EOSC 114 Midterm 1 Exam Questions and Answers Graded A+
Lecture 1 - Answers
Disaster - Answers Substantial event causing 1) physical damage 2) injury/loss of life and/or 3) a drastic
change to the environment
Top 3 most common elements in the earth - Answers Core: Iron, Nickel, Oxygen
Crust: Oxygen, Silicon, Aluminum
Top 3 most common elements in the ocean - Answers Oxygen, hydrogen, chlorine
Top 3 most common elements in the atmosphere - Answers Nitrogen, oxygen, argon
Metric Prefixes - Answers → k = kilo = thousand = 1 x 10^3
→ M = mega = million = 1 x 10^6
→ G = giga = billion = 1 x 10^9
→ T = tera = trillion = 1 x 10^12
→ c = centi = hundredth = 1 x 10^-2
→ m = milli = thousandth = 1 x 10^-3
→ = micro = millionth = 1 x 10^-6
→ = nano = billionth = 1 x 10^-9
→ = pico = trillionth = 1 x 10^-12
Lecture 2 - Answers
Disaster vs energy - Answers Energy causes things to move/change
Disasters release immense energy + cause catastrophic change... related to: force, work, power,
pressure, stress,
Force - Answers (F) pushes or pulls - SI unit is the Newton (N)
Work - Answers (W) is the force that pushes an object x distance (d) the object moves - SI unit is Joule (J)
4 types of energy - Answers 1. potential 2. kinetic 3. sensible heat 4. latent heat
Potential energy (e.g. gravity)
PE = g x m x z - Answers (g) The work needed to raise an object of mass a distance against the pull of
gravity m/s2
, Kinetic energy (KE)
KE = 0.5 x m x v^2 - Answers A moving object possesses KE where is the object's mass and v is its velocity
Sensible heat - Answers Heat energy we can sense or feel (or measure)
-When we measure Temperature we are measuring sensible heat (On an atomic level this is really
particle motion)
Latent heat - Answers "Hidden" heat energy in chemical bonds between atoms
-Sensible heat "stored" as latent heat during melting or boiling (or sublimating)
-Latent heat released as sensible heat when condensing or freezing (or depositing)
Logarithmic Scale - Answers Increases by powers of 10 *Disaster scales use logarithmic
Order of magnitude scales - Answers richter + moment magnitude scales (earthquakes)
Intensity vs Frequency - Answers More intense disasters occur less frequently
Return period - Answers RP = average #of years in between disaster events of the same magnitude (M)
Hazard vs Risk - Answers Hazard = an event that could cause serious harm
Risk = the probability that the hazard could happen
Hazard x Vulnerability = risk
Lecture 3 - Answers
What causes distortions of humans' perceptions of risk - Answers Pop culture, media, alcohol/drugs,
location, personal experiences, ignorance, religion, phobias, etc.
Carrying Capacity - Answers The population that can be sustainably supported within a given domain
(e.g. earth) Depends on food, habitat, etc.
Overpopulation in relation to disaster? - Answers At present: -people can be saved with warning, but
-infrastructure is destroyed
In future: -infrastructure becomes more important and vulnerable, less likely that people will be
evacuated
Is earth a fragile system? - Answers No, natural events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes are all
natural components of earth's system (they are only disastrous to us)
--> earth is not a fragile system, the human population is!
Lecture 1 - Answers
Disaster - Answers Substantial event causing 1) physical damage 2) injury/loss of life and/or 3) a drastic
change to the environment
Top 3 most common elements in the earth - Answers Core: Iron, Nickel, Oxygen
Crust: Oxygen, Silicon, Aluminum
Top 3 most common elements in the ocean - Answers Oxygen, hydrogen, chlorine
Top 3 most common elements in the atmosphere - Answers Nitrogen, oxygen, argon
Metric Prefixes - Answers → k = kilo = thousand = 1 x 10^3
→ M = mega = million = 1 x 10^6
→ G = giga = billion = 1 x 10^9
→ T = tera = trillion = 1 x 10^12
→ c = centi = hundredth = 1 x 10^-2
→ m = milli = thousandth = 1 x 10^-3
→ = micro = millionth = 1 x 10^-6
→ = nano = billionth = 1 x 10^-9
→ = pico = trillionth = 1 x 10^-12
Lecture 2 - Answers
Disaster vs energy - Answers Energy causes things to move/change
Disasters release immense energy + cause catastrophic change... related to: force, work, power,
pressure, stress,
Force - Answers (F) pushes or pulls - SI unit is the Newton (N)
Work - Answers (W) is the force that pushes an object x distance (d) the object moves - SI unit is Joule (J)
4 types of energy - Answers 1. potential 2. kinetic 3. sensible heat 4. latent heat
Potential energy (e.g. gravity)
PE = g x m x z - Answers (g) The work needed to raise an object of mass a distance against the pull of
gravity m/s2
, Kinetic energy (KE)
KE = 0.5 x m x v^2 - Answers A moving object possesses KE where is the object's mass and v is its velocity
Sensible heat - Answers Heat energy we can sense or feel (or measure)
-When we measure Temperature we are measuring sensible heat (On an atomic level this is really
particle motion)
Latent heat - Answers "Hidden" heat energy in chemical bonds between atoms
-Sensible heat "stored" as latent heat during melting or boiling (or sublimating)
-Latent heat released as sensible heat when condensing or freezing (or depositing)
Logarithmic Scale - Answers Increases by powers of 10 *Disaster scales use logarithmic
Order of magnitude scales - Answers richter + moment magnitude scales (earthquakes)
Intensity vs Frequency - Answers More intense disasters occur less frequently
Return period - Answers RP = average #of years in between disaster events of the same magnitude (M)
Hazard vs Risk - Answers Hazard = an event that could cause serious harm
Risk = the probability that the hazard could happen
Hazard x Vulnerability = risk
Lecture 3 - Answers
What causes distortions of humans' perceptions of risk - Answers Pop culture, media, alcohol/drugs,
location, personal experiences, ignorance, religion, phobias, etc.
Carrying Capacity - Answers The population that can be sustainably supported within a given domain
(e.g. earth) Depends on food, habitat, etc.
Overpopulation in relation to disaster? - Answers At present: -people can be saved with warning, but
-infrastructure is destroyed
In future: -infrastructure becomes more important and vulnerable, less likely that people will be
evacuated
Is earth a fragile system? - Answers No, natural events such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes are all
natural components of earth's system (they are only disastrous to us)
--> earth is not a fragile system, the human population is!
