Geography 1000
Student Name __________________
Quiz #1 – A. J. Allred, Adjunct
1. Which of the following describes the diameter of the Earth?
a. C/ π
b. 8,000 times π
c. 24,000 times π
d. 24,800 divided by 7,900
e. C times π
The general relationship C = D * pi (π) describes spheres, including the Earth. The diameter (D) is roughly
1/3 the dimension of the distance all the way around the Earth (C, or circumference). The term “π” is a
constant number, not a variable that is about 3.1415. . . .
So, in simple form the circumference of the Earth is about three times the diameter: 24,900 divided by 3 =
8,000, the diameter.
2. The scientific method starts with general proof and then works toward eventually finding
‘hunches’ by using statistical experiments. Science avoids theories because they are not provable
and are often unreliable.
True ___
False ___
The opposite is true: science often begins with a ‘hunch’ or conjecture based on cursory observation. With
more careful study and systematic measures, hypotheses can be tested and laws, axioms and paradigms can
be reached. A proof is the highest form of truth, a goal that is sought but seldom reached.
3. World-wide, the metric system is giving way to the more popular English system of weights and
measures. A mile is about ½ kilometer plus a little more. A meter is about one yard. A gallon is
about ½ liter.
True ___
False ___
The English language is increasingly popular world-wide, but the English or Imperial system of weights and
measures is clumsy compared to the Metric system that is in use everywhere. Even in the United States,
science and industry have been moving away from the English system in favor of the Metric system.
4. Which of the following ‘spheres’ appears in the most places on Earth, and plays a key role in
nearly all natural phenomena? That ‘sphere’ also helps define the ‘goldilocks’ region of our solar
system.
a. Hydro
Litho
c. Bio
d. Atmo
e. Cryo
b.
Water is virtually everywhere on Earth and plays a vital, and sometimes controlling role in virtually
everything that occurs on Earth.
5. Which of the following is a good example of a negative feedback loop?
a. Melting ice and snow that give way to dark water.
b. Animals and plants that propagate and spread until they consume all available resources and then die
back.
c. Both of the examples above illustrate a negative relationship – a negative feedback loop.
d. Neither of the examples above has anything to do with positive or negative feedback relationships or
correlations.
e. Both of the examples above are examples of a positive correlation – a positive feedback loop.
Answers ‘b’ is a negative because resource consumption will automatically shut down propagation. Answer
‘a’ is a positive loop because melting ice and snow will reveal more dark ocean and/or dark land that easily
absorbs more solar energy, leading to more warming and thus more melting. There is nothing natural to
shut off this system: more gets more.
6. Which of the following is true regarding the Earth’s 24 time zones?
a. At the Equator each time zone spans about 1,037 miles
b. At the north and south poles, an hour-long time zone spans less than one inch.
c. At the Equator, the Earth’s surface is spinning or rotating at more than 1,000 mph.
d. Time zones often follow political boundaries instead of lines of meridian.
e. All of the above are true of time zones.
Everything in Question 6 is true.
7. Which of the following statements is/are true?
a. The tallest mountain on Earth is the Hawaiian ‘Big Island” because it rises about 20,000 feet from
the ocean floor and then 13,500 more feet into the atmosphere.
b. The point of lithosphere or ‘rock’ furthest from the center of the Earth is a volcano near the Equator,
because the Earth’s diameter is widest at the Equator, which adds to the height of any mountain
located along the Equator.
c. Mt. Everest is the highest point of lithosphere from sea level.
d. The deepest ocean trench is further from sea level than the top of any mountain on dry land.
e. All of the above are true.
All statements in Question 7 are true. For instance, Earth diameter is greatest around the Equator, so
mountains located near the Equator will rise from sea level at a greater distance from the center of the Earth
than anywhere else. The Hawaiian Islands represent volcanic extrusions that rise further from a base
surface than any other mountains on Earth. Deep ocean trenches can reach 36,500 feet below sea level, a
distance greater than the 29,000 foot rise of Mt. Everest above sea level.
8. High-altitude commercial aviation can cause the Earth’s atmosphere to change temperature.
True ___
False ___
As discussed in class, condensation trails (contrails) reflect some solar energy back into outer space where it
is not available to warm the Earth or its atmosphere.
9. The Earth rotates to the east. The vertical axis of rotation is not perpendicular to the horizontal
‘plane of the ecliptic’ with the Sun. So, seasons change as different parts of the earth face more
directly, and then less directly at the Sun.
True ___
False ___
True. Compare Question 9 to Question 15 below.
10. Which of the following statements is false?
a. All of Mr. Allred’s tests are “open-book” and “open notes”.
b. During classroom tests, no electronic devices can be used if they are capable of outside
communication.
c. It is very important to read the textbook regularly.
d. All students start the semester with a perfect “A” grade and will be expected to keep it.
e. All of the statements above are true.
Everything in Question 10 is true. However, some students will probably not do what is necessary to
preserve a final grade of “A” in Geography 1000.
11. Utah has hosted which of the following events?
a. The largest landslide in recorded North American history
b. The most expensive landslide in U.S. history
c. An earthquake of Magnitude 6.3
d. All of the above.
e. None of the above.
All statements in Question 11 are true.
12. For preparing your ePortfolio, you can freely use any picture or other graphic provided by a
government source. Regardless of your sources of information, always acknowledge where you
got them and try hard to comply with copyright restrictions.
True ___
False ___
Question 12 is true. Be sure to properly cite sources of information provided in your ePortfolio.
13. In some places prone to severe earthquakes, some public safety planners may have decided to
“write off” small children as presumed to die during a tsunami wave inundation.
True ___
False ___
As discussed in class, the hazardous “Ring of Fire” around the Pacific Ocean basin is occupied by hundreds
of millions of people who are exposed to earthquakes and tsunami waves. According to a recent National
Geographic article, in some places public safety officials believe that tsunami wave inundation will arrive
more quickly than children can evacuate.
14. In dry regions like Utah, public safety officials and city planners encourage flood waters to go
where children usually play.
True ___
False ___
As discussed in class, Salt Lake valley contains hundreds of small basins where surface water runoff is
stored temporarily to prevent flooding somewhere downstream. It is easier to move children than
floodwater.
15. Which of the following is true of the Earth’s axial tilt?
a. The declination angle changes only very slightly over extremely long periods of time.
b. The declination angle is about 23.5 degrees away from the 'plane of the ecliptic' with the Sun.
c. During the June solstice, sunlight can reach over the top of the North Pole and down to the Arctic
Circle on the other side. The result is no night-time darkness for at least one full day everywhere
above the Arctic Circle.
d. During the June solstice, there will be at least one day of no daylight at all for regions further south
than the Antarctic Circle.
e. All of the answers above are true.
All of the answers in Question 15 describe aspects of Earth’s polar tilt away from the Plane of the Ecliptic.
Compare to Question 9 above.