Question - Which countries in South America are on the equator?

Which countries in South America are on the equator?

Answer: 

The countries along the equator line are Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil.

Question - A scientist has discovered a new species of dinosaur and wants to know if this species belongs to the sauropod group.

A scientist has discovered a new species of dinosaur and wants to know if this species belongs to the sauropod group. What evidence should the scientist look for to prove the new species is a sauropod?

Answer: 

The scientist should look for evidence that the species walked on four legs, was very large with a long neck and small head, and grew rapidly from the time of hatching. 

Question - How did the python invasion of the Everglades affect the other animals that live in the Everglades?

How did the python invasion of the Everglades affect the other animals that live in the Everglades?

Answer: 

The python invasion of the Everglades threatened other animals that live in the Everglades because the pythons prey on some of them. The pythons can eat animals of different sizes. They especially enjoy dining on small mammals and birds. Studies have shown that since their appearance in the Everglades, the numbers of small mammals in the area dropped significantly.

Question - How does the Northern Hemisphere of the earth tilt when northern Alaska is experiencing the polar night

How does the Northern Hemisphere of the earth tilt when northern Alaska is experiencing the polar night? Use information from the text to support your answer.

Answer: 

The Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun. The text states "the Northern Hemisphere is tilted in such a way that the sun doesn't come over the horizon in northern Alaska for a little over two months." Furthermore, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the sun when northern Alaska is experiencing the midnight sun, so the opposite is most likely the case when northern Alaska is experiencing the polar night. Based on these two pieces of information, students can conclude that the Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the sun when Northern Alaska is experiencing the polar night.

Question - Name the tributaries of River Indus in Pakistan.

Name the tributaries of River Indus in Pakistan.

Answer: 

Chenab, Jhelum, Sutlej and Ravi.

Question - Where is Cherrapunji? What is so special about this place?

Where is Cherrapunji? What is so special about this place?

Answer: 

Cherrapunji is in Assam, India. It 1861 it had 22,990 mm (22.9 metres) of rain which is a world record to this day.

Question - Complete this statement: Pakistan’s location is strategic because________________.

Complete this statement: Pakistan’s location is strategic because________________.

Answer: 

Pakistan’s location is strategic because it is like a hinge or link that connects Western and Central Asia to South and South-east Asia.

Question - How thick on average are the ice sheets that cover Antarctica?

How thick on average are the ice sheets that cover Antarctica?

Answer: 

98% of the Antarctic is covered by thick sheets of ice which are on average around 2km thick.

Question - Which region is viewed as the most fertile soil in Mississippi?

Which region is viewed as the most fertile soil in Mississippi?

a) Delta

b) Tombigbee Hills

c) Piney Woods

d) Loess Bluffs

Answer: 

a) Delta

Question - The Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg was created because of what natural disaster in Mississippi?

The Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg was created because of what natural disaster in Mississippi? 

a) Hurricane Katrina 

b) Hurricane Camille 

c) Great Flood of 1927 

d) Tupelo Tornado

Answer: 

c) Great Flood of 1927 

Question - Which region has the highest point in Mississippi?

Which region has the highest point in Mississippi? 

a) Tombigbee Region 

b) Black Prairie 

c) Flatwoods Region 

d) Coastal Meadows Region

Answer: 

a) Tombigbee Region 

Question - Which region has the least fertile soil in Mississippi?

Which region has the least fertile soil in Mississippi?

a) Delta 

b) Piney Woods

c) Flatwoods 

d) Coastal Meadows

Answer: 

c) Flatwoods 

Question - Which region has the Free State of Jones located in it?

Which region has the Free State of Jones located in it? 

a) Tombigbee Hills 

b) Coastal Meadows 

c) Pontotoc Ridge 

d) Piney Woods

Answer: 

d) Piney Woods

Question - Describe the main mechanism through which a magma chamber could become zoned.

Describe the main mechanism through which a magma chamber could become zoned.

Answer:

There are two important processes. One is fractional crystallization, which is the crystallization of some minerals – typically ferromagnesian minerals – before others. If those minerals settle to the bottom of the magma chamber that will make the composition more felsic at the top and more mafic at the bottom. The other is partial melting of the surrounding rock, or of xenoliths that fall into the magma, both of which are likely to make the magma more felsic overall.

Question - What is the primary mechanism for partial melting at a convergent plate boundary?

What is the primary mechanism for partial melting at a convergent plate boundary?

Answer:

At a convergent boundary the subducting plate gets heated as it descends into the mantle. This forces liquid water out and also releases water from minerals like serpentine. The water from these processes rises into the overlying mantle where it reduces the melting temperature of the mantle rock and leads to flux melting.

Question - Why are the viscosity and gas content of a magma important in determining the type of volcanic rocks that will be formed when an eruption takes place?

Why are the viscosity and gas content of a magma important in determining the type of volcanic rocks that will be formed when an eruption takes place?

Answer:

Viscosity controls the degree to which gases can escape from magma and whether or not magma will be able to escape to surface.  Viscous magma cannot flow easily through small openings and will also retain gases. Those factors will lead to an increase in pressure. When something breaks there will be an explosive eruption and the resulting rock will have a pyroclastic texture. Non-viscous magma can escape and release gases more easily, and so the magma is more likely to flow out in an effusive eruption creating a lava texture.

Question - Why did Hurricane Harvey lead to such serious flooding in Texas in 2017.

Why did Hurricane Harvey lead to such serious flooding in Texas in 2017.

Answer:

The amount of water that a tropical storm brings onto land is largely proportional to the temperature of the air and of the water that it passes over. With climate change both of those have increased and so Hurricane Harvey brought a tremendous amount of water onto land.  It then stalled over the Houston area of Texas and dropped most of that water in that area.

Question - How might a dam across a river be effective in reducing floods, and how might that effectiveness be reduced if the dam

How might a dam across a river be effective in reducing floods, and how might that effectiveness be reduced if the dam was also designed and operated to generate electricity?

Answer:

A dam can be used to moderate the flow on the stream below if water is released during dry periods and then held back during very wet periods. If the dam is also used to produce energy the operator may choose to let as much water flow as possible when the demand is high, and this could compromise the flood-control function of the dam.

Question - Why do the wing dykes on the Mississippi River increase the risk of flooding in upstream areas, and why to the levees (dykes along the sides of the river)

Why do the wing dykes on the Mississippi River increase the risk of flooding in upstream areas, and why to the levees (dykes along the sides of the river) increase the risk of flooding in downstream areas?

Answer:

Wing dykes on a stream act like partial dams. They reduce the rate of water flow and that can exacerbate flooding in upstream areas. Dykes along the side of a river prevent flooding in that area so that water that might otherwise have been temporarily stored on the flood plain quickly passes through, increasing the potential for flooding in downstream areas.

Question - In what ways has the Greenway project in Grand Forks (N. Dakota and Minnesota) reduced the risks associated with river flooding in that area?

In what ways has the Greenway project in Grand Forks (N. Dakota and Minnesota) reduced the risks associated with river flooding in that area?

Answer:

Much of the area that is now part of the Grand Forks Greenway was formerly occupied by impermeable surfaces such as roads, parking lots and buildings so that water flowing through was unable to soak into the ground. The now more permeable surfaces allow water to soak in, reducing the risks of flooding here and farther downstream.  Furthermore, the infrastructure within the Greenway has been designed so that it is not significantly damaged by flooding.