Exercise #1 – Chapter 1, 2, &3
Physical geography 101
Due: Monday, January 9
Total = 42 points
1) List and describe the 4 spheres (or realms) used by geographers. (4 points)
2) How long does it take the earth to complete one revolution around the sun? What is
leap year? Why does it occur? (3 points)
3) Using Figure 3.9 from the textbook, define the geographic coordinates (latitude and
longitude) of the following locations: (5 points)
New Orleans, LA
Latitude
Longitude
30N
90W
Portland, OR
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Cape town, South Africa
Cairo, Egypt
Newark, DE
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4) Using the map of time zones given in Figure 3.13 from your book, what time and day
is it in Fairbanks, Alaska if it is 5:00pm on Tuesday in Berlin, Germany? What time and
day is it in Tokyo, Japan? In Baghdad, Iraq? (6 points)
Fairbanks, Alaska
Tokyo, Japan
Baghdad, Iraq
5) Greenwich Mean Time refers to the time at the prime meridian relative to any other
standard time on the globe. A) If it is 9:00 PM Saturday night in Newark, Delaware on
January 3 (standard time) what time is relative to the Greenwich Mean Time (UTC)? B)
If it is 1400 UTC (2PM UTC) on Tuesday, what time and day is it in Newark during the
summer? (4 points)
A.
B.
6) What are some advantages of using the Mercator projection (Figure 3.9) compared to
the Goode projection (Figure 3.10)? What are the disadvantages of using Mercator
projection compared to the Goode projection? (4 points)
7) Provide the location (latitude, longitude) for the following and define its importance or
significance: (7 points)
Location
Importance or Significance
Tropic of Cancer
Equator
Antarctic Circle
Prime Meridian
International date line
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Location
Importance or Significance
Tropic of Capricorn
North Pole
8) Why are Northern Hemisphere air temperatures cold on January 4th if the earth is
closest to the sun? (3 points)
9) In Newark, when is the sun higher in the sky at solar noon – during an Equinox, the
Northern Hemisphere Winter Solstice, or the Northern Hemisphere Summer Solstice?
How does this help to explain why summer is warmer in Newark than winter? (4 points)
10) Why isn’t Barrow, Alaska, which has 24 hours of daylight on June 21, warmer than
the equator, which only has 12 hours of daylight on June 21? (2 points)
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