Geography 101
Unit 4
Objectives and
Study Guide
Most of the questions on the Unit 4 exam concern the
characteristics and location of common landform features. However,
to understand where these landforms are found, one must have a good
grasp of the processes that create them. Questions from any videos viewed during this unit
are included on the exam.
Study tips:
- Check out the Unit 4 links
on the Study Aids page
- Review the "Can you ...?" questions at the end of each
lecture outline after I finish a lecture.
- Use the review questions and chapter quizzes in the web text
to assess your learning
- Create flash cards of important terms and concepts.
Check out the
flash card maker for a cheap and easy way of creating them.
- Review the lab answer keys linked to the course
outline as soon as they are posted.
- Check out the
Geography
101 blog for entries related to the topics covered in Unit
4.
For the lecture portion:
Earth Materials and Landforms
- Know the basic characteristics of igneous rocks.
- Know the common intrusive igneous bodies and what they
create when exposed by erosion.
- Be able to describe the processes by which sedimentary rocks
form.
- Be able to describe the processes by which metamorphic rocks
form and how they are categorized.
Tectonics and landforms
- Know the features of a fold and where folding has shaped the
Earth's surface.
- Know the various types of plate boundaries and what occurs
along them. Be able to give examples.
Volcanic landforms
- Know the common characteristics of a volcano.
- Know the kinds of volcanoes common to effusive and explosive
eruptions.
- Know the locations of volcanic activity.
Weathering and mass movement
- Know the various physical weathering processes and any
special conditions under which the occur.
- Know the various chemical weathering processes and any
special conditions under which the occur. You do not need to
know chemical formulas/reactions.
Fluvial Systems
- Be able to describe the common landforms associated with
alluvial rivers and how they form.
- Know the components of a drainage basin.
- Be able to describe the impact of land use change on a
stream (storm) hydrograph.
- Know the various types of stream channels.
- Be able to describe the various types of stream erosion
- Be able to describe the various types of drainage nets
(patterns)
Glacial Systems
- Know the major theories for the onset of a glacial episode.
- Know how glacier ice forms and moves.
- Know the various landforms associated with continental
glaciers and how they form.
- Know the various landforms associated with alpine glaciers
and how they form.
Arid Regions
- Be able to describe the environmental conditions under which
deserts form.
- Be able to explain the importance of loess.
- Be able to explain how wind erodes the surface.
- Be able to describe the basic characteristics and types of
dunes.
- Be able to explain the factors behind desertification.
For the lab portion you should be able to:
From Lab 16 Minerals and Rocks:
- Know the general distribution of rock types (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic) in
Wisconsin. Refer to the 3-color map created during lab.
From Lab 17 Introduction to Topographic Maps:
- Know how to find the elevation of a location on a topographic map.
- Know how to calculate the gradient between two points
- Know how to convert map distance to real distance.
From online lab Tectonic Boundary Processes:
- Know locations of convergent, transform and divergent plate
boundaries and land surface features that result from activities
occurring at these boundaries.
From Lab 19 Drainage Basin Analysis:
- Know how to identify the different kinds of slope shapes from a topographic map.
From Lab 20 Fluvial Landforms:
- Know how to identify fluvial landforms like oxbow lakes, meander scars, bar and swale topography, point bar deposits, and locations of active erosion and
deposition.
From Lab 21 Glacial Landforms:
- Know how to identify glacial landforms like arêtes, cirques, moraines, kettles, horns,
drumlins, etc.
- Know how to determine glacial flow from landscape features.
Let me know if you have questions. Good luck!
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