (or biome) associated with cool summers, warm winters, and little temperature difference year-round is
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marine west coast
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Because of the urban heat island effect, warm air rises over a city, a local _______ develops, and rainfall is _______ than in the surrounding countryside.
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low pressure, greater
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Which of the following statements about climate change is true?
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The Earth's mean global temperature has fluctuated throughout geologic time.
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During photosynthesis
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oxygen, which is not a greenhouse gas, is released.
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About 55 million years ago climate warmed. Surface water evaporated and the salinity of sea water _______. This water _______ and ________ methyl hydrates on the sea floor, leading to a/an ________ in global temperature.
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increased, sank, melted, increase
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Greenhouse gases
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absorb infrared radiation and trap heat in the atmosphere.
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Which of the following changes in energy policy would reduce emission of greenhouse gases?
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Switch from coal to nuclear fuels.
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Marine corals and shelled organisms
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absorb calcium and carbonate ions from seawater and convert them to hard shells.
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Which of the following is not true for carbon dioxide?
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is destroyed when organic matter is burned.
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In the Northern Hemisphere, the Pole Star
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remains motionless in the sky and all other stars appear to revolve around it.
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If you knew that the Sun rose every morning in the east and set every evening in the west, approximately 12 hours later, but you had no other information, which of the following conclusions would be reasonable?
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The Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours.
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Kepler calculated that the planets move in
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elliptical orbits.
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An eclipse of the Moon occurs
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when the Earth's shadow is cast on the Moon.
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As light passes from the hot interior of a star through the cooler outer layers,
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some wavelengths are selectively absorbed in the star's outer atmosphere.
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Absorption spectra can be used to detect
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the chemical composition of a star.
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If a star is moving away from Earth, the Doppler effect will cause the frequency of the star's light to shift to a _______ frequency, causing a _______ shift.
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lower, red
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The model that is used to describe the motion of the heavenly bodies
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is the heliocentric model.
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For each complete orbit around the Sun, the Earth spins approximately ______ times.
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365
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The apparent change in position of an object due to a change in the position of the observer is called
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parallax
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Different stars and constellations are visible during different seasons because
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the Earth's revolution around the Sun changes your view of the night sky.
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The Earth's modern atmosphere
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is composed of 78 percent nitrogen.
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In a barometer, the weight of the atmosphere is compared with that of
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an equal column of mercury.
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Solar energy breaks oxygen molecules apart in the stratosphere, releasing _________ which combine with additional oxygen molecules to form ________.
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oxygen atoms, ozone
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Smog is produced
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when sunlight reacts with automobile exhaust.
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Acidic precipitation is produced
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when sulfur dioxide and oxides of nitrogen dissolve in water droplets in the atmosphere.
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The portion of the atmosphere that absorbs high-energy radiation is the
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thermosphere
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Chlorofluorocarbons
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react to destroy ozone.
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The layer of air closest to the Earth is the
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troposphere
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Which is not an electromagnetic wave?
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sound
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The region of the globe directly beneath the Sun is warmer because
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it receives the most concentrated radiation.
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Atmospheric convection and advection
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are more effective than conduction in transferring heat around the globe.
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______________ plays an important role in heat transfer and storage because it commonly occurs naturally on Earth in all three states, solid, liquid, and gas.
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water
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The Earth remains warm at night because
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the atmosphere absorbs and retains much of the radiation emitted from the Earth's surface.
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Evaporation from a body of water
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cools the water and the air around it because of latent heat transfer.
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Locations at the same latitude, which receive the same amount of solar radiation,
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can have different climates.
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The sky appears blue because
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the blue component of sunlight scatters more than the other frequencies and colors the atmosphere.
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When an object absorbs radiation,
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the photons disappear and are converted to another form of energy.
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Which of the following statements about atmospheric humidity is correct?
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Dew forms when warm moist air comes in contact with cool surfaces.
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________________ _______________ is the mass of water vapor in a given amount of air expressed in grams per cubic meter (g/m3).
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absolute humidity
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El Niño is a weather pattern caused by
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the shifting motion of ocean currents.
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When a warm air mass overtakes a cool one
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the warm air rises, cools adiabatically which leads to precipitation.
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monsoons
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blow from sea to land in summer bringing rain.
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If one portion of the atmosphere becomes warmer than surrounding air,
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the warm air expands and rises.
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If a large pressure difference occurs over a short distance
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there is a lot of wind
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Sinking air exerts a downward force to form a
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high pressure region
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Glaciers form
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near the equator, on high mountain tops, and near sea level.
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In glacial terrain, a horseshoe-shaped depression beneath a steep cliff is a/an
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cirque
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During an Ice Age,
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the ice may advance and recede several times in response to alternate warm and dry times.
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The Great Lakes and the Finger Lakes in New York are the result of
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scouring of continental ice sheets.
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A glacier can move as fast as
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10 to 100 meters per day.
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Oceans
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c and d
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The rate of glacial movement varies with
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slope steepness, precipitation, and air temperature.
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Vast tropical forests grow near the equator because
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rising equatorial air cools and condenses as rain.
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Death Valley
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is a rain shadow desert
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Desertification is caused by
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human mismanagement
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In the Great Basin of the western United States
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sediment is filling the valleys because streams flow into the valleys from surrounding mountains, but no streams flow away from the region.
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A dune that accumulates as long ridges that align perpendicularly to the prevailing wind is a _____ dune.
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transverse
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A continuous cover of stones left behind when wind blows silt and sand away is
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desert pavement
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A stream bed that is dry most of the year is called a ____________.
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wash
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The oceans are about ________ deep in the central parts of ocean basins.
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5 kilometers
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The Mid-Oceanic Ridge is composed mainly of
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basalt
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The continental rise on a passive continental margin is
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an apron of terrigenous sediment that was transported across the continental shelf and deposited on the deep ocean floor at the foot of the continental slope.
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Island arcs grow from
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submarine volcanoes near a subduction zone.
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An oceanic island
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is a submarine volcano that forms above a hot spot or mantle plume.
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Seawater heated near _______ and ______ can dissolve metals from oceanic crust, and deposit them as ore.
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the Mid-Oceanic Ridge, submarine volcanoes
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The world's largest and deepest ocean is
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pacific
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Most of the photosynthesis and nutrient consumption in the ocean is carried out by
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plankton
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An emergent coastline forms where
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sea level falls or coastal land rises.
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If waves strike shore at an angle, they _________ and create a ________ current that flows parallel to the beach.
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refract, longshore
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Ocean waves steepen near shore because
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the lower portion of the wave slows down as it drags against the sea floor.
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