Geography 155 Exam 1 Review What is Geography The 3 themes of Geography 1 Distribution of Phenomena 2 Characteristics of Places ex Climate vegetation economy 3 Change through time How distribution places change through time What are the most common gases in the atmosphere and which of them are variable in their occurrence Constant Gases Nitrogen 78 1 Oxygen 20 8 Argon 93 Variable Gases Water Vapor 3 ppm parts per millionth Carbon Dioxide Methane Ozone What is atmospheric pressure How does is vary vertically How is it measured Atmospheric pressure is pressure exerted at any point from directly above Atmospheric pressure increases as you go UP and becomes less dense Atmospheric pressure is measured using the barometer Toricelli created barometer in 1600s Mine example Why is it difficult to breath at high elevations At high altitudes there are fewer air molecules Oxygen Nitrogen amounts stay the same in higher altitudes BUT of a smaller amount making it hard to breath How does temperature vary vertically through the atmosphere Temperature decreases as you go UP What are the Troposphere Tropopause and Stratosphere Troposhere Action takes place We experience this atmosphere Tropopause Boundary in the Earth s atmosphere between troposphere and the stratosphere Point where air ceases to cool with height becomes completely dry Stratosphere Contains the ozone layer What is the ozone layer Where is it and why does it matter The ozone layer absorbs ultraviolet radiation It is located in the Stratosphere and it is important because it blocks harmful UV rays from the sun What are latitude and longitude How are they measured Latitude Vertical 90 degrees south or 90 degrees north Lines are parallel They are NOT the same length Longest at equator Shortest at poles Latitude has more control on features and climates Longitude Horizontal 180 degrees 180 degrees Lines are referred to as meridians They ARE the same length They are NOT parallel Spacing between lines is greatest at the equator and narrowest at poles Longitude is a reference of time What are parallels and meridians Parallels Latitude Meridians Longitude What is map scale Example 1 24 000 For every feet 24 000 feet in real life What is contour interval Contour is lines of constant elevation Contour lines should never cross How to find contour interval Identify numbers on contour lines already Trace lines Look at how many lines between to determine interval How do you determine elevation of a location on a topographic map Identify contour intervals What is slope aspect What is local relief Local relief is also known as the elevation change of that specific hill Calculate difference between top and bottom elevations How do you calculate slope from a topographic map Change in elevation Change in distance horizontally What is the geometric relationship of the earth to the sun through the year Earth rotates on axis 24 hours Axis tilted 23 5 degrees Earth revolves around the sun 365 days Earth remains in plane of Ecliptic Earth is FARTHEST from the sun in July and CLOSEST in January What and when are the solstices and equinoxes How do sun angle and daylength vary on those days between different latitudes Solstice Daylength st Winter December 21 North Pole 0 hours Arctic Circle 0 hours Tropic of Cancer 0 12 hours Equator 12 hours Tropic of Capricorn 12 24 hours Antarctic Circle 24 hours South Pole 24 hours Low sun short days st Summer June 21 North Pole 24 hours Arctic Circle 24 hours Tropic of Cancer 12 24 hours Equator 12 hours Tropic of Capricorn 0 12 hours Antarctic Circle 0 hours South Pole 0 hours High sun Long days Equinox Daylength EVERYWHERE else has 12 hours of day and 12 hours of darkness nd Fall September 22 th Spring March 20 Sun Angle degrees Winter Solstice North Pole 0 Arctic Circle 0 Tropic of Cancer 0 90 Equator 0 90 Tropic of Capricorn 90 Antarctic Circle 0 90 South Pole 0 90 Summer Solstice North Pole 0 90 Arctic Circle 0 90 Tropic of Cancer 90 Equator 0 Tropic of Capricorn 0 90 Antarctic Circle 0 South Pole 0 Fall Equinox North Pole 0 Arctic Circle 0 90 Tropic of Cancer 0 90 Equator 90 Tropic of Capricorn 0 90 Antarctic Circle 0 90 South Pole 0 Spring Equinox North Pole 0 Arctic Circle 0 90 Tropic of Cancer 0 90 Equator 90 Tropic of Capricorn 0 90 Antarctic Circle 0 90 South Pole 0 0 degrees means that the sun is straight ahead 90 degrees means that the sun is directly overhead only 1 can have 90 degrees What and where are the poles equator trios and Arctic and Antarctic circles How much energy does each get at different times of the year What is radiation Radiation is the transfer of energy without benefit of a medium One way to identify is through wavelengths distance between one crest to the next Hotter objects emit more radiation than colder What are the important parts of the spectrum of radiation wavelengths 4 Mm Longwave radiation 4 Mm Shortwave radiation What are the laws relating radiation to the temperature of the emitting body The hotter the object the more radiation it emits What are the differences of type and amount between solar and terrestrial radiation Solar longwave radiation Terrestrial shortwave radiation What can happen to solar radiation 1 Absorption Heats the absorber ozone Warmer in stratosphere because of the absorber 2 Scattering forward gets deflected no longer straight line No heating Diffuse radiation Ex Shade from a tree 3 Reflection scattering back up hits something and bounces back towards space rather than continuing towards surface What can happen to terrestrial radiation What is counter radiation What are conduction convection and latent heat transfer Conduction molecule to molecule heat transfer Conduction works at the surface Convection transfer by flow of liquid or gas Ex If you spill hot water on your feet then you are burnt by convection Water flows and transfers heat with it Latent heat transfer What is albedo What determines the albedo of different surfaces Albedo is the percentage of shortwave radiation reflected by a surface clouds 50 percent or albedo snow 90 percent albedo ground 10 30 percent albedo water 5 40 percent albedo Understanding When you walk on asphalt it is hotter than if you walk on the white lines because white absorbs less and is more reflected AKA higher albedo What are the greenhouse gases and what do they do How did our example of an earth atmosphere energy budget work What are isobars How are they used to show pressure gradients and cells of high and low