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Quiz by Tony Colella, created more than 1 year ago

First exam study guide for fall 2016 Biogeography course at the University of Arizona.

121

	Created by Tony Colella over 7 years ago

Biogeography First Exam Study Guide

Each question in this quiz is timed.

Begin Quiz

Question 1 of 32

Earth's tilt is nearly

Select one of the following:

15.5º
20º
23.5º
30º

Explanation

Question 2 of 32

Water's high _________________ allows it to store a lot of energy.

Select one of the following:

storage potential
heat capacity
potential gradient
solar capacity

Explanation

Question 3 of 32

Global physical gradients on Earth arise from all of the following except

Select one of the following:

Earth's spin
Latitude
Precipitation
Earth's orbit around the Sun
Earth's tilt

Explanation

Question 4 of 32

You would probably find the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) where near the summer solstice?

Select one of the following:

The Tropic of Capricorn (23.5º S)
The South Pole (90ºS)
The Equator (0º)
The Tropic of Cancer (23.5º N)

Explanation

Question 5 of 32

Warm currents are most often found on __________ ocean boundaries.

Select one of the following:

Northern
Southern
Western
Eastern

Explanation

Question 6 of 32

Short-term global cycles like El Nino involve periodic variations in what?

Select one of the following:

Sea-surface temperatures
Wind patterns
Atmospheric circulation cells
Sea-surface temperatures and wind patterns
Wind patterns and atmospheric circulation cells

Explanation

Question 7 of 32

Glacial climates in the Pleistocene tended to be...

Select one of the following:

Cool and dry
Cool and wet
Warm and dry
Warm and wet

Explanation

Question 8 of 32

During the initial cycles of glaciation and melting in the Pleistocene, extinctions were more common in...

Select one of the following:

Animals
Plants
Both
Neither

Explanation

Question 9 of 32

A planet with a greater tilt than Earth's would most likely have what kind of seasons?

Select one of the following:

Milder
Stronger
About the same as Earth's
No seasons at all

Explanation

Question 10 of 32

Humid air _________ dry air.

Select one of the following:

is heavier than
is lighter than
weighs the same as

Explanation

Question 11 of 32

Global precipitation patterns are driven by all of the following except

Select one of the following:

temperature
ocean currents
local topography
wind patterns

Explanation

Question 12 of 32

Topography and global precipitation patterns together determine

Select one of the following:

regional climate
surface energy input
rate of continental drift
the degree of Earth's tilt

Explanation

Question 13 of 32

Alexander von Humboldt was one of the first to note the abiding biogeographic principle that elevational gradients are analogous to

Select one of the following:

altitudinal gradients
latitudinal gradients
longitudinal gradients

Explanation

Question 14 of 32

The theory of island biogeography would consider all of the following except

Select one of the following:

An island in the ocean
A mountain range surrounded by lowlands
A series of low, grassy hills
A city surrounded by forest

Explanation

Question 15 of 32

Plants can move sap (and the nutrients within it) against the pull of gravity in part because of water's

Select one of the following:

high surface tension
high heat capacity
high heat conduction

Explanation

Question 16 of 32

How much of Earth's global water is freshwater?

Select one of the following:

About 10%
About 5.5%
About 2.5%
About 1%

Explanation

Question 17 of 32

Infiltration is

Select one of the following:

the movement of aboveground water belowground
the movement of belowground water aboveground
the movement of water on the Earth's surface
the emptying of rivers and streams into the ocean

Explanation

Question 18 of 32

All of these affect water's ability to infiltrate except

Select one of the following:

soil saturation
land cover
soil characteristics
land shape

Explanation

Question 19 of 32

What is the primary driver of Earth's water cycle?

Select one of the following:

Hadley cells
the intertropical convergence zone
evaporation
global climate

Explanation

Question 20 of 32

Transpiration occurs when plants lose water in the form of

Select one of the following:

water vapor
liquid water
frozen water

Explanation

Question 21 of 32

_____________ is responsible for cloud formation

Select one of the following:

Infiltration
Precipitation
Condensation
Transpiration

Explanation

Question 22 of 32

Why are arid environments likely to occur on the leeward slopes of near-ocean mountain ranges?

Select one of the following:

The rain shadow effect
Those mountains are most often at 30º N and S
The spin of the Earth
Ecoregion gradients

Explanation

Question 23 of 32

Seeds that exhibit serotiny only germinate when

Select one of the following:

they "know" the Earth's tilt has changed
they're triggered by some external factor
they are affected by the Coriolis effect

Explanation

Question 24 of 32

The only mass extinction for which science is pretty sure it knows the cause is

Select one of the following:

the end-Ordovician
the end-Triassic
the end-Cretaceous
the end-Permian

Explanation

Question 25 of 32

Our class definition of biogeography includes all of the following except

Select one of the following:

...the study of distributions...
...of biodiversity...
...globally...
...over space and time...

Explanation

Question 26 of 32

When it comes to biogeographic patterns, this scale is most important

Select one of the following:

global
local
regional
all scales are important to biogeographic patterns

Explanation

Question 27 of 32

The lithosphere includes

Select one of the following:

all of Earth's water, including oceans, freshwater, and the water cycle
the layers of gases that surround the Earth's surface
the Earth's rocky crust, including the geographic template
the zone of life on Earth

Explanation

Question 28 of 32

In the Greek tradition, which of these might we call the central question of biogeography?

Select one of the following:

How are organisms distributed around the world?
Do organisms change over time?
Are organisms at certain latitudes the same as organisms at certain altitudes?

Explanation

Question 29 of 32

Charles Darwin based his theory of evolution by means of natural selection on several key pieces of evidence. Which of these were not included?

Select one of the following:

Comparison of fossils with existing, similarly-shaped organisms
Studying finches and tortoises in the Galapagos
Observing giraffes in African savannas

Explanation

Question 30 of 32

Wegener's theory of continental drift relies on all of the following pieces of evidence except

Select one of the following:

Landmasses fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.
Geological similarity between matching sides of continents.
Elevational similarities in mountain ranges between continents that appear to fit together.
Fossil similarities between matching sides of continents.

First exam study guide for fall 2016 Biogeography course at the University of Arizona.

Biogeography First Exam Study Guide

Biogeography First Exam Study Guide

Question 1 of 32

Earth's tilt is nearly

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 2 of 32

Water's high _________________ allows it to store a lot of energy.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 3 of 32

Global physical gradients on Earth arise from all of the following except

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 4 of 32

You would probably find the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) where near the summer solstice?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 5 of 32

Warm currents are most often found on __________ ocean boundaries.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 6 of 32

Short-term global cycles like El Nino involve periodic variations in what?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 7 of 32

Glacial climates in the Pleistocene tended to be...

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 8 of 32

During the *initial* cycles of glaciation and melting in the Pleistocene, extinctions were more common in...

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 9 of 32

A planet with a greater tilt than Earth's would most likely have what kind of seasons?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 10 of 32

Humid air _________ dry air.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 11 of 32

Global precipitation patterns are driven by all of the following except

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 12 of 32

Topography and global precipitation patterns together determine

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 13 of 32

Alexander von Humboldt was one of the first to note the abiding biogeographic principle that elevational gradients are analogous to

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 14 of 32

The theory of island biogeography would consider all of the following except

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 15 of 32

Plants can move sap (and the nutrients within it) against the pull of gravity in part because of water's

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 16 of 32

How much of Earth's global water is freshwater?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 17 of 32

Infiltration is

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 18 of 32

All of these affect water's ability to infiltrate except

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 19 of 32

What is the primary driver of Earth's water cycle?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 20 of 32

During the initial cycles of glaciation and melting in the Pleistocene, extinctions were more common in...