ERTH 2415- Midterm Test With
Complete Solution
Processes: Internal and External - ANSWER • Physical, chemical, and
biological ways in which events affect Earth's surface
Internal processes come from forces within Earth
• Plate tectonics
• Result of internal energy of Earth
External processes come from forces on Earth's surface
• Atmospheric effects
• Energy from the Sun
Hazard, Disaster, or Catastrophe - ANSWER Hazard
- Natural process or event that is a potential threat to human life or property
Disaster
- Hazardous event that occurs over a limited time in a defined area
- Criteria:
1) Ten or more people killed
2) 100 or more people affected
3) State of emergency is declared
,4) International assistance is requested
Catastrophe
- Massive disaster that requires significant amount of money or time to
recover
Mitigation - ANSWER • Reduce the effects of something
• Natural disaster preparation
Death and Damage caused by Natural Hazards - ANSWER • Effects of
hazards can differ and change with time because of changes of patterns of
human land use
• Natural hazards that cause the greatest loss on human life may not cause
the most property damage
• Hazards vary greatly in their ability to cause catastrophe
Greatest damage - ANSWER Where would you expect the greatest
damage/economic losses from natural disasters?
- Industrial nations suffer the most economic challenges
Where would you expect the greatest death toll from natural disasters?
- Poorest Nations
Case Study: Earthquake in Haiti, 2010: - ANSWER • Earthquake became a
catastrophe
• Eighty-five percent of people in Port-au-Prince lived in slum conditions
• Poor conditions lead to 190,000 destroyed or damaged homes
,• Killed a quarter million people
• Two million homeless with poor sanitation and water quality
• Reason for catastrophe was clear: heavy human footprint
o Large number of poorly constructed buildings
o Population grew so fast
o High death totals often related to economic and political factors
o 90% of mountainous regions have been deforested
o Dry, exposed land can easily emphasize massive floods + landslides
Natural Hazards and the Geologic Cycle - ANSWER • Natural hazards are
repetitive
• History of an area gives clues to potential hazards
o Maps, historical accounts, climate and weather data
o Rock types, faults, folds, soil composition
• Geologic conditions govern the type, location, and intensity of natural
processes
• Collectively, processes are called geologic cycle
o Sub cycles:
Tectonic cycle
§
Rock cycle
§
Hydrologic cycle
§
, § Biogeochemical cycle
The Tectonic Cycle - ANSWER • Refers to large-scale processes that deform
Earth's crust and produce landforms
• Driven by forces within Earth (internal energy)
• Involves the creation, destruction, and movement of tectonic plates
The Rock Cycle - ANSWER • Rocks are aggregates of one or more minerals
• Recycling of earth materials linked to all other cycles
o Tectonic cycle: heat and energy
o Biogeochemical cycle: materials
o Hydrologic cycle: water for erosion and weathering
• Rocks classified according to how they were formed in the rock cycle
• Igneous rocks
o Form from crystallization of magma
• Sedimentary rocks
o Rocks are weathered into sediment by wind and water
o Deposited sediment undergoes lithification
• Metamorphic rocks
o Rocks are changed through extreme heat, pressure, or chemically active
fluids
Complete Solution
Processes: Internal and External - ANSWER • Physical, chemical, and
biological ways in which events affect Earth's surface
Internal processes come from forces within Earth
• Plate tectonics
• Result of internal energy of Earth
External processes come from forces on Earth's surface
• Atmospheric effects
• Energy from the Sun
Hazard, Disaster, or Catastrophe - ANSWER Hazard
- Natural process or event that is a potential threat to human life or property
Disaster
- Hazardous event that occurs over a limited time in a defined area
- Criteria:
1) Ten or more people killed
2) 100 or more people affected
3) State of emergency is declared
,4) International assistance is requested
Catastrophe
- Massive disaster that requires significant amount of money or time to
recover
Mitigation - ANSWER • Reduce the effects of something
• Natural disaster preparation
Death and Damage caused by Natural Hazards - ANSWER • Effects of
hazards can differ and change with time because of changes of patterns of
human land use
• Natural hazards that cause the greatest loss on human life may not cause
the most property damage
• Hazards vary greatly in their ability to cause catastrophe
Greatest damage - ANSWER Where would you expect the greatest
damage/economic losses from natural disasters?
- Industrial nations suffer the most economic challenges
Where would you expect the greatest death toll from natural disasters?
- Poorest Nations
Case Study: Earthquake in Haiti, 2010: - ANSWER • Earthquake became a
catastrophe
• Eighty-five percent of people in Port-au-Prince lived in slum conditions
• Poor conditions lead to 190,000 destroyed or damaged homes
,• Killed a quarter million people
• Two million homeless with poor sanitation and water quality
• Reason for catastrophe was clear: heavy human footprint
o Large number of poorly constructed buildings
o Population grew so fast
o High death totals often related to economic and political factors
o 90% of mountainous regions have been deforested
o Dry, exposed land can easily emphasize massive floods + landslides
Natural Hazards and the Geologic Cycle - ANSWER • Natural hazards are
repetitive
• History of an area gives clues to potential hazards
o Maps, historical accounts, climate and weather data
o Rock types, faults, folds, soil composition
• Geologic conditions govern the type, location, and intensity of natural
processes
• Collectively, processes are called geologic cycle
o Sub cycles:
Tectonic cycle
§
Rock cycle
§
Hydrologic cycle
§
, § Biogeochemical cycle
The Tectonic Cycle - ANSWER • Refers to large-scale processes that deform
Earth's crust and produce landforms
• Driven by forces within Earth (internal energy)
• Involves the creation, destruction, and movement of tectonic plates
The Rock Cycle - ANSWER • Rocks are aggregates of one or more minerals
• Recycling of earth materials linked to all other cycles
o Tectonic cycle: heat and energy
o Biogeochemical cycle: materials
o Hydrologic cycle: water for erosion and weathering
• Rocks classified according to how they were formed in the rock cycle
• Igneous rocks
o Form from crystallization of magma
• Sedimentary rocks
o Rocks are weathered into sediment by wind and water
o Deposited sediment undergoes lithification
• Metamorphic rocks
o Rocks are changed through extreme heat, pressure, or chemically active
fluids
