GEOG 1114 1st Edition Exam 1 Study Guide Lectures 1 13 Introduction to Earth Define Geography Geography is defined as a method of study that focuses on the human and the physical environment Geographers study the relationships of things in certain places Space and Place are underlying themes of Physical Geography Geography has two components 1 Human Geography Deals with the cultural diversity of place urbanization population political cultural and economics Specifically how people differ from place to place one underlying theme 2 Physical Geography Deals with the natural environment i e climatology biogeography geomorphology Specifically how natural characteristics of place differ The 4 principal components of the earth s environment Understand the patterns processes and interrelationships between the four principle components of the Earth s environment Environmental Spheres 1 Atmosphere Air 2 Hydrosphere Cryosphere Water Ice 3 Biosphere All parts of the Earth where living organisms are 4 Lithosphere Earth s crust shape The study of the physical environment can be complex An overall describing word for it is LANDSCAPE which encompasses the physical environment as it comes together Define landscape A complex physical environment that encompasses the physical environment as it comes together Explain where the Earth fits in the Solar System What is its vertical relief and diameter in miles and kilometers Place of the Earth in the solar system One of 8 planets 3rd from the sun The Sun a medium sized star that gets its energy from nuclear fusion is the central body source of energy The Solar System is part of the Milky Way galaxy which is just one of billions of galaxies in our universe The Universe originated from The Big Bang theory a cosmic explosion of matter and gases 13 7 million years ago Our Solar system originated between 4 5 and 5 billion years ago A Nebula is a huge cloud of gas that contracted inward from gravity to form the sun and the planets All planets revolve around the sun in an elliptical orbit counter clockwise to the sun There are 150 moons in our solar system We landed on the Earth s moon in 1969 Ours revolves around the earth once every 27 days Size and Shape Vertical relief 20 km 12 miles Equatorial diameter 12 756 km Polar Diameter 12 714 Diameter 8 000 miles Sphere or ellipse The earth bulges It is an ellipse that spins causing a bulge at the equator Define the Geographic Grid in terms of latitude and longitude and their points of reference What is a great circle Identify the location and name of 7 parallels of importance Geographic Grid used to determine location on spherical earth Lines of reference The North and South Pole which are earth s rotation axis The Plane of the equator the midline of earth between the poles and perpendicular to earth s surface is also reference Lines of Longitude and Latitude The earth grid system is referred to as graticule made up of many lines Parallels run east west and north south Latitude parallels that measure your position North South of the equator run East West Important latitudes expressed in degrees and minutes Tropic of cancer and Capricorn 23 5 degrees N and S Equator 0 degrees Poles 90 degrees N and S Longitude meridians that measure your position East West run North South Point of reference is Prime Meridian Meridians Measure your position E W of prime meridian run N S Prime Meridian 0 degrees longitude Converge at the poles Lines of latitude and longitude are expressed in degrees and minutes 369 degrees 60 minutes in 1 degree Define the 3 major types of earth movements revolution rotation tilt and explain the affects of each What is perihelion and aphelion Earth Movements Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours toward the East Earth is tilted 23 5 degrees from vertical Earth revolves around the sun in an elliptical orbit once every 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 46 seconds known as a tropical year Rotation has 3 Major Affects 1 Affects the flow of Air and Water Coriolis effect water and air are deflected toward the right in the northern hemisphere toward the left in the southern hemisphere the equator has little effect The Poles have a lot of Coriolis effect this is what gives us tides 2 Works with gravitational pull of the moon as we spin away from the moon the tides rise opposite of that 3 Rotation causes day and night which influences temperature humidity wind and is the big reason why humans are able to inhabit so much of the earth now Revolution is an elliptical orbit where the earth s distance from the sun is not constant One revolution takes 365 days Perihelion is when the Earth is closest to the sun on January 3 rd 147 166 480 km Aphelion is when the Earth is farthest from the sun on July 4 th 152 171 500 km Tilt 23 5 degrees from perpendicular Also called Earth s inclination Axis always points toward Polaris a k a the North Star Affect how much the sun hits the Earth and where on the Earth s surface the sun is hitting Because of the tilt and revolution of the earth the rays of the sun are distributed differently throughout the landscape which leads to the changing seasons If the sun hits the earth s surface from directly overhead there is more heat over a small area If the sun hits earth s surface at lower angles that energy is spread over a much larger area What is the primary cause of the seasons Explain how they develop Be familiar with sun location dates and characteristics of the solstices and equinoxes Seasons are determined by tilt and revolution of the Earth and Latitudinal position There are three important conditions Declination of the sun where the latitude is receiving vertical rays solar altitude height of the sun over the horizon and the length of the day There are two solstices and two equinoxes Solstices Summer and Winter December June the sun is directly overhead at 23 5 degrees north and south Summer solstice happens around June 21 where the sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer 23 5 degrees N The Antarctic Circle is in 24 hours of darkness Longest day of the year for our summer The North Pole is continually a circle of illumination where is gets 24 hours of sunlight Winter Solstice happens around December 21 st where perpendicular rays hit the tropic of Capricorn 23 5 degrees S it leads to the opposite results as the summer solstice Equinoxes Spring and fall March September the sun is directly above the equator Fall Equinox happens around September 22 where the sun is