Name:__________________________________________________________________ Period:_______
7th Grade Final Exam Review
KEY
Equator-Imaginary line that circles the globe halfway between the North and South Poles, 0° N, S, Latitude,
on the Fall and Spring Equinox the sun’s rays are strongest on the Equator.
Prime Meridian- Imaginary line that runs through Greenwich, England, 0° E,W, Longitude
Tropic of Cancer- 23.5°N latitude, on the summer solstice the sun shines directly on it
Tropic of Capricorn- 23.5° S Latitude, on the winter solstice the sun shines directly on it
Hemisphere-One half of the earth’s surface, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, East and West Hemisphere
Geography- is the study of the Earth and its people
Axis- Is an imaginary line that runs from the north pole to the south pole.
Aquifer- underground layers of rock through with water flows
Biome- Areas such as rainforest, desert, grasslands, and tundra in which particular kinds of
plants and animals have adapted to a particular climate.
Currents- steadily flowing streams of water in the world’s seas
Solstice- Day when the suns rays are farthest from the equator
June 21- summer solstice longest day of year (sun’s rays most direct on the tropic of cancer)
December 22- winter solstice shortest day of year (sun’s rays are most direct on tropic of Capricorn)
Earth’s Tilt- 23.5 °, causes Earth’s seasons
Equinox- When Earth’s poles are at right angles to the sun, ½ way between summer and winter solstic,
Every place on Earth has 12 hour days and 12 hour nights!! Spring- Mar 20thFall- Sept 23rd
Irrigation- process in which water is collected and distributed to crops
Weathering- When water and ice, chemicals, and plants break rocks apart into smaller pieces.
Erosion- Water, wind, and ice move away weathered rock
Climate- Usual predictable weather patterns in an area over many years.
Weather- Changes in temperature, wind direction and speed, and air moisture that take place
over a short period of time.
Ecosystems- Place shard by plants and animals that depend on one another for survival
Biodiversity- The variety of plants and animals living on the planet.
Deforestation- cutting down trees without replacing them
Answer the following questions:
1. How long is a millennium? How long is a century? How long is a decade?
1,000 years
100 years
10 years
2. What is the difference between a rotation and a revolution? How long do each take?
Revolution one year for the Earth to orbit the sun, or to complete one revolution.
365 1/4 days
Rotation- One complete spin on Earth’s axis is called a rotation. Each rotation takes
24 hours= 1 day
3. What are the five themes of geography? Describe each.
Location-is the position of a place on Earth’s surface
Place- describes the physical and human characteristics that make a location unique
human environment interaction- How people affect their environment and how their
environment affects them.
Movement- explains how and why people and things move and how they are connected.
Regions- Areas that share common characteristics
4. What is the difference between relative and absolute location?
Absolute location: is the exact spot on Earth where something is located Ex- 45°N 15° E
Relative location: describes where a feature is in relation to the features around it
5. How many continents are there? Name them.
7 continents- Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, Antarctica, North America, South America
6. What causes the seasons on Earth?
The Earth’s Tilt, @ 23.5°
7. What are lines of Latitude? Which way do they run?
Horizontal Lines that run around the globe NORTH & SOUTH of the Equator
8. What are lines of Longitude? Which way do they run? They measure what?
Vertical Lines, run from north pole to south pole, EAST & WEST Of the Prime Meridian
9. What does a political map show? What does a historical map show? What does a physical map show?
Outlines of countries, historical movement or how things have changed, the earth’s surface
and physical features
10. How do tectonic plates cause earthquakes? What happens when continental and oceanic plates
collide?
When two tectonic plates collide and create sudden and violent movements of the earth’s
crust
the oceanic plate tips down and slides beneath the continental plate forming a deep
ocean trench.
11. What is the Ring of Fire? Where is it located?
The ring of fire is the most active tectonic and volcanic area in the world. It is located
on the edge of the pacific plate. (Western US, W. South America, East Asia, Japan)
12. Describe what occurs between the Earth and Sun on our Summer Solstice. When does the
Summer Solstice typically occur?
Day when the suns rays are farthest from the equator, hit most directly on the Tropic
of Cancer
June 21- summer solstice longest day of year
13. Describe what occurs between the Earth and Sun on our Winter Solstice. When does the Winter
Solstice typically occur?
Day when the sun’s rays are farthest from the equator, they hit most directly on the
tropic of Capricorn. December 22- shortest day of year
14. Where do the Sun’s vertical rays strike on our spring and fall equinox?
The Equator
15. What are the four layers of the Earth?
Inner core, outer core, mantel, crust
16. What does a human geographer study?
People and their activities like: Religions, languages, ways of life, food, clothing,
traditions
17. What does a physical geographer study?
Examines earth’s land areas like: Bodies of water, plant life, mountains,
canyons, volcanoes, deserts, plains, forests
18. What is an isthmus?
Narrow strip of land that connects two larger land masses
19. What is a plateau?
Flatlands at higher elevations
20. What is a delta?
the flat area at the mouth of some rivers where the mainstream splits up into several
distributaries
21. What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather is the day to day variations of temperature, climate is the weather over a
long period of time
22. List and describe the steps of the water cycle.
Precipitation: Droplets become heavy and fall back down to Earth in form of rain, hail, sleet, or snow
Evaporation: Sun heats surface water, which evaporates into the atmosphere
Condensation: Water vapor cools as it rises and forms liquid droplets, which forms clouds
23. Describe how a rain shadow works.
When mountains that have an affect on rainfall that blocks rain from reaching the
interior regions.
24. What are the 5 major world climate zones? Give an example of each.
1. Dry: Desert and Steppe
2. Tropical (Low Latitude): tropical Savanna, Tropical Rain Forest
3. Mid Latitude: Humid continental, Mediterranean
4.High Latitude: Ice Cap, Tundra, Sub arctic
5. Highland Climate: can be found in all climate zones
25. How do large cities affect climates?
Urban climate- when urban areas temperature is different from rural areas and are
caused by lots of buildings and changes to the landscape that allow the land to hold
on to the sun’s heat.
26. What is the Hydrosphere?
All of earth’s water above and below ground
27. What is the Biosphere?
Collection of planes and animals of all types that live on Earth
28. What is the Lithosphere?
Another name for Earth’s crust, includes all land above and below the oceans.
29. What is the Atmosphere?
Layer of oxygen and other gases that surrounds the Earth.