Inquiry into Earth and Space Science
Name_____________________________
Exam 2
Partners_________________________________
Multiple choice, short ans., and fill-in-the-blank (2 pts. each unless stated otherwise…)
Water Rivers and Groundwater
____ 1a. Some scientists predict that global warming will result in a corresponding increase in evaporation. How
would this impact the discharge of the Amazon River?
a) Discharge will stay the same
b) Discharge would decrease
c) Discharge would increase
1b. Why in a sentence or two…
2. Please draw the drainage divide on the following map (Also draw the letters H where the landscape would be
HIGH and L where the landscape would be LOW).
____ 3. The primary energy source that drives the Earth’s Hydrologic Cycle is
a. gravity
b. sun
c. molten core
d. wind
4. Sort the following twelve terms into six pairs of terms that most closely relate to one another.
groundwater, stream, rainfall, gas, plants, ice, precipitation,
melt water, transpiration, infiltration, water vapor, run off
5. Fill in the blanks please…
4.
3.
1.
2.
_____ 6. Pumping vast quantities of water locally...
a. raises the local water table
b. lowers the local water table, forming a cone-shaped depression
c. lowers the local water table, forming a cylindrical depression
d. does not affect the water table
_____ 7. Groundwater mining refers to...
a. acid drainage from mines polluting groundwater
b. legal squabbling over groundwater rights (it’s mine!)
c. pumping out water faster than it can be replenished by recharge
d. prospecting an area to find a suitable spot for a well
____ 8. Material though which water readily flows is termed …
a. fluent
b. porous
c. divergent
d. permeable
_____9. Why is the volume of water in the Mississippi River about 10 times greater than the
volume of water in the Nile River?
a. The Mississippi River drainage basin is ten times bigger than the Nile basin.
b. The Mississippi River is a longer stream.
c. The Mississippi River drainage basin receives more rain.
d. There is less vegetation to absorb rainfall in the Mississippi River drainage
basin.
10. Explain why stream velocity would change along the same section of a stream at different times of the year.
(3 pts)
11. What are the interactions between surface water and groundwater, and why are they important? (5 pts)
11. Please list some of the major factors that would lead or contribute to a flood. (5 pts)
12. Why are the Earth’s oceans salty? Did they start of salty? (3 pts)
13. Explain the variables for ocean water circulation (surface and deep currents)… How are they produced, why
are they important, how are they linked to weather and climate patterns?
Air and the Atmosphere
______1. What proportion of Earth’s atmosphere is made up of carbon dioxide?
a) 18 percent
b) 7.3 percent
c) 0.55 percent
d) 0.038 percent
_____2. What is the difference between heat and temperature?
a) Heat deals with total kinetic energy, temperature with average kinetic energy.
b) Heat deals with average kinetic energy, temperature with total kinetic energy.
c) There is no difference, since they both deal with kinetic energy.
______3. On July 2, 1982, truck driver Larry Walters decided to attach 45 helium-filled weather balloons to a
lawn chair and go for a ride. Lawn Chair Larry rose to an altitude of nearly 5 km (16,000 feet). The high
elevations and lack of oxygen made him dizzy, so he decided it was time to deploy his principal altitude
control device, a pellet gun. He shot out several balloons and descended back to Earth. Which process
was most significant in Lawn Chair Larry’s balloon ride? Explain your reasoning.
a) Density Lifting b) Orographic Lifting c) Convergence Lifting d) Frontal Lifting
______ 4. In the following landscape, how would the amount of rainfall change at location X if the mountain
eroded down to the dashed line?
a) Rainfall would increase.
b) Rainfall would decrease.
c) Rainfall would stay the same.
4.
______A. Draw an arrow to show the location and direction of the highest wind velocity on the
following air pressure map, on the basis of the isobars alone.
_______B. Which point on the map is at the center of a low-pressure system?
a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
______ C. Rising air is present at which point?
______ D.
a) A
Wind would blow directly from _______.
a) A to C
b) C to A
c) C to B
b) B
d) F to E
e) E
c) C
d) E e) G
e) B to E
5. Updrafts responsible for the formation of thunderstorm clouds are most likely to occur with which
combination of conditions?
a) Low-level warm, moist air; upper-level warm, moist air
b) Low-level cool, dry air; upper-level warm moist air
c) Low-level warm moist air; upper-level cool, dry air
d) Low-level cool, dry air; upper-level cool dry air.
Summary problems (Please try your best to combine your knowledge of weathering/soils and water to
address this problem). 12 points each…
1. You have been hired to develop a hazardous landfill somewhere around Cedar Falls.
a. What factors would you seek out to look for the best location to place this
landfill?
b. How would you construct the landfill? (Use the words porosity, permeability,
and leachate in your answer! What materials would you use options boulders,
sand, and clay)
2. Explain the location and distribution of the Earth’s rainforests and deserts between 0 and 30
degrees latitude.
3. Define the perfect conditions for the formation of a cumulonimbus cloud, severe winds, and hail.