GEO 100: Exam 1 Study: Chapters 1,2, and 3

Spatial thinking is an important skill in geography. It is important for understanding maps and identifying location. On a deeper level, spatial thinking can help us locate patterns in data over large geographic areas that might not be apparent when the data is not viewed on a map.

In this activity, you will explore the regions of the world and examine data about the most populous countries. You will need to refer to a map with countries identified for some parts of the activity.

Note that this activity groups countries into specific geographic regions. However, there are many other ways to organize and define regions, including by continent, politics, and economy. The region labels that we use represent a particular way of thinking about the world and its organization

Part complete

On the following unlabeled image of world regions, identify the regions of the world using information from your text or outside sources.

Drag the appropriate labels to their respective targets.

(Starting from the left and going in a circle around map until reach starting point)

1.) North America

2.) The Caribbean

3.) Latin America

4.) Sub-Saharan Africa

5.) South Asia

6.) Australia and Oceania

7.) Southeast Asia

8.) East Asia

9.) The Russian Domain

10.) Central Asia

11.) N. Africa and S/W Asia

12.) Europe

On the following unlabeled map, identify the following countries, which are the 10 most populous countries in the world.

Drag the appropriate labels to their respective targets.

(Starting from the left and going in a circle around map until reach starting point)

1.) United States

2.) Brazil

3.) Nigeria

4.) India

5.) Indonesia

6.) Bangladesh

7.) Japan

8.) China

9.) Russia

10.) Pakistan

All of Earth's land mass is contained within seven conventionally defined continents: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia. Just one of these continents contains more than half of the 10 countries with the largest populations. Which continent is it?

Asia

Which region has the largest number of the 10 most populous countries within its boundaries?

South Asia

This is the study of how places interact with one another.

Areal Integration

At the most basic level, geography can be broken into two complementary pursuits. These are:

Physical and Human Geography

Map projections are techniques used by cartographers to limit distortions in the process of mapping the globe onto a piece of paper.

True

What do the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) do?

They make possible the flow of goods and capital across international boundaries.

The world's population is projected to increase by how many people by the year 2025?

500 million

In which stages of the Demographic Transition is the rate of natural increase (RNI) low?

Stage 1 and Stage 4

Which of the following is NOT shown in a population pyramid?

Birth and death rates

From 2005 to 2007, about 265,000 people moved to the western states in the United States from other states. During that same period, about 256,000 people moved from the western states to other parts of the United States. What was the net migration rate in the western states from 2005 to 2007?

9,000

Approximately how many of the earth's people are Muslim?

1.3 billion

An agreed-upon common language to facilitate communication on specific topics, such as business is called a language family.

False

The study of populations, referred to as demography, forms an important basis for understanding world regional geography. Researchers who study demography, called demographers, seek to describe population structure and population change. Some key demographic ideas and measures include

Rate of natural increase (RNI) is the birth rate of a population minus the death rate.

A population pyramid is a way of portraying the age of individuals within the population.

The demographic transition is the way populations typically transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates over time.

This exercise is intended to help you explore and understand linkages between these population indicators.

On the following unlabeled image of the demographic transition, label the following items: birth rate, death rate, total population, preindustrial, transitional, industrial, and postindustrial.

Drag the appropriate labels to their respective targets. Note that "transitional" is used twice.

Red Line: Total Population

Green Line: Birth Rate

Purple Line: Death Rate

Stage 1: Pre-industrial

Stage 2: Transitional

Stage 3: Transitional

Stage 4: Industrial

Stage 5: Postindustrial

At what stages of the demographic transition are the birth rates and death rates about the same?

1 and 4

During which stage or stages of the demographic transition does total population rise rapidly?

Transitional stages

Take a moment to review the demographic transition graph and the population indicators table above. If a positive RNI is an indication that birth rate is higher than death rate, which stage (or stages) of the demographic transition are consistent with a positive RNI?

Stages 2 and 3, the transitional stages

Based on the demographic transition graph and the population indicators table, which two countries are most clearly in the transitional stages of the demographic transition?

Nigeria and Pakistan

Based on your understanding of the demographic transition graph and model, which country in the population indicators table is the best example of a country that is in Stage 4 of the demographic transition?

Russia

Label the population pyramids below based on their rate of growth: rapid growth, slow growth, or zero growth.

1.) Rapid Growth

2.) Slow Growth

3.) Zero Growth

Based on your understanding of the demographic transition graph and model, as well as the population pyramids, which stage(s) of the demographic transition would be represented by the pyramid with a wide base and a narrow top?

Stages 2 and 3

On the basis of the demographic transition graph and model, the population indicators table, and the population pyramids figure, which three of the following statements are probably true?

1.) If we were to place the population pyramids according to the continuum represented by the demographic transition model, they would go from zero growth to rapid growth to low growth to zero growth, with zero growth representing the industrial (4th) stage of the demographic transition.

2.) If we know the birth rate and death rate for a given country, we can identify the stage of the demographic transition it is in.

3.) Countries with a rate of natural increase (RNI) of zero could be in either the first or fourth stages of the demographic transition.

Which of the following countries is in the final stage of the demographic transition?

Germany

Which of the following religions are most closely related to Judaism?

Christianity and Islam

The ethnic religion with the largest number of adherents is __________.

Hinduism

What is colonialism?

The formal establishment of rule over a foreign population

Geopolitics focuses on the interaction between power, territory, and space at different scales.

True

If the less developed world is called "The Third World," then what are "The First World" and "The Second World"?

Capitalist, democratic countries are the First World; communist countries are the Second World.

What does Gross National Income (GNI) measure?

The value of all final goods and services produced in a country plus the net income from abroad

What does the Economic Growth Rate measure?

Average annual rate of growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

"Growth" and "development" are interchangeable terms.

False

Which measure represents the international definition of poverty?

Percentage of the population living on less than $2 per day.

Which of the following is an example of economic growth?

Increase in economic output.

In terms of total numbers, the greatest migration occurred 100 years ago.

False

What does a total fertility rate (TFR) that is less than 2.1 indicate?

That a population is not growing naturally.

What is the distinctive form of a language that is associated with different regions?

Dialect

A map scale is the mathematical ratio between the map and the surface area being mapped.

True

The current population of the Earth is about 3 billion.

False

Which of the following cities would be likely to suffer the greatest loss of life and destruction of property from an earthquake of 7.3 magnitude?

Jakarta, Indonesia

Which of the following features have been formed by convergent tectonic plates?

The Himalaya Mountains

If we were to hold all other climatic controls except latitude constant, which of the following cities would be warmest?

Quito, Ecuador

What physical factors produce a regular pattern of high- and -low-pressure cells?

The uneven heating of Earth due to latitudinal differences and the arrangement of oceans and continents

Which of the following cities has a climate characterized by continentality?

Bismarck, North Dakota

If the greenhouse effect were to disappear, what would happen to Earth?

Earth would be far too cold for human habitation.

Currently, there are increasing tensions between developing and developed countries over the concept of carbon inequity. As a result, the Kyoto Treaty of 1997 did not include emission reduction targets for China, India, Brazil, or any other developing country. What argument did these developing countries use to justify supporting the exclusion of emission reduction targets for developing countries?

Developed countries have been burning large amounts of fossil fuels since the mid-19th century, which created the global warming we are now experiencing. As a result, developed countries should be the only countries responsible for emission reduction targets.

Which greenhouse gas accounts for the bulk of global warming?

Carbon Dioxide

Beginning at the equator and heading toward either the North or South Pole, which pattern of bioregions is correct?

Tropical forests, deserts and grasslands, temperate forests, tundra

Sea Floor Spreading is a geophysical theory that Earth is comprised of large geologic platforms, or plates, that move slowly across its surface.

False

The circum-Pacific zone of activity, from the western Americas (both North and South) to East Asia,is particularly active and is often referred to as the

Pacific Rim of Fire

Gravity is the major controlling force of mass wasting. Mass movement occurs if gravitational force is greater than the resisting strength of a rock. The size of the gravitational strength is greater on steep slopes. Several processes can change the slope, friction or cohesion of a mass of rock or sediments and cause the slope to be unstable. The instability can trigger mass movement. The triggers include water saturation, vegetation cover, oversteepening slopes, and vibrations from earthquakes. Even though each mass wasting type could be triggered by multiple factors, each has its own unique characteristics in terms of material constituents, angle of movement, and rate of movement. Hence, triggers for each mass wasting type are somewhat different. Slump: occurs on curved surfaces and involves the movement of unconsolidated materials. Slopes are considerably high in areas where a slump occurs.

Flow: occurs when material moves downslope as a viscous fluid.

Fall: this involves the freefall of rock pieces or masses. Fall occurs on slopes that are too steep for loose material to remain on the surface. Many falls occur when freeze and thaw cycles or plants roots weaken rocks to the point where gravity takes over.

Creep: this involves the gradual downhill movement of soil or rock pieces. The major factor that facilitates this process is alternate expansion and contraction by freeze and thaw.

Slump: Triggered by curved oversteepened slopes

Flow: Triggered by large amounts of water and steep slopes

Creep: Triggered by repeated freezing and thawing of soils on gentle slopes

Fall: Triggered by ice wedging or plant activities on steep slopes

An earthquake is an anthropogenic hazard.

False

Which of the following is NOT a significant greenhouse gas?

Molecular Nitrogen

Which of the following statements about greenhouse gases is most accurate?

Greenhouse gases were fairly stable throughout most of human history, but have increased dramatically in the past 130 years.

Which of the following is an example of the possible effects of climate change?

Sea levels will rise

Which aspects of seasonality are caused by either revolution or rotation?

1.) Duration of the seasons

2.) Daily pattern of days and nights

3.) Length of a tropical year

Three other factors also influence seasonality:

Axial tilt: Earth's axis tilts 23.5 degrees from the plane of the ecliptic, or the imaginary plane line that joins the centers of the Sun and Earth. Because of this tilt, one hemisphere is inclined towards the Sun, while the other is tilted away from it. The hemisphere tilted towards the Sun receives its direct, vertical rays, resulting in longer days than nights due to more intense insolation, or exposure to sunlight. In the hemisphere where the axis is tilted away, the reverse is true. Therefore, axial tilt determines the duration and intensity of insolation on Earth in the two hemispheres.

Axial parallelism: Earth's axis points towards the same point, Polaris (the polestar) in the northern sky, all year round. The constant direction of the axial tilt allows both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres to face toward the Sun at different times of the year.

Earth's sphericity: Earth's shape also affects the receipt of insolation. Areas along the equator receive the greatest amount of insolation, but insolation decreases toward the poles because the surface curves away.

The figure in the activity shows the Northern Hemisphere tilted towards the Sun, with the Sun's rays (yellow arrows) directly striking the Tropic of Cancer. Note that the circle of illumination at different latitudes, which indicates the length of day and night at those latitudes. If the circle of illumination cuts a latitude in such a way that the lighted portion is greater than the dark portion, days are longer than nights. When the darkened portion is greater, the reverse is true.

Given these conditions, identify the effects of the three factors discussed above.

(Starting from left working way around image until reaching the starting point)

1.) Constant day length

2.) Shorter day, longer nights

3.) Constant night

4.) Lesser isolation intensity

5.) Greater isolation intensity

6.) Longer days, shorter nights

As a general rule, the atmosphere cools by 3.5°F for every 1,000 feet gained in elevation.

True

What is weather?

The short-term day-to-day expression of atmospheric processes

The natural process of the Earth's atmosphere heating through the trapping of reradiated infrared radiation is known as

The greenhouse effect

A world map shows that more than 40 percent of the surface area of Earth is covered by oceans.

False

Currently, about ________ of the world's population lives in areas where water shortages are common

50%

Water planners use the concept of ________ to map where water problems exist and also to predict where future problems will occur.

Water stress

Globally, about ________ percent of the world's freshwater usage is for agriculture.

70

The amount of tropical forest that is lost each year is equivalent to the size of what U.S. state?

Wisconsin

About half of the tropical forests that are lost each year are located in what part of the world?

Amazon Basin of South America

In North America, temperate deciduous forests are the major habitat from the Gulf Coast to New England, as well as in parts of the Midwest.

True

The world's growing appetite for what food product is a leading cause of tropical deforestation?

Beef

With what bioregion is the term "steppe" associated?

Grasslands

In the 1930s, which country experienced desertification known as the "Dust Bowl"?

United States

Which of the following North American cities has a marine west coast climate?

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Many acid rain producers are industries and power producers in the Midwest and Ontario regions of North America, yet damage from acid rain occurs as far east as the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. What conclusion can we draw from this pattern?

Regions that do not benefit from the economic activities that produce acid rain suffer the consequences nonetheless.

Sustainable agriculture is growing in popularity in North America. Based on your textbook's description of sustainable agriculture, is the current method of commercial wheat farming in the Great Plains sustainable?

No, primarily because the irrigation of wheat fields is depleting the Ogallala Aquifer.

Some of the most toxic environments in the United States are found in the petroleum-rich Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coasts, and in industrial centers of the Northeast and Midwest. What does this tell us?

Economic activities that produce the wealth of North America can cause dangerous pollution.

Wheat, cattle, and horses are common sights in North America today. Why?

Europeans deliberately brought them to the region during their 400 years in North America.

Urban decentralization is most closely associated with which of the following city forms?

Urban realms model

Which of the following choices best describes migration that led to the growth of the Sun Belt South?

Seeking a job, more recreational opportunities, and a better climate, a family migrates from Chicago to Dallas in 1980.

What was the primary reason that the Native American populations in North America declined by 90 percent after 1500 CE?

Native Americans succumbed to European diseases and disruption.

Megalopolis, the largest settlement agglomeration in North America, includes which set of cities?

Boston, New York City, and Washington, DC

Today, an immigrant to the United States would be most likely to fit which of the following descriptions?

A doctor from Mumbai, India

Which North American region is the transition zone between nearby flat lowlands and steep mountain slopes?

The Piedmont

Beneath which part of the United States is its largest aquifer, the Ogallala Aquifer, located?

The Great Plains

In this exercise, you will explore the physical features in North America, a continent that lies north of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N) and extends well into the Arctic Circle. The purpose is to help you gain experience in understanding patterns associated with physical characteristics of North America using a map that indicates elevation of the land surface in meters above sea level.

Notice the box labeled "Elevation in Meters," located at the top right of the map. The box shows a color-coded triangular-shaped representation of a mountain, showing six levels of elevation from below sea level (shown in the darker of two shades of green) to the highest elevation, at 4000 meters or higher (over 2 miles high, shown in a light tan).

This exercise begins with labeling the major landforms, followed by an analysis of the elevation variation in North America using this map. On the following map, identify the following physical features:

(Starting on the left working way down and around the image)

1.) Rocky Mountains

2.) Cascade Range

3.) Coast Ranges

4.) Great Plains

5.) Piedmont

6.) Appalachian Highlands

7.) Ozark Mountains

Which of these physical features is lowest in elevation?

The Piedmont

Which of the following cities lies between 200 and 500 meters in elevation?

Winnipeg

Which inland body of water lies at the highest elevation?

Great Salt Lake

"Elevation In Meters" Using the information included in the map and the elevation inset below to guide you, which three of the following statements are probably true?

1.) North America's lowest elevation levels are on its east coast, and the region rises in elevation steadily to the west coast.

2.) New Orleans was especially susceptible to the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 because it lies at a low elevation.

3.) Rivers that start on the east side of the Rocky Mountains in the United States flow toward the east until they meet the Mississippi River.

During which era of the Historical Evolution of the U.S. City did suburban growth begin?

Automobile Era

What region of the United States contains the country's densest population settlement?

The Atlantic Coast

Currently, how many people live in the North American Region?

345 million

What migration trend was caused by the mechanization of farming?

Rural-to-urban migration

What do we call the situation wherein metropolitan areas sprawl in all directions and suburbs take on many of the characteristics of traditional downtowns?

Urban decentralization

During which era of the Historical Evolution of the U.S. City did the city first develop a star-shaped pattern?

Electric Streetcar Era

The projected increase of the Hispanic population in the U.S. over the next 25 years will most likely be fueled by

Births to Hispanics already living in the U.S.

During which period did the largest number of immigrants to the United States come from Southern and Eastern Europe?

1870-1920

Which term refers to the situation in which a group of people with a common background and history identify with one another?

Ethnicity

More than ________ percent of Quebec' population speaks French, and language remains the "cultural glue" that holds the homeland together

80

Today, approximately how many undocumented immigrants live in the US?

11-12 million

This is the process in which immigrants were absorbed by the larger host society

Cultural assimilation

What waterway opened up the Great Lakes to improved global trade connections?

St. Lawrence Seaway