CHAPTER 2 Concept Review
The Human Sphere: People and the Seasons
1. How are seasons important to people?
2.1 The Four Seasons
2. What are aphelion and perihelion and when do they occur?
3. What is axial tilt and why is it the single most important factor causing seasons?
4. What is the subsolar point? What would happen to it if there were no axial tilt? What would happens to it if axial tilt were 90°?
5. What happens to seasonality when axial tilt is increased?
6. In relation to the subsolar point, how are the tropics defined?
7. Describe day length and the position of the subsolar point for each of the four seasonal markers:
June solstice
December solstice
September equinox
March equinox
8. Why is one “day” six months long at the poles?
2.2 Temperature and Heat
9. Without using a calculator, convert 10°C to Fahrenheit. Convert 100°F to Celsius.
10. What is the difference between temperature and heat?
11. In what three ways is energy transferred? Give real-
2.3 Surface Temperature Patterns
12. Describe the relationship between average annual temperature and changes in elevation and latitude.
13. How do latitude and the continental effect influence the annual temperature range?
14. What factors cause seasonality to increase farther inland?
15. Why does the Southern Hemisphere have smaller average seasonal fluctuations (on average) than the Northern Hemisphere?
16. How is seasonality affected in regions under the influence of warm ocean currents?
17. Compare the general pattern of annual temperature ranges at midlatitudes on west coasts and on east coasts. Which has a higher temperature range, and why?
2.4 The Sun’s Radiant Energy
18. What is electromagnetic radiation? Does a rock or tree emit electromagnetic energy? Explain.
19. Which radiates longer wavelengths of electromagnetic energy, the Sun or Earth? Explain why.
20. Which type of radiation has shorter wavelengths, infrared radiation or visible light?
21. When the visible portion of the EMS is blended together, what color do we perceive?
22. In the context of reflection, refraction, scattering, and absorption, explain the coloration of each of the following: blue sky, green grass, white clouds, blue water, and rainbows.
2.5 Earth’s Energy Budget
23. Describe what happens to insolation (incoming solar radiation) when it is transmitted, scattered, reflected, and absorbed.
24. What is albedo? Give examples of surfaces and objects with high and low albedos. What is Earth’s overall albedo?
25. What is an urban heat island? What causes it?
26. What does it mean that Earth’s energy budget is balanced?
27. What is a radiative equilibrium temperature? What would happen to it if more energy came into Earth’s atmosphere than left the atmosphere?
28. What is the greenhouse effect? Describe how it works in relation to Earth’s energy budget.
29. Where on the planet is there a surplus of heat and where is there a deficit of heat?
30. Why is the lower atmosphere near Earth’s surface warmer than the upper atmosphere? How does this temperature difference affect airflow?
31. What is the global heat engine? What causes it?
2.6 Geographic Perspectives: The Rising Solar Economy
32. Compare renewable energy with nonrenewable energy. Give examples of each.
33. What are two major problems with fossil fuels?
34. Why is solar energy important to society’s future energy needs?
35. Compare photovoltaic panels with concentrated solar power plants in terms of how they generate electricity from sunlight.
36. Compare centralized to decentralized solar energy production. What are some pros and cons of each approach?
37. What is the connection between desert tortoises and solar energy in California?