Q&A Hero

Q: Volcanic eruptions occur most commonly along tectonic plate boundaries.

Q: A region where one tectonic plate dives below another is called a divergent plate boundary.

Q: Volcanic activity often occurs near divergent plate boundaries.

Q: The theory of plate tectonics states that the surface of the Earth is made up of one large geological plate that moves slowly across the surface of the Earth.

Q: What is the major cause of widespread cutting of tropical rainforests?A) the recent globalization of commerce in international wood productsB) an expansion of farmlands in tropical regionsC) intensified efforts to protect the forests from wildfires by harvestingD) rising worldwide demand for paperE) urban sprawl

Q: Some estimates suggest that logging occurs ________ times faster in Southeast Asia than in the Amazon. A) 2 B) 3 C) 4 D) 5 E) 10

Q: The fastest rate of deforestation is occurring in what region? A) Amazon Basin of South America B) Southeast Asia C) tropical Africa D) the Caribbean E) Oceania

Q: The amount of tropical forest that is lost each year is approximately equivalent to the size of what U.S. state? A) Rhode Island B) Texas C) Alaska D) Delaware E) Wisconsin

Q: Why is there special concern about timber firms in Japan and China purchasing logs from North American conifer forests? A) Japan gets a discount on the logs. B) Japan does not hire U.S. workers to cut the trees. C) These trees are often cut from public forests in the U.S. D) At this time, the U.S. and Japan are involved in a larger trade dispute. E) All of the other answers are correct.

Q: Temperate forests are likely to have which of the following species of trees? A) pine and spruce B) maple C) beech D) maple and beech E) maple, beech, pine and spruce

Q: In which bioregion does a prolonged summer-season drought bring a unique array of vegetation? A) Mediterranean B) Tropical Rainforest C) Tropical Savanna D) Steppe E) Deciduous Forests

Q: In the 1930s, which country experienced desertification known as the "Dust Bowl"? A) China B) Argentina C) Turkey D) United States E) Spain

Q: With what bioregion is the term "steppe" associated? A) grasslands B) tropical forests C) deciduous forests D) coniferous forests E) tundra

Q: In what type of bioregion is desertification most likely to occur? A) tropical forests B) temperate forests C) coniferous forests D) tundra E) grasslands

Q: Which bioregion has been expanded through human use of fire? A) Tropical Rainforest B) Tropical Seasonal Forests C) Tropical Savannas D) Steppes E) Temperate Deciduous Forests

Q: Tropical savanna bioregions are found in which climate type? A) BW B) Cs C) Af D) Aw E) Am

Q: Where are most tropical rainforests located? A) near the north pole B) near the south pole C) near the equator D) in the middle latitudes E) Their location is random.

Q: Tropical forests are not well-suited for intensive agriculture because A) the excessive amount of rainfall in the region tends to prohibit effective plant growth. B) available nutrients are stored in tropical forest vegetation, so when the ground cover and trees are removed, the nutrients are removed, too. C) the ground layer of vegetation in tropical forests is so thick that the land is extremely difficult to clear. D) the temperatures in tropical forests are too high to allow feasible crop production. E) they tend to be located too far inland.

Q: Tropical rainforest canopies are generally A) a two-layer canopy that is thickest in its upper layer and thinnest in its lower layer. B) a two-layer canopy that is thickest in its lower layer and thinnest in its upper layer. C) a three-layer canopy that is thickest at the ground level. D) a three-layer canopy that is thickest in its middle layer. E) a one-layer canopy.

Q: What type of bioregion is most often found along the equator? A) broadleaf or mixed broadleaf and coniferous forest B) coniferous forest C) tundra D) tropical forests E) Mediterranean woodland

Q: An assemblage of local plants, animals, and insects covering a large area such as a tropical rainforest or a grassland is called a A) bioregion. B) bionicle. C) biosphere. D) biogeography. E) biore.

Q: What water policy, advocated by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, has made it more difficult for some people to gain access to water? A) government regulation B) the Kyoto Protocol C) irrigation D) privatization E) U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea

Q: The UN reports that how many children die each day from drinking unsafe water? A) 400 B) 4000 C) 100 D) 40000 E) 10000

Q: What percentage of the world's freshwater is used for agriculture? A) 10 B) 50 C) 70 D) 40 E) 80

Q: What percentage of Earth's water is freshwater? A) 3% B) 20% C) 40% D) 75% E) 97%

Q: About what percentage of Earth's people live in areas where water shortages are common? A) 5% B) 15% C) 30% D) 50% E) 65%

Q: What is the primary reason that global energy demand is forecast to increase 40% by 2030? A) the United States consumption of energy is predicted to increase dramatically B) due to immigration, Europe's consumption of energy will rise C) the further industrialization of developing countries D) Japan's increased energy usage

Q: What is a problem with power generated by wind or sun? A) It is an intermittent source requiring other types of production for backup. B) It requires constant sun or wind. C) Energy cannot be transferred from sunny or windy areas to other areas. D) It results extensive disruption of local power sources.

Q: What country generates almost all of its electrical power from renewable sources? A) Great Britain B) Germany C) Denmark D) Iceland E) Sweden

Q: What percent of the world's power is generated from renewable sources? A) 10% B) 5% C) 7% D) 3% E) 20%

Q: Most of the world's power is generated by A) coal. B) oil. C) natural gas. D) nuclear. E) hydropower.

Q: Hydraulic fracturing is A) a new technique of producing power using water. B) the use of cold fusion to produce nuclear power. C) a technique which forces oil and gas out of shale rock. D) an experimental technique for extracting oil from the ocean floor.

Q: Proven reserves of oil are determined by A) deposits that are possible to mine. B) areas identified as having possible fossil fuels. C) an estimate of oil deposits not yet discovered. D) the total of all oil deposits that have been mined.

Q: Which of the following is a fossil fuel? A) petroleum B) wood C) hydrogen/fuel cell D) ethanol E) nuclear energy

Q: The Durban Agreement of 2011 establishes which of the following? A) holding signers of the Kyoto Protocol to the 2012 deadline B) continued exemption for developing countries such as China C) keeping the same emissions goals as Kyoto D) creating a fund to help less developed countries reach emission reduction goals E) encourage developing countries to use their forests for fuel

Q: Why were China, Brazil and India exempt from meeting emissions reductions in the Kyoto Treaty? A) because they are not major polluters B) because they argued that most pollution was created by industrialized countries C) because the United States would not sign the treaty D) because they were given an extra five years to meet reductions

Q: At Kyoto in 1997, what did the 30 Western industrialized countries agree to do? A) reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to 1990 levels B) voluntarily limit greenhouse gas emissions C) finance further studies to determine the cause of climate change D) censure China for exceeding its carbon limits E) reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by half

Q: Computer models predict that average global temperatures will increase by A) 1F. B) 4F. C) 10F. D) -2F. E) 3F.

Q: What substance accounts for more than half of the human-generated greenhouse gases? A) chlorofluorocarbons B) carbon dioxide C) methane D) nitrous oxide E) ozone

Q: Anthropogenic pollution is caused by A) people. B) animals. C) climate. D) rocks. E) sun spots.

Q: The long-term average from daily measurements of precipitation and temperature is A) weather. B) climate. C) climograph. D) insolation. E) global warming.

Q: The world's pressure systems are responsible for A) a greater intensity of solar energy at the equator. B) mild summer and winter temperatures along coast lines. C) severe winters in interior regions. D) moving the world's wind and storm systems. E) mild summers/winters along coasts and severe winters in interior regions.

Q: A maritime climate is characterized by A) hot summers. B) mild summers. C) cold winters. D) mild winters and mild summers. E) cold winters and hot summers.

Q: If all climatic controls except latitude were held constant, which of these cities would be warmest? A) Singapore at about 2 north latitude B) Wasilla, Alaska at about 61 north latitude C) Paris, France at about 49 north latitude D) Cape Town, South Africa at about 34 south latitude E) Punta Arenas, Chile at about 53 south latitude

Q: If the greenhouse effect did not exist, what would happen to earth? A) Earth would be too cold to support life as we know it. B) Earth would be much too hot to support life as we know it. C) Earth would be too wet to support life as we know it. D) Our environment would be greatly improved. E) It would make no difference.

Q: The trapping of solar radiation in Earth's lower atmosphere A) is entirely anthropogenic. B) is called the greenhouse effect. C) has no benefits. D) began with humans' use of fossil fuels. E) began with humans' use of fossil fuels and has no benefits.

Q: Which of the following is NOT one of Earth's climate controls? A) incoming solar energy B) anthropogenic systems C) latitude D) interaction between land and water E) global pressure systems and wind patterns

Q: Haiti's 2008 earthquake resulted in over 230,000 deaths whereas Japan's 2011 earthquake resulted in 20,000 deaths. What explains the differences in loss of life? A) effectiveness of search & rescue operations B) strength of the earthquake C) in Haiti there was also a tsunami that followed the earthquake D) local building standards E) effectiveness of search and rescue operations and local building standards

Q: What are some potential benefits of volcanoes? A) using geothermal activity to generate energy B) ash enriches soil fertility C) tourism D) tourism, increased soil fertility and geothermal energy

Q: Where are earthquakes and volcanoes most commonly found? A) in the higher latitudes B) at the edges of oceans C) along tectonic plate boundaries D) around the equator E) The location is random.

Q: Pangaea was A) a deep ocean trench created by colliding plates. B) an area of active earthquakes and volcanoes. C) a supercontinent centered on present-day Africa. D) an area of colliding plates that formed the Himalaya Mountains. E) the divergent plate that created the Rocky Mountains in North America.

Q: Which of the following are created along divergent plate boundaries? A) deep trenches B) the world's most powerful earthquakes C) mountain ranges and active volcanoes D) rift valleys E) rift valleys, mountain ranges and active volcanoes

Q: The San Andreas Fault, traversing coastal California, forms what type of plate boundary? A) subduction zone B) colliding plate boundary C) divergent plate boundary D) transform fault E) divergent plate boundary and subduction zone

Q: What geologic structure is created when one tectonic plate is pushed below another? A) continental crust B) ocean trenches C) convergent plate boundary D) subduction zone E) divergent plate boundary

Q: Beneath Earth's surface, where does the heat exchange occur that moves tectonic plates? A) continental crust B) ocean trenches C) convection cells D) subducting plate E) mid-ocean ridge

Q: What is the theory of plate tectonics? A) Earth was created 6,000 years ago. B) Earth is made up of a large number of geological plates that move slowly across its surface. C) Human activities are changing Earth's surface. D) The number of tectonic plates equals the number of continents on Earth. E) Earth's continents are moving closer together.

Q: What is Gross National Income (GNI) and what are its shortcomings as an indicator of economic development and social well-being?

Q: Discuss how global terrorism has forced geographers to redefine and expand our conceptualization of globalization and geopolitics.

Q: Identify the twelve world regions that are covered in your textbook. Why have the authors of your textbook identified these specific regions?

Q: Culture is an important aspect of the human experience. Define the term and then discuss and analyze the four categories of culture presented in the text, along with an examination of the phenomenon of cultural imperialism.

Q: What is cultural imperialism? How prevalent has it been, and with what impacts?

Q: Describe the "Demographic Transition" and the steps by which a country goes from a high birth rate and high death rate to a low birth rate and low death rate.

Q: Discuss the meaning of gender equity and how it is calculated by the United Nations. How does the measure of gender equity relate to the Human Development Index (HDI)?

Q: Compare and contrast the arguments for and against globalization. In your opinion, is globalization good for the world? Is it good for your region? Why, or why not?

Q: According to advocates of globalization, what are the advantages of globalization?

Q: Adult illiteracy rates measure the number of college graduates in a country.

Q: Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the value of all final goods and services produced in a country.

Q: "Growth" and "development" are interchangeable terms.

Q: According to the core-periphery model, the United States is part of the periphery.

Q: Decolonization refers to the process of a colony's gaining (or regaining) control over its territory and establishing a separate, independent government.

Q: Kurds are an example of a nation-state.

Q: A nation-state is a relatively diverse cultural group with its own fully independent political territory.

Q: Geopolitics focuses on the interaction between power, territory, and space at different scales.

Q: The easiest way to interpret map scale is when it is portrayed as a linear or graphic scale.

Q: There is an ideal map projection that has no distortions in the latitudinal depiction of the Earth.

Q: The Tropics are defined by meridians of longitude.

Q: An ethnic religion remains identified with a specific national group.

Q: Hinduism and Judaism are universalizing religions.

Q: Islam and Christianity are universalizing religions.

Q: The distinctive form of a language that is associated with different regions is called a dialect.