Unit 2: Physical Geography
Multiple Choice (4 points each)
1. The most common type of chemical weathering occurs when
a. acidic water seeps into cracks in a rock, changing its chemical
composition.
b. convergent boundaries create mountains.
c. water freezes into a crack in a rock, breaking it apart.
d. rocks collide during subduction, breaking them apart.
2. The largest canyons and deepest valleys were created by
a. moving water
c. wind erosion
b. chemical erosion
d. plate tectonics
3. The theory of plate tectonics affirms that
a. the earth’s outer shell is one solid piece of rock.
b. the basic arrangement of oceans and continents is unchanging.
c. large moving slabs of rock slide slowly over a layer of the mantle.
d. the landscape of the ocean is the same of that on earth.
4. What physical process developed the Himalayas?
a. Subducting tectonic plates.
c. faulting tectonic plates.
b. Converging tectonic plates.
d. spreading tectonic plates.
5. Which of the following land features could be directly attributed to a
glacier?
a. a volcano
c. a barren desert
b. a high mountain range
d. a lake
6. The greatest agent of erosion is
a. sand and dust carried by wind.
b. improper agricultural practices.
c. moving water, rain, rivers, and oceans.
d. glaciers, moving debris and ice.
7. Unifying characteristics such as similar climates, vegetation, or landforms
can be used to divide the earth into
a. political regions
c. functional regions.
b. formal regions
d. perceptual regions.
8. Which of the following is a group of islands created by volcanic activity?
a. Australia
c. Spain
b. Panama
d. Hawaii
9. What factors affect an area’s climate?
a. elevation and longitude
c. elevation and latitude
b. latitude and solstice
d. elevation and equinox
10. Temperature ______ with higher elevation.
a. elevates
c. increases
b. decreases
d. moderates
11. Using the map above, which of the following types of information can you
obtain?
a. Political characteristics of a country
b. Plate tectonic boundaries
c. Human characteristics of a continent
d. The effects of human actions on a place
12. Using the map above, what information explains the occurrence of
volcanoes and earthquakes on the west coast of South America?
a. The pulling apart of the Pacific and Antarctic plates.
b. The Pacific Plate is moving northwest.
c. The South American and Nazca plates are colliding.
d. Seafloor spreading is occurring along the South American coast.
13. How are biomes and ecosystems similar?
a. They are formed by the interaction of plant life, animal life, and the
physical environment.
b. They both categorize, in general terms, the interrelation of plant and
animal life.
c. They are formed by human environment interaction
d. They both categorize, in specific terms, the interrelation of plant life
and the physical environment.
14. A warming of the Pacific Ocean surface of at least .5 degrees over a period
of five months or more.
a. hurricane
c. El Nino
b. La Nina
d. Tropical Depression
15. Desert and tundra regions are alike in which of the following ways?
a. In both regions, plants and animals thrive because of abundant water
sources.
b. Both areas are subject to unexpected weather changes.
c. In both regions, only plants that can adjust to extreme temperatures
can survive.
d. The few animals that are native to each region live very short lives.
16. The six climate regions into which geographers have dived the earth were
defined mainly by
a. latitude and longitude.
c. political boundaries.
b. temperature and precipitation. d. location and landforms.
17. Which of the following is not affected by the relative positions of the sun
and earth?
a. Climate
c. Precipitation
b. Seasons
d. Day and night
18. Both warm air and warm water flow generally
a. from the Equator to the poles.
b. from the poles toward the Equator.
c. straight because of the Coriolis effect.
d. from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas.
19. Which of the following places would have a more drastic change in climate
between winter and summer months?
a. coastal
c. equatorial
b. inland
d. tundra
20. Formation of volcanoes is most likely to affect which of the following?
a. atmosphere
c. biosphere
b. lithosphere
d. hydrosphere
Use the passage and your knowledge of social studies to answer
questions 21-22
In the Arctic Tundra, plants must be able to live in cold temperatures and short
growing seasons. In addition, they must go without sunlight for most of the
winter. Arctic landscapes are treeless, covered with grasses, mosses, lichens, and
some flowering plants. Some species have developed extremely large leaves that
tilt towards the sun.
21. The main idea of the passage is that
a. there is little to no plant life in the Arctic tundra.
b. plants in the tundra have adapted to the climate.
c. summers are short in the Arctic tundra.
d. few trees grow in the Arctic tundra.
22.From the passage, what can you infer about the climate in the Arctic tundra
ecosystem?
a. The climate is cool year round with short winters.
b. The climate of the tundra encourages many kinds of plant life.
c. Arctic winters are very cold
d. The tundra climate is most common in the tropics.
23.The biome reflected in the graph would be located in the
a. highlands.
c. middle latitudes.
b. high latitudes.
d. tropical latitudes
24.Which answer best represents where you could find Amazonia located on a
map?
a. Southern Hemisphere
c. Equator
b. Northern Hemisphere Inland d. Northern Hemisphere Coast
25.Which of the following play a role in determining the climate of a place?
a. Mountain Barriers
c. Latitude
b. Storms
d. All of the above