ACTUAL Exam Questions and CORRECT
Answers
Glacial Scour Lakes - CORRECT ANSWER -the actual lake itself is created by corrosion
(like an ice cream scoop). Activity of glacier was to scour out lake basins (acting as bulldozers)
Moraine lake (glacial) - CORRECT ANSWER -Glacier moved forward and back and forth
and left a dam of gravel and scoured out valley
glacial (kettle) lakes - CORRECT ANSWER -Piece of a glacier that melts off while its
bulldozing and these massive "ice cubes" are buried
paternoster lakes - CORRECT ANSWER -chain of small lakes in a glacial trough
(moraine lakes)
Tectonic (rift) lakes - CORRECT ANSWER -Two continental plates pushing against each
other → rift where fault is → slippage → crack in earth surface → fills with water
Crater lakes - CORRECT ANSWER -Form when volcanic eruptions create craters that fill
with water
- crystal clear because less organic material from outside and inside the lake due to volcanic
eruption that occurred.
- Water could come from underneath, mostly from rain and snowfall (low mineral content:
calcium, phosphorus (limits productivity/algal growth))
fluvial lakes - CORRECT ANSWER -lakes formed by rivers (oxbow lakes)
Landslide lakes - CORRECT ANSWER -Large landslides can block rivers and create
lakes in the mountains
,*Aeolian (wind) lakes - CORRECT ANSWER -Wind forming sand dunes and form drifts
and pits will form with water and make ponds
Solution lakes/rivers - CORRECT ANSWER -Water is actively dissolving rock its moving
through (limestone)
Very different water chemistry
cenotes - CORRECT ANSWER -Ponds actively dissolving limestone around them,
interesting diversity
biotic formations of lakes - CORRECT ANSWER -beaver dams and human-made
reservoirs, extraterrestrial (impact craters)
shoreline development index - CORRECT ANSWER -Compares the length of a lake's
shoreline compared to the length it would be if the lake were perfectly circular
Hypsographic curve - CORRECT ANSWER -cumulative height frequency curve for the
Earth's surface or some part thereof.
- essentially a graph that shows the proportion of land area that exists at various elevations by
plotting relative area against relative height.
Littoral zones - CORRECT ANSWER -is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the
shore
Bathymetric maps - CORRECT ANSWER -Map showing depth contours of a lake basin.
(analogous to topographic map)
Winkler titration - CORRECT ANSWER -Method for determining oxygen content in
water samples
, properties of water - CORRECT ANSWER -- polar: forms weak hydrogen bonds
- dense and viscous
ice formation - CORRECT ANSWER -Molecule vibrations slow down enough that
hydrogen bonds allow molecules to form weak lattice structures. Ice is less dense than water.
This allows many aquatic life forms to survive through the winter. If ice were more dense than
water, it would freeze and sink over and over until the entire lake was frozen.
Viscosity of water - CORRECT ANSWER -friction that occurs between molecules
causing them to stick to each other.
100 times that of air. Viscosity decreases with increases in temperature.
responsible for the resistance our bodies experience when we try to move in the water
water density - CORRECT ANSWER -Water is 775 times more dense than air at 0 C and
760 mm Hg (organisms are relatively buoyant)
water surface tension - CORRECT ANSWER -caused by the attraction between water
molecules (hydrogen bonds)
develops at the air-water interface. (a crucial habitat for some organisms, the neuston)
water specific heat - CORRECT ANSWER -high specific heat = can absorb a lot of heat
without temp change
ex. ocean stabilizes land and air temperatures
think desert -> little water = very hot day and very cold night