QUIZ 10
Sample questions for Final, worth 25% of your grade
I. MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the best answer, if more than one appears correct. (1 pt. each). There will be 50 multiple choice questions on the final exam.
1. Near the surface of the earth, what type of weather is associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)?
a. Subsiding air creating high pressure, and clear, sunny skies.
b. Westerly cyclonic storms.
c. Low pressure and thunder storms spawned along this boundary.
d. Frequent snow storms.
2. Shield volcanoes are composed of
a. highly fluid lava such as basalt
b. metamorphic rock such as serpentine
c. igneous intrusive rock such as granite
d. highly sticky, viscous lava, rhyolite
3. The fastest kind of mass movements are usually _______.
a. rock falls
b. creep
c. debris slides
d. earth flows
II. SHORT ANSWER. These questions will be changed into word bank questions. There will be ten word bank questions, two sets of 5 each.
1. What are three ways that California plants have adapted to the dry summers? What type of environment does each live in? (remember from Field Trip!) Pick from some of the following words in your answers:
| Summer deciduous | Tap roots | Photosynthesizing trunks | Fire adapted |
| Evergreen | Thorns | Thick leaf cuticle | Large broad leaves |
| Small leaves | Large smooth leaves | Broad network of surface roots | Soft, thin leaves |
2. What are the major differences in characteristics between a meandering stream and a braided stream?
| Sinuous | deep and narrow | bedload | humid climates |
| broad and shallow | stable | suspended load | straight channel |
| gravel and/or sand bars | unstable | dry and cold climates | multiple subchannels |
III. DIAGRAMS. There will be two sets of diagrams that you will fill in with requested information, such as arrows and words from a word bank. (6 points each)
IV. MAP QUESTIONS. Locate as accurately as possible, and label neatly and Clearly with the Letter of the Question the following features on the World Map. (2 pts each). There will be five map questions.
A. Where is the “Ring of Fire”? Draw a line or lines showing its location. Why is it called this? What particular types of landforms are commonly found here?
B. Pick one of the following climate types: tropical rainforest, subtropical desert, or tundra. Mark on the map two areas in the world where your choice is found. What kinds of weathering processes are dominant here?
SHORT ESSAY. Choose ONE of the following questions on which to write a short essay. Use full sentences and proper grammar and spelling. This is NOT a short answer question. (10 pts)
1. Describe the combination environmental factors (latitude, atmospheric circulation patterns, climate, topography, natural plants and animals, geology, geomorphic processes, etc.) that create the total landscape of a specific location where you have lived. How do all of these aspects of the natural environment fit together to create a particular landscape? Please identify the location of your place and mark it on the map. Do NOT describe the same place that you wrote about in your last class exercise.
2. What are all the major types of natural hazards that can occur in California? Please describe where in the state each hazard can occur and discuss the factors that make this place susceptible to that particular hazard. Which seasons, if any, bring us these hazards? Does our climate play a role? If so, how. How does our geology play a role? How does our location relative to tectonic plates play a role? Does our relief and location on an ocean coast play a role?
3. Describe and explain the limiting factors (such as availability of water, sunlight, and other factors) that control the distribution of different vegetation types. For example, why don’t trees grow beyond the tree line on top of a high mountain, or why doesn’t rainforest vegetation grow in a tropical savanna? Use two or three vegetation types as examples, and include the geographic distribution of the examples you’ve chosen.
4. Describe in detail the differences between a year-round mild and humid landscape and a cold, high elevation or high latitude landscape in terms of the following: (a) dominant weathering processes, (b) whether or not susceptible to mass movements, (c) likely dominant stream channel types, and (d) vegetation types and survival strategies. Please explain why each process or landform is likely to be found in each location. In your discussion, draw connections between the climate, weathering, stream channel types, likelihood for mass movements or floods, and vegetation types.