Chapter 3 homework

Ch 3 section 1:
     1. Not all planets recieve the same ammount of direct sunlight at the same time. Areas that recieve large ammounts of direct sunlight have warmer temperatures that places that recieve little sunlight. This is why Earth's position in relation to the sun affect's Earth's temperatures.
     2. Global warming affect Earth’s water by making it evaporate from oceans more quickly and increase humidity and rainfall generally. Rapid evaporation from soil will cause land to dry out more quickly between rains. Also, the increase in CO2 gas in the atmosphere will cause Earth's greenhouse affect to trap more heat.

Creative Writing: I disagree and agree with the statement "“Global warming is a natural process and there is nothing we can do to affect the severity or effects of global warming on the environment.” Global warming is caused in part by human activites, such as the burning of coal, oil, and natural gases, however, we can affect its severity. We could do this by using up less of the Earth's natural resources.

Ch 3 section 2:
     1. The regular pattern of the sun's rays can be correlated with bands, or zones, of latitude to describe climate regions. At all latitudes, elivation influences climate because of the relationship between the elevation of a place and its temperature.
     2. Wind patterns play the role of distributing the sun's energy around the planet. Ocean currents play the role of warming or cooling the surface of the land they pass. Finally, the climate of places at the same latitude can be very different, depending on the presence or absence of physical features. Lakes and other large bodies of water affect the climate of more coastal regions, and mountain ranges produce an affect known as the rain shadow. The windward side of the mountain- the side facing the wind- gets most of the moisture in the form of precipitation, and the leeward side of the mountain- the side sot facing the wind- gets warmer and drier as they descend.

Creative Writing: The european climate could become colder and drier if the North Atlantic Current was weakened or shut down permanently.

Ch 3 section 3:
     1. Geographers classify the climate regions of the world by organizing them into tropical, dry, midaltitude, high altitude, and highland.
     2. Recurring phenomena influence climate patterns over time by changing it.  When humans burn fossil fuels, gas is released that mixes with the water vapor in the air. This could destroy forests and other natural landforms, which in turn changes the climate.

Creative Writing:  Huntington Beach is a coastal region and has cool summers, and cool, damp winters. It also has mixed forests, full of coniferous and deciduous trees.

Chapter 2 Homework

Ch 2 section 1:
     1. The different surfaces and geographic features found on Earth are landforms and bodies of water. Landforms consist of man geographic features, such as continents, mountain ranges, cliffs, valleys, and deep trenches, and they often contain rivers, lakes, and streams. Bodies of water consist of oceans, lakes, rivers, peninsulas, seas, and others.
     2. The point on Earth that is the greatest distance from the sea level is the peak of Mount Everest, which is at 29,028 feet above sea level.

Creative Writing: I agree with the statement that when small objects in space, such as meteoroids and comets, enter Earth’s atmosphere, they have no long-term effect on Earth’s lithosphere, atmosphere, or biosphere. When these small objects enter the atmosphere, they burn up and either become very small or disintegrate entirely. Even if they do survive, the most they could do is make a very small crater in the lithosphere, and that can be fixed very easily. Therefore, they have no long-term affect.

Ch 2 section 2:
     1. The Earth's layers contribute to the planet's physical characteristics because tectonic plates that float on a partially melted layer in the upper portion of the mantle crash into each other, pull apart, grind, and slide past each other, changing the face of the planet.
     2. Internal forces of change affect Earth's surface differently from external forces of change because they form and alter Earth's surface, while external forces of change break it down.

Creative Writing: Internal forces may have changed the surface of what is now North America by creating landscapes through spreading and colliding playes, folds and faults, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

Chapter 1 Homework

CH 1 section 1:
     1. Two concerns cartographers have when selecting map projections are deciding how the map will be used and what map projection to use. When projecting the round earth onto a flat surface, the distance, shape, direction, or size may be distorted. As a result, the purpose of the map usually dictates which projection is used.
     2. Two physical features on your typical urban-area map are reliefs and rivers. Two man-made features are cities and roads, and two political features are countries and states.

Creative Writing: If I were creating a map using GIS to create a map to help choose locations for new elementary schools, knowing what the physical and man-made features of the area would be helpful. Features such as roads, rivers, mountains, and cities would be on the map.

CH 1 section 2:
     1. The major branches of geography are Physical and Human geography. Physical geography focuses on the study of the Earth's physical features. Human geography is the study of human activities and their relationship to the cultural and physical environments.
     2. Geography is used to study the location of people and places on Earth's surface and the patterns in which they are arranged.

Creative Writing: Huntington Beach is located on near the pacific ocean and is considered to be a coastal region. It's inhabitants have moved into the area over time from all over the globe to be in a nice, cool, coastal area. People have changed the area by building several homes and other buildings over time on old farmlands. Due to these actions, the people have drastically changed Huntington Beach's once natural landscape.