May 2008 Geography 1 Final Review Sheet (on-line) Dr. Melanie Renfrew, L.A.HarborCollege
Hi everyone: hope you are studying hard, in place of hardly studying. :-)
The best way to review for the final is to go back and re-study all your class notes (everything that was ever written or drawn on the board, including the near-weekly weather discussions, transplanting tomato and strawberry demo [i.e., what plants need]), look through the assigned text pages as a review, and go through all your handouts again: I have attached the major ones, and there were some I hand-printed. Review map locations (Geog 1 syllabus),your own drawings of clouds, rocks, landforms, and 7 (very common!) plants [mule fat, willow, lemonade berry, Toyon (Christmas berry), true sage (Salvia), Artemisia (California sagebrush, or “cowboy cologne”), and coyote brush]. Review the differences between chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities, oak woodland, and riparian woodland, as these are in our local mountains, and if you are ever lost, you could find your way out if you can read the hills and understand gravity (which some who suffer from mudslides have failed to do).
If you have time and want up to 10 points extra credit, you may visit GeorgeF.Canyon Nature Areain Palos Verdes, 10 minutes from campus. Take Anaheim St. west, turn left uphill on P. V. Dr. North, go straight until P.V. Dr. E., turn left and park on right in gravel parking lot just after small bridge (Stein/Hale Nature Trail described on the website, ). Things to look for: the7 plants we drew, plus wildflowers we i.d.’ed in Harbor wetlands (e.g., wild radish, lupine, etc.), poison oak and blackberry vines (you should be able to tell the difference), oxidation of iron in the rocks making water orange, erosion and mass wasting on over-steepened slopes, dendritic drainage and miniature alluvial fans, folding, shale and diatomite, riparian pattern of willows and other trees and shrubs, differences in moisture on hillsides related to sun and shade, etc. In other words, 1)observe, 2) take notes, and 3) in your own words, describe what you saw as an extra credit essay on the final. (Do not write a report to hand in.) Points will be awarded not by reciting this list, but how you describe what you saw, and include a few little sketches.
I’ll be + 15 minutes early at the scheduled final times if you want to ask questions.
Tip from a “lifetime student”: If you live in a noisy home, “go hide”: figure out a place where you can focus on re-learning this stuff (or learning for the first time!). The goal of the class is not memorizing unrelated facts, but understanding how nature is integrated, and having a global view. Some memorization is necessary, but also “pondering” and “rumination,” i.e., going over it until it makes brilliant sense. :-)
Here are the handouts in reverse order. There is a link to the syllabus on the website.
Geography 1 Lithosphere Class activities and Homework Instructions Dr. Renfrew
Rock Drawing Exercise–15 points possible. Draw and label 12 rocks from samples shown in class. Describe the textures, colors, and a few characteristics you learned from the book and Internet. For the test, know:
Igneous: intrusive – granite, diorite (+ ‘granodiorite’); extrusive – basalt, obsidian
Sedimentary: shale, sandstone, limestone, conglomerate
Metamorphic: gneiss, schist, quartzite, slate, marble
Study and learn lithosphere features associated with Plate tectonic boundary types:
1. Convergent boundaries /subduction zones: mountain ranges, ocean trenches, volcanoes, island arcs: study world maps of plate tectonics, volcanoes, and earthquakes
2. Divergent boundaries/sea-floor spreading: mid-ocean ridges (e.g., Mid-Atlantic, East Pacific Rise), rift zones (e.g. East African Great Rift Valley, Death Valley)
3. Transform/transverse boundaries (e.g., San Andreas Fault) – strike-slip faults, etc.
Landform Drawings from Earth text (copying diagrams): – worth 15 points if carefully done. Landforms are individual relief features: draw and color at least 20-25 landforms, some from each of the processes listed below. Some diagrams have several landforms in one, but do a variety. It is not necessary to copy terms that are not on the list. The goal is to understand the different landform-shaping processes and the specific landforms in the list below:copy their shapes, and you’ll be able to recognize them in travel, TV and movies.
Fluvial landforms are shaped by rivers and streams (running water, erosion and deposition): canyons/valleys, rills/gullies, drainage basin, drainage divide, dendritic pattern, tributary streams, oxbow lakes, meander scar, deltas - triangular, bird-claw [e.g,. Mississippi], natural levees, floodplain, bluffs / river banks, braided stream…
Karst landforms shaped by the carbonation (chemical weathering -dissolving, dissolution, and deposition) of limestone, bygroundwater: caves, stalactites, stalagmites, pillars, sinkholes, tower Karst…
Desert (arid) landforms mainly shaped by running water during storms (fluvial erosion and deposition): alluvial fans, basin and range topography, mesa, butte, plateau…
Glacial landforms shaped by frozen water: the tremendous power and weight of moving ice sheets and rocks they drag: e.g., U-shaped + hanging valleys (Yosemite), horn (Matterhorn), arête (jagged ridge), cirque…
Coastallandforms – erosion and deposition by waves and currents (wind & Earth’s rotation), also growth of coral: beach, reef, bay/cove, wave-cut cliff, marine terrace, headland/point/cape, lagoon, coral reef, barrier island, atoll…
Winds shape sand dunes, both in deserts and along coasts (“Aeolian” deposition).
“Mass Wasting” Video: 1. Mass wasting (mass movementp. 436) is the downward movement of earth materials because of gravity: it is not the same as erosion. Learn the types, related to speed and wetness of the materials. Landslide scars could also be considered a type of landform.
2.Why is Southern California especially prone to episodes of mass wasting (that is, natural causes)?
3. What human activities contribute to it?
4. What can be done to prevent it?
5. List the major types and reasons for mass wasting in these locations:
Armero, Colombia
Malibu Big Rock, Santa MonicaMountains
San Pedro (“Sunken City”), P.V.
Portuguese Bend, P.V.
Wrightwood, California (by San Andreas Fault)
Geography 1 Some review Lithosphere questions (+ other sheets, class notes):
What is the lithosphere? rocks? minerals?
Make sure to memorize the rock cycle diagram, and rocks you drew in class. What is the most common kind of intrusive igneous rock? extrusive igneous?
Internal processes make Earth’s surface more uneven (powered by tectonic heat energy, the expansion of molecules): which are they?
Plate Tectonics map: How are continental drift theory, plate tectonics, and Earth’s geographic distributions of earthquakes and volcanoes related?
What are 3 types of plate boundaries? associated landforms for each?
How did Hawaii form? Is it on a plate boundary?
What is the difference between faulting and folding? anticlines & synclines? Which type of fault is the San Andreas Fault?
Study the section on Earthquakes How do you personally need to prepare for a large earthquake to come? It could be soon!
External processes shape and make Earth’s surface more even (powered by solar radiation, the work of water, wind, plus gravity from beneath)? What are types of each?
Match landforms with their specific processes or environments:
Fluvial (rivers/streams, running water)
Karst
Coastal
Glacial
Desert (arid)
Wind (Aeolian)
Be sure to enjoy the beautiful photographs: it’s like traveling, and will help you enjoy traveling more if you recognize landforms from the window.
Geography 1 Biosphere
DK Smithsonian Earth Text Assignments: Read 282-353. Skim 27-41 first, & study 132-135 as a foundation of basic biology and biogeography.
A.Study Climate – Biome relationships below, and GCB maps: (Atmosphere/Biosphere Interface)
How are Earth’s major climates and biomes correlated? (How do average temperature and precipitation influence plant growth?) (134-135, 282-353) Locate all wetlands, deserts, forests, and grasslands named in the book, in your GCB, so you know where they are.
B. Wetlands323-331: Study 323-325: In Harbor Lake, “succession” would occur if not for park dredging.
C. Deserts 286-301: 1.What band of latitudes are most deserts in or near? Locate in your GCB.
2. Find, list, and briefly describe the specific adaptations of 20 desert animals and plants in photos.
D. Forests 304-321
1. What are 3 main types of forests, and where are they located related to latitude?
2. How do broadleaf and coniferous trees differ?
3. Draw and label the Alpine zonation diagram (306), and study the recovery sequence on p. 307.
4. Study the forests highlighted on 308-311, and also look through 312-321. Locate in your GCB.
E. Grasslands 333-341: What are other names for grasslands and their regions?
2. What native herbivores grazed on the North American Great Plains?
3. List 15 other examples of animals lving on the grasslands highlighted (including introduced ones).
F. Tundra 343-343: What is it, and where does it occur?
Climate and Biome (Vegetation) Relationships:
ClimateBiome / Major Vegetation Type
‘A’ Tropical Wet (Humid)
Tropical rainforest (wet)Tropical rainforest
Tropical Savanna (wet andTropical savanna (grasslands with scattered trees)
dry seasons)
‘B’ Dry
Desert(<10” rain/year)Desert
Steppe/semi-aridSteppe (short, dry grass), also some “Scrub”
‘C’ Mild Midlatitude (temperate)
Mediterranean(S.W.)Mediterranean (in So. Calif., our main 4 types are
coastal sage scrub, chaparral shrubland, oak woodland, riparian woodland)
Humid Subtropical (S.E.)
Marine West Coast/Moist coastalMixed Midlatitude forest and Grasslands – all 3
‘D’ Severe Midlatitude (cold) of these climates have mixed deciduous and evergreen/
Humid Continental (N.E.) coniferous forests and grassland areas
SubarcticConiferous forest (cone-bearing, needleleaf evergreen;
also called boreal (‘northern’) forest, taiga
‘E’ Polar
TundraTundra
Ice capNo vegetation
‘H’ Highland (high mountains)Altitude zones of vegetation
Geography 1 Atmosphere and Hydrosphere Earth text additional questions and topics
Read 126-130, 236-243, skim 244-251, 390-425; Atmosphere 437-477: study whole section.
Skim through sections on oceans. Test 3 will be Wed., April 23.
A. Hydrosphere
1. Review water cycle diagrams, and make sure to have them memorized.
2. What are unique properties of water? Salt water, fresh water?
3. Where are Earth’s waters? Review locations of oceans, major seas, and rivers.4. What are the basic patterns of Earth’s warm and cold ocean currents? (Surface circulation) Identify major currents in the Pacific Ocean (Pacific gyre formation) and northern Atlantic on a world map(390-391).
B. Atmosphere: Climate and Weather (437-477)
1. What are dominant gases in the atmosphere?
2. Which layers are the troposphere and stratosphere, and why are each important?
3. How much of solar radiation is visible light?
4. How do reflection and absorption vary?
5. What is the Greenhouse Effect? Which gases absorb heat?
6. Why has CO increased 30% since 1900?
7. How do evaporation and condensation affect heat? What is latent heat?
8. What does the ozone layer do, and how is it being depleted?
9. How is stratospheric ozone beneficial, and ground-level ozone harmful?
10. Why are the global wind belts (prevailing winds, e.g., “westerlies” and east-to-west ”trade winds”) important to understand?
11. Note “Fluid circulation”: how air flow moves.
12. What are jet streams, and why are they important?
13. How do oceans affect atmospheric moisture?
14. What is El Nino, and the human impacts of it? La Nina?
C.Common Weather Phenomena: read these text sections (make sure you understand):
* Review cloud types; learn the others
* Air masses and High-pressure (anticyclone) and low-pressure (cyclone) systems
* Fronts; Mid-latitude Low-center systems
* Tropical cyclones/hurricanes/typhoons
* Monsoons – seasonal reversal of wind
* Precipitation and clouds, condensation, lifting and rainfall,
* Orographic rain and rain shadow
* Wind pressure and wind speed
* Oceanic winds, friction on land
* Seasonal winds, daily winds
* Land breeze (“offshore” wind) and sea breeze (“onshore wind”)
* Thunderstorms, tornadoes, dust devils, and sandstorms
* In class: Temperature inversions in L.A., Results of “Offshore wind survey”
Geography 1 2008 Test 1 Study Guide: Introduction to Earth, Water, Weather Dr. Renfrew
A. “MEMORIZE” ALL CLASS NOTES, and reread syllabus.
B. Questions from Earth text, Introduction to Earth, Earth in Space:
Read 6-17, 43-51; Study pages 48, 128-129.:
1. How old is Earth, according to scientists’ estimates?
2. What two things make Earth different from the moon and other planets?
3. What are two sources of energy on Earth?
4. Review Latitude and Longitude system (class notes).
5. Where on Earth are sun’s direct rays on March 21, June 21, Sept. 23, Dec. 21?
C. All Geog 1 classes: look up diagrams and captions in Earth text related to erosion and deposition – 112-115, 212-213, rivers and meanders, 215 deltas, oxbow lake, floodplain, 217 “slough” – Mississippi R., 222- braided channels of Amazon. Note dendritic patterns.
D. 9:35 & 11:10 Classes: ReviewHarbor wetlands observations organized by 4 spheres.
E. Introduction to HYDROSPHERE
1. How does water move? Study both global and local water cycle diagrams (pp. 126-130), and the simplified one diagrammed in class. Make sure you understand the phase changes (443) and arrows, including “sublimation.”
2. Where is Earth’s water? Locate water features listed in syllabus on a world map.
3. Besides sodium (Na) & chloride (Cl), what elements make ocean water salty? Salinity-384.
F. Introduction to ATMOSPHERE – pp. 126-129, 438-477. Know 4 weather elements.
Find book references and take notes on major weather topics and terms discussed in class:
Atmospheric Moisture: 5 major cloud types by shape, function, &/or altitude.
Know convection, instability, latent (hidden, stored) heat (443 Changes in state), dew point.
Types of precipitationTypes of condensationHumidity (128)
Air pressure and Wind: wind speedsHigh- & Low-pressure weather
Daily winds: land and sea breezes
Prevailing winds (especially mid-latitude westerlies, and easterly trade winds in tropics)
Air masses, Mid-Latitude Depressions (Low-pressure centers), Fronts
Jet streams (Jets and waves)
Monsoon winds
Tornadoes
See you soon!