Atmosphere Onto The Earth's Surface example essay topic

Prep AP / GeographyJanuary 11, 2003 Chapter 1 Study Guide: Exploring Geography Section 1: The Five Themes of Geography 1. Geography- the study of where people, places, and things are located and of the ways in which things relate to each other. 2. Absolute location- any place or thing exact position on the globe. 3. Equator- an imaginary line that circles the globe halfway between the North and South poles.

The equator divides the world in two. 4. Hemisphere- a half of the earth; the Equator divides the Northern and Southern Hemisphere. The Prime Meridian divides the Eastern and Western Hemisphere. 5.

Latitude- imaginary lines that run parallel to the Equator; these lines measure distances North and South of the Equator. 6. Prime Meridian- an imaginary line running from North and South at 0 . 7. Relative location- the name of a term of how people usually describe a location; where it is located in relation to other places. 8.

Formal region- areas in which a certain characteristic is found throughout the area. 9. Functional region- consists of one central place and the surrounding places affected by it. 10. How does the study of a place's human characteristics differ from the study of its physical characteristics? The studies of these two characteristics are extremely diverse.

Mainly the study of human characteristics has to do with our economy. I like to think of it as everything we have done to the land. For example how many people live there, what are their techniques, what kind of government they are ruled by etc. The study of physical characteristics has to do with Mother Nature. I think of this as what the land was like before we inhabited it. For example physical features, climates, vegetation etc.

Section 2: Changes Within the Earth 11. Geology- the study of the earth's physical structure and history. 12. Core- the center of the earth that consists of very hot metal, of which is iron with some nickel. 13. Mantle- a thick layer of rock located around the core.

14. Crust- the rocky surface layer located with in the earth. The ocean contains the thinnest part of the crust, which is about 5 miles. Land contains the thickest part of the crust, which is about 22 miles thick.

15. Continent- Large land masses in the ocean. 16. Relief- the difference in landforms between the highest and lowest points. 17. Lava- the surface of molten rock.

18. Fold- the result that comes when rock layers bend or buckle. 19. Fault- breaks in the earth's crust. 20.

Plate Tectonics- a theory in which the earth's outer shell is not one solid piece of rock. Instead the lithosphere-the earth's crust and the brittle, upper layer of the mantle-is broken into a number of moving plates. 21. Continental drift theory- a theory in which is said that there was once a single "supercontinent" called Pangaea. Wegener theorized that about 180 million years ago, Pangaea began to break up into separate continents. 22.

Ring of fire- a circle of volcanoes surrounding the Pacific Ocean. 23. What are two internal processes that create landforms? One of the processes includes volcanism, which involves the movement of magma inside the earth. Other internal forces include movements such as an earthquake that fold, lift, bend or break the earth's surface. 24.

How can plate tectonic theory help explain the formation of the Andes and Himalayan Mountains? According to Plate Tectonic Theory when a continental plate meets a oceanic plate, the oceanic plate slides under to the mantle. The oceanic rock then melts deep in the earth. This process is known as subduction. Molten material produced in a subduction zone can rise to the earth's surface and cause volcanic mountain building and earthquakes on the continental plate. This process creates a mountain similar to the Andes.

When both plates are continental, the plates push against each other, creating mountain ranges similar to the Himalayas. The tectonic theory exactly matches what happened to The Andes and the Himalayas. Section 3: Changes on the Earth's Surface 25. Weathering- the breakdown of rock at or near the earth's surface into smaller and smaller pieces. There are two types of weathering mechanical and chemical. 26.

Mechanical weathering- the actual breaking up or physical weakening of rock by forces such as ice and roots. 27. Chemical weathering- the process by which the actual chemical structure of rock is changed, usually when water and carbon dioxide cause a breakdown of the rock. 28.

Acid rain- occurs when chemicals in the polluted air combine with water vapor and fall back to earth. This rain not only destroys forests and pollutes water, but also eats away the surfaces of stone buildings and natural rock formations. 29. Erosion- the movement of weathered materials such as gravel, soil, and sand. 30. Sediment- small particles of soil, sand, and gravel that is carried down the riverbed.

31. Loess- windblown deposits of mineral-rich dust and silt. 32. Glacier- huge slow-moving sheets of ice that form many years as layers of unmelted snow press together then turned to ice. 33. Moraine- ridge like piles of rocks and debris that are left behind by melted glaciers.

34. Which process - weathering or erosion - is easier to see actually taking place? Explain your answer. Erosion would be much easier to see taking place. Sometimes weathering can take millions of years; you cannot look out your window and see a mountain and the next day it turn into gravel. You can though, look out your window and see a side of a creek wash away in front of your eyes or over a couple of days.

This is a form of erosion. 35. Look again at the photograph of Atlanta on page 37. Identify how each of the five geographic themes are represented in the picture. Location-I do not know exactly how this picture represents the theme of location but maybe it would be by the side picture. This picture shows both absolute location and relative location.

Place-By looking at the picture of Atlanta I can tell that it is a very commercial city, because there are a number of skyscrapers, and it has many people. I can also tell that it is located on relatively flat ground because there is no mrs. in the distance. Human-Environment interaction-Any thing you look at in this picture is an example of this theme. Humans have made everything. Movement-Mainly focusing at the bottom of the picture you can see a number of roads and railways, also you can see and advertising for a plane company so there is a chance that there is an airport in the area.

Atlanta is very dependant on movement. Region-Since you can see there is a pretty big city in the picture, Atlanta would fall under a politic region. 36. In what way do the houses that people build reflect the environment in which they live? This question is quite easy. Take Redding for example; in many houses people have both air conditioning and heaters or stoves.

This means that the weather in this region gets hot and cold. Also a majority of the houses in Redding are made of fire resistant materials such as stucco. This means that Redding has high fire possibilities. Prep AP / GeographyJanuary 11, 2003 Chapter 2 Study Guide: Climate and Vegetation Section 1: Weather and Climate 1. Weather- the condition of the bottom layer of the earth's atmosphere in one place over a short period of time. 2.

Atmosphere- a multi layered band of gases, water vapor, and dust above the earth. 3. Climate- the term for the weather patterns that an area typically experiences over a long period of time. 4. Rotation- the earth moving in space while spinning on its axis like a top. 5.

Revolution- one complete orbit around the sun. 6. Solstice- either of the two times a year when the sun appears directly overhead at noon to observers at the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. 7. Equinox- either of the two times each year when day and night are nearly equal length everywhere on earth. 8.

Precipitation- all forms of water that falls from the atmosphere onto the earth's surface. 9. Front- air masses. 10. Continental climate- the type of climate found I the great central areas of continents in the northern hemisphere. 11.

How do winds help distribute the sun's heat? Wind helps because they move from areas of high pressure into areas of low pressure. Low pressure is hot air or warm air and high pressure is cool air. The wind mixes these together. These movements distribute heat worldwide. 12.

How do ocean currents help distribute the sun's heat? Currents help because they have something that is called convection patterns. This means currents both near the ocean's surface and below it carry warm water from the tropics to the poles. Other currents return cold water to the Equator, mixing them together or in other words distributing heat. Section 2: Vegetation Regions 13. Plant community- the mix of interdependent plants that naturally grow in one place.

14. Environment- the physical conditions of the natural surroundings. 15. Natural vegetation- the typical plant life in areas where humans have not altered the landscape significantly. 16. Deciduous- trees that shed their leaves during one season, usually autumn.

17. Coniferous- cone producing trees; to protect their seeds. 18. Chaparral- a forest typed which includes small evergreen trees and low brushes, or scrub. 19. Savanna- huge tropical grasslands that grow in the warm lands nearest the equator.

20. Tundra- a region where temperatures are always cool or cold and only specialized plants can grow. 21. Permafrost- a layer of soil below some areas of the tundra that stays permanently frozen. 22. What are the four major categories of vegetation?

The four major categories are plant communities, forest regions, grasslands, and desert vegetation. 23. In what ways have plants adapted to life in the desert? In deserts like Death Valley there are all different species of plants that have adapted to their environment. For instance, the cactus; the cactus has prickly thorns or spikes to protect itself from other animals getting to its water supply.

It also stores water inside itself. Other plants have small leaves that lose little moisture to the sun. Others can survive many years without water. 24. What questions would you have to ask in order to define a natural vegetation region?

One major question would be, do humans live there or near the place. Others could include, has there ever been harvesting or cutting down of the vegetation? Another would be, has it received its care without the help of humans? 25.

How could an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere cause a change in the climate? An increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can cause something that is called "global warming". This means a rise in the earth's temperature. 26. How could an understanding of ocean currents aid travel?

If someone who is looking to travel by sea who knows a lot about currents races somebody who knows nothing about them the person who knows a lot about them is most definitely going to win. This is the case because knowing something about currents might tell them which way the water would be flowing faster. This would in return make your boat go much faster.