Physical Geography Exam
1. Rank the 3 major oceans (Pacific, Indian, Atlantic) in terms of size.
2. To show why we call the H2O molecule the Mickey Mouse molecule, draw it, label it clearly, and indicate which side has net negative charge.
3. You have a new aquarium for Shamu the Killer Whale that contains 1,000,000 pounds of ocean water with a salinity of 30 o/oo(30 parts per thousand) by weight. Show your work for full credit!
a. How many pounds of salt are in this water?
b. You want to change the salinity from 30 o/oo to 10 o/oo because Shamu is allergic to salt. Do you add water, or salt, and how much?
4. Imagine you are in outer space, looking down on the North pole of the Earth, with the Moon off to the side. Draw how you think the ocean surface might look as it is affected by the tidal pull of the Moon, and use this picture to explain how a palm tree at the Equator would rotate through 2 high and 2 low tides in a 24-hour period. Label your picture clearly for full credit.
5. Animals tend to be more difficult to study than plants. Why?
6. Perhaps the biggest difference between plants and animals is that plants make______
a. their own waste
b. their own space
c. their own food
7. Below is a simple version of the photosynthetic reaction involving green plants, with three key elements left out. Fill in the blanks.
8. How does the respiration reaction (shown above) help explain why excessive growth of green plant scan lead to suffocation of fish (aka "fish kills")? Be specific.
9. Your community is drawing 1,000 gallons of water per day from your municipal aquifer, which currently contains an estimated 10,000,000 gallons of water. You have determined that there is no recharge occurring to this aquifer. How long will it take (in years) for your community to deplete this aquifer? Show your work for full credit.
10. What are the two main factors that dictate climate?
11. Imagine a dry prairie with a new stream running through it. Trees are beginning to take root near the riverbed, where there is moist soil. With the trees growing and developing a canopy, what will happen to the native grass that has flourished in this spot until now, and why will this change occur?
12. Using the ternary diagram below, mark the spot we call "loam".
13. Give a specific example of an animal's ability to physiologically adapt to different environments.
14. Place the 5 main groups of vertebrates in evolutionary order.
15. What is the essential difference between vertebrates and invertebrates?