Physical Geography Unit 2 practice questions

The largest amount of freshwater on Earth is stored on rivers and lakes.

false

compare a confined vs. unconfined aquifer

A confined aquifer is different from a nonconfined aquifer in that the confined aquifer is covered above and below, and is made of impermeable layers.

In your own words, define porosity and permeability. Permeability is the ability of a soil to allow fluids, like water, to pass through it.

Porosity is the void/empty space in a material. In the case of soil, it is the space between the grains. Permeability is the soil choosing which liquids it wants to be able to pass through. 

Describe the difference between point vs non-point sources of contamination.

Point source pollution comes from a single, easily identifiable location, such as a pipe from a factory or sewage plant. Non-point source pollution comes from diffuse, widespread areas and can't be traced to a single source, often originating from things like agricultural or urban runoff.

What happens when the groundwater is removed from an aquifer, and why does it occur?

When the groundwater is removed, the unconsolidated layers do not have internal support. Without this support, the aquifers begin to compact and collapse.

Warm air glides over cooler air; broad and slow, gentle lift

warm front

Dense air undercuts warm air; narrow and fast, stormy lift

cold front

Air forced up a mountain slope

orographic lift

Warm surface heats air that rises in thermals

Convectional lifting

Air flows toward a low-pressure center and rises

Convergent lifting

Cold, dry, stable; clears skies in winter

cP

Moist but generally more stable and lower energy than its counterpart

mT Pacific

Warm, humid, very unstable late spring–early fall

mT Gulf/Atlantic

The jet stream often steers midlatitude cyclones and shifts south in winter.

true

A warm front typically has the heaviest, most violent weather right at the surface boundary.

false

Potential evapotranspiration (PE) is what actually evaporates and transpires under current moisture.

false 

Which cloud type is most associated with thunderstorms?

Cumulonimbus

Which U.S. region experiences the most tornadoes?

Florida & the southern Great Plains

In a water budget, precipitation is best thought of as:

Income 

Name two factors that make tropical cyclones stronger, and give the regional names used in different parts of the world.

Heat and moisture provide more strength to hurricanes. The names are hurricanes (Americas), cyclones (western Pacific), and typhoons (Indo-Pacific).

What is the name of the scale that classifies tornadoes, and what are the basis for classification?

The scale is named the Enhanced-Fujita Scale, and classifies tornadoes based on wind speed and damage indicators representing types of structures and vegetation affected and degree of damage.

Which statement best defines drought in this course?

An extended period of low precipitation and high temperatures that causes environmental or socioeconomic impacts

The Coriolis effect deflects moving air

Clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, counterclockwise in the Southern

On a surface weather map, where is wind speed generally strongest?

Where isobars are closely spaced

Winds are named for the direction they are going to (e.g., a west wind blows toward the west).

false 

Dry, hot belts; source of trade winds and westerlies

Subtropical Highs

Cool, moist; strongest in winter; linked to the polar front

Subpolar Lows

Frigid, dry; source of polar easterlies

Polar Highs

Converging trade winds; heavy rainfall

Equatorial Low-Pressure Trough (ITCZ)

Explain why land–sea breezes reverse between day and night.

The reason why land-sea breezes reverse during day and night is due to the temperature. Because the temperature is warmer during the day the air rises and goes towards the water. During the night the air is cooler, and because water retains heat, the air starts at the water and goes towards the land. 

What drives thermohaline (deep-ocean) circulation, and how might global warming alter it?

thermohaline is driven by differences in temperature, and as there continues to be an increase in global warming, the ice caps will melt, and increase the water temperature