1. All map projections, which represent the three-dimensional surface of the Earth on a two-dimensional surface distort one or more of the four properties - area, shape, distance, direction. How then are we to judge whether any map is a "good map"?
2. Some say to be lost is not to know where you are. Others say when you are lost, you know where you are but do not know where other places are. What does the idea of being lost tell us about the nature of geographic location. How does relative location and absolute location play into this?
3. Describe how technologies such as geographic information systems, remote sensing, and maps are used to analyze local, regional and global issues.
4. Many people use the terms weather and climate interchangeably. What is weather? (Give an example.) What is climate? (Give an example.) Compare/contrast the two. When traveling to an area of the world when would you be concerned about weather? When would you be concerned about climate?
5. There are three main causes of precipitation: 1) convection, 2) orographic uplift, and 3) frontal uplift. Explain each (in your own words) and give unique examples of where each cause can be encountered around the world.
6. Your text on pages 66-67 show climate patterns. Please tell me what is the base criteria Koppen used to identify the climate zones. Then use your atlas to identify one city, country (ex: Mexico City, Mexico) in each of the zones on Earth. Please remember there are many countries on the Earth, try to find different examples from different countries. (Don't use just the same ones over and over.)
- Af
- Am
- Aw
- BWh
- BWk
- BSh
- BSk
- Cfa
- Cw
- Cfb
- Cfc
- Cs
- Dfa
- Dwa
- Dfb
- Dwb
- Dfc
- Dwc
- Dfd
- Dwd
- ET
- EF
Highland (Name a Mountain range for this example and state the different countries it sits across.)