GEOGRAPHY 2152 MIDTERM 2026
COMPREHENSIVE QUESTION PAPER AND
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◉ T/F Within North America, every location is at risk from at least
one hazardous process
Answer: True
◉ West Coast hazards, East coast hazards, Mid-continent hazards, all
areas hazards?
Answer: West coast: earth quakes, landslides
East coast: hurricanes
Mid-continent: tornadoes, blizzards (us)
All areas: drought
◉ Some hazards pose a risk to both humans and the environment.
Examples?
Answer: Nuclear meltdown, toxic gas release, oil spills, ozone
depletion, acid rain, infrastructure failure (due to our infrastructure
aging), shipwrecks and airplane crashes (technological hazard)
◉ Natural Hazards arise from three main processes:
,Answer: 1. Internal forces within the earth
2. External forces on earths surface
3. Gravitational attraction
◉ Internal Forces
Answer: -Earth's internal heat
- Driven by the internal energy of earth
- Convection currents that drive plates to move
- Ex. Plate tectonics
◉ External Forces
Answer: -Any hazard that gets energy from the sun
- Driven by the suns energy
-Ex. atmospheric effects
◉ Gravitational Attraction
Answer: -Driven by the force of gravity
-Ex. downslope movement
◉ Hazard:
Answer: A process that poses a POTENTIAL threat to people or the
environment
,◉ Risk:
Answer: The PROBABILITY of an event occurring multiplied by the
impact on people or environment
◉ Disaster:
Answer: A brief EVENT that causes great property damage or loss of
life
◉ Catastrophe:
Answer: A massive disaster
◉ 5 Examples of recent catastrophes
Answer: 1. Tsunami, Thailand, 2004 (caused by earthquakes)
2. Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, 2005
3. Earthquake, Haiti, 2010
4. Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico, 2010
5. Tsunami, Japan, 2011
◉ Hazards as Potential Catastrophes
Answer: Hazards differ in their potential to cause a catastrophe
based on the size of the area affected
, ◉ Hazards that are more likely to be catastrophic:
Answer: tsunami, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, floods
◉ Hazards that are less likely to be catastrophic:
Answer: more property damage; landslides, avalanches, wildfires,
tornadoes
◉ the IMPACT of a hazard is a function of 2 things...
Answer: it is a function of both it's magnitude (i.e. energy released)
and frequency
◉ Function defined
Answer: Function = Variables
Variables = magnitude and frequency causing the change of impact
◉ It can also be affected by other factors
Answer: Geology, land use, population density, etc.
◉ Magnitude Frequency Concept
Answer: there is an INVERSE relationship between magnitude and
frequency
COMPREHENSIVE QUESTION PAPER AND
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+
◉ T/F Within North America, every location is at risk from at least
one hazardous process
Answer: True
◉ West Coast hazards, East coast hazards, Mid-continent hazards, all
areas hazards?
Answer: West coast: earth quakes, landslides
East coast: hurricanes
Mid-continent: tornadoes, blizzards (us)
All areas: drought
◉ Some hazards pose a risk to both humans and the environment.
Examples?
Answer: Nuclear meltdown, toxic gas release, oil spills, ozone
depletion, acid rain, infrastructure failure (due to our infrastructure
aging), shipwrecks and airplane crashes (technological hazard)
◉ Natural Hazards arise from three main processes:
,Answer: 1. Internal forces within the earth
2. External forces on earths surface
3. Gravitational attraction
◉ Internal Forces
Answer: -Earth's internal heat
- Driven by the internal energy of earth
- Convection currents that drive plates to move
- Ex. Plate tectonics
◉ External Forces
Answer: -Any hazard that gets energy from the sun
- Driven by the suns energy
-Ex. atmospheric effects
◉ Gravitational Attraction
Answer: -Driven by the force of gravity
-Ex. downslope movement
◉ Hazard:
Answer: A process that poses a POTENTIAL threat to people or the
environment
,◉ Risk:
Answer: The PROBABILITY of an event occurring multiplied by the
impact on people or environment
◉ Disaster:
Answer: A brief EVENT that causes great property damage or loss of
life
◉ Catastrophe:
Answer: A massive disaster
◉ 5 Examples of recent catastrophes
Answer: 1. Tsunami, Thailand, 2004 (caused by earthquakes)
2. Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, 2005
3. Earthquake, Haiti, 2010
4. Oil Spill, Gulf of Mexico, 2010
5. Tsunami, Japan, 2011
◉ Hazards as Potential Catastrophes
Answer: Hazards differ in their potential to cause a catastrophe
based on the size of the area affected
, ◉ Hazards that are more likely to be catastrophic:
Answer: tsunami, earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, floods
◉ Hazards that are less likely to be catastrophic:
Answer: more property damage; landslides, avalanches, wildfires,
tornadoes
◉ the IMPACT of a hazard is a function of 2 things...
Answer: it is a function of both it's magnitude (i.e. energy released)
and frequency
◉ Function defined
Answer: Function = Variables
Variables = magnitude and frequency causing the change of impact
◉ It can also be affected by other factors
Answer: Geology, land use, population density, etc.
◉ Magnitude Frequency Concept
Answer: there is an INVERSE relationship between magnitude and
frequency
