Deck 1: Introduction to Natural Hazards

Question 1

Why is the rock cycle considered a "cycle"?

A) Rock goes from one form to the next in a very strict order.
B) Rock material is constantly being recycled into different forms or back to magma.
C) Rocks are round like a cycle.
D) Rocks periodically change on a set time scale.
E) It describes one form that rocks can take in their lifetimes.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following areas of the United States is NOT at risk for any natural disaster?

A) San Francisco, CA
B) New York, NY
C) Detroit, MI
D) Miami, FL
E) All areas of the United States are at risk for some kind of natural disaster.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

How long would it take for one drop of water to go through the entire hydrologic cycle?

A) days
B) years
C) hundreds of years
D) thousands of years
E) tens of thousands of years or more

Answer 3

E

Question 4

Which of the following is NOT part of the tectonic cycle?

A) Earthquakes
B) Volcanoes
C) Mountain building
D) Hurricanes
E) Continental formation

Question 5

Which of the following describes the trend in the worldwide number of natural disasters over the past 50 years or so?

A) It has been decreasing steadily.
B) It has been decreasing exponentially.
C) It has remained constant.
D) It has been increasing steadily.
E) It has been increasing at a rate of doubling every few years.

Question 6

Where do the forces for most external processes on the Earth come from?

A) The sun
B) The ocean
C) The atmosphere
D) The magnetic field of the Earth
E) The internal heat of the Earth

Question 7

How do igneous rocks form?

A) Crystallization of magma
B) Deposition of sediment
C) Transportation of sediment
D) Changed in form by heat and pressure without melting
E) Earthquakes create them.

Question 8

Which of the following statements is FALSE about the scientific method?

A) Explanations by scientists generally are based on data.
B) A scientific hypothesis may address a question such as why did a natural disaster occur in a certain area.
C) Scientific hypotheses can be tested by other scientists.
D) One of the failures of the scientific method is when a hypothesis is disproved and has to be rejected.

Question 9

Why would urbanizing a location increase that location's potential for catastrophe?

A) People might be forced to live in low lying or unstable lands susceptible to landslides or floods.
B) Urbanization can interfere with the drainage of the land making it more likely to flood, landslide, or subside.
C) Native plants can be removed, increasing erosion of land.
D) Higher population density would cause damage to increase.
E) All of the above are reasons why urbanization might increase catastrophes.

Question 10

Which statement best compares natural hazards with natural disasters?

A) Natural hazards have affected humans over the past couple million years or so whereas natural disasters have affected planet Earth over billions of years.
B) A Natural disaster has caused a significant amount of death and destruction to an area whereas a natural hazard has the potential to cause death and destruction.
C) Natural hazards refer only to earthquakes and volcanoes whereas natural disasters refer to all natural processes that can cause death and destruction.
D) Natural disasters are caused entirely by people whereas Earth's natural processes cause natural hazards.

Question 11

Why it is necessary for scientists to study natural hazards?

A) A study of natural hazards can tell us where different hazards are possible.
B) A study of natural hazards can tell us what effects to expect from a hazard.
C) A study of natural hazards can tell us what effects we may have on the frequency of a hazard.
D) A study of natural hazards may give us more time to make predictions and warnings.
E) All of the above are reasons why scientists study natural hazards.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT one of the geologic cycles?

A) Tectonic cycle
B) Krebs cycle
C) Rock cycle
D) Hydrologic cycle
E) Biogeochemical cycle

Question 13

Which of the following is something geologists look for in understanding the history of natural disasters in an area?

A) Landforms
B) Faults in rock
C) Lava flows
D) Organic material in flood deposits
E) All of the above

Question 14

What is the importance of the idea that "hazards are repetitive"?

A) We need to look to past events to understand what is probable for the future.
B) If something has already happened, like a volcanic eruption, then we won't need to worry about it.
C) New events will probably happen exactly like old ones, so we need to be prepared.
D) Hazards keep happening constantly in an area, so people already know how to react to them.
E) All of the above statements support the idea that "hazards are repetitive."

Question 15

The energy for the hydrologic cycle comes from

A) the magnetic field of the earth.
B) heat from the sun.
C) heat from the earth's core.
D) gravity between the earth and moon.
E) ocean currents.

Question 16

Which of the following hazards has the greatest potential for catastrophe?

A) Flood
B) Landslide
C) Drought
D) Lightning
E) Coastal erosion

Question 17

Which of the following locations is NOT at risk for hurricanes?

A) Florida
B) Louisiana
C) Texas
D) California

Question 18

The 2010 earthquake in Haiti caused an extraordinarily high number of deaths, perhaps over 250,000, for a magnitude 7 earthquake. Which factor did NOT play a role as to why there so many deaths?

A) Poverty
B) Weak building construction
C) Shallow sloping coastline allowed tsunami to surge far inland.
D) Large young population were in schools that collapsed.
E) High population density

Question 19

Which of the following hazards causes the greatest number of deaths per year in the United States?

A) Volcanoes
B) Hurricanes
C) Tornadoes and other windstorms
D) Landslides
E) Drought

Question 20

Why do lightning strikes have a low potential for catastrophe?

A) Lightning is very rare in general.
B) Lightning doesn't normally hurt people.
C) Lightning doesn't usually affect people and property on a large scale.
D) Lightning only occurs in the summer.
E) It is too easy to protect people and property from lightning strikes.

Question 21

Choose the best answer: Do humans have an effect on the frequency of natural disasters?

A) No. Natural disasters are caused by forces internal to the Earth.
B) No. Natural disasters are random and people cannot affect them.
C) Maybe. Some natural disasters are random, but some are caused by humans.
D) Yes. Land use by humans can increase the frequency or size of natural disasters such as flooding or landslides.
E) Yes. Humans can control many natural disasters such as earthquakes and tornadoes.

Question 22

What does the impact of natural hazards depend on?

A) Climate
B) Magnitude of the event
C) Frequency of the event
D) Land use
E) All of the above affect the impact of natural hazards.

Question 23

Which of the following statements is FALSE about the concept of uniformitarianism as related to natural disasters?

A) If you have earthquakes in a location, then you will probably have them in the future.
B) The reason why volcanoes erupt today is the same as it was in the past.
C) The processes that caused the erosion of the land have been doing their work since the Earth's formation.
D) Natural disasters are a natural part of the Earth, humans can do nothing that will affect them.
E) All of the above statements are true about uniformitarianism.

Question 24

Which of the following is an anticipatory response to earthquakes in San Francisco?

A) Monitoring along the San Andreas and other fault lines
B) Earthquake drills conducted in schools
C) Retrofitting older buildings that don't meet earthquake codes
D) Providing a fund for insurance for victims of the possible earthquake
E) All of the above are anticipatory responses to earthquakes.

Question 25

Which of the following statements is FALSE about benefits of natural hazards?

A) Flooding can provide nutrients to the land.
B) Volcanoes add new islands.
C) Landslides can dam rivers to create new lakes.
D) Wildfires clear old growth to create new forests.
E) Natural hazards are never beneficial and always cause disaster.

Question 26

Which of the following factors is used to calculate risk of a natural hazard?

A) Probability of event happening
B) Amount of property damage expected
C) Number of deaths possible
D) Amount of damage to roads and bridges
E) All of the above factors are used to calculate risk.

Question 27

The structure of rocks can give clues as to the type of hazards found in a location.

Question 28

The wealthiest countries generally have fewer deaths from natural disasters than poorer countries.

Question 29

The size and frequency of natural hazards are unrelated to human interactions.

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT an anticipatory response to the problem of flooding?

A) Restricting building on sections of the floodplain
B) Requiring insurance for homes built in potentially hazardous areas
C) Building dams to control the water flow
D) Delivering food and clothing to the most hard-hit areas
E) Evacuating people before the floodwaters rise

Question 31

During the last century, the global temperature trend has increased, causing scientists to hypothesize about continued global warming. Which of the following is NOT an impact this might have on natural hazards?

A) Sea levels will rise, causing more erosion.
B) Magma will rise, causing more volcanoes.
C) Deserts are likely to expand.
D) Warmer ocean water will increase storm activity.
E) All of the above are impacts of climate change.

Question 32

Which statement is FALSE about world population?

A) Over the next 20 to 30 years, world population is expected to continue to increase with most of the population increase from wealthy nations and little population increase from poor nations due to their higher death rate.
B) With increasing world population we can generally expect more deaths from natural disasters because of more people living in hazardous areas.
C) Increasing world population can cause certain natural disasters to become more severe due to increasing human influence on those disasters.
D) If the global population were to continue to grow unchecked, it would eventually reach the Earth's carrying capacity.

Question 33

Which of the following constitutes a prediction rather than a forecast for a natural event?

A) The tsunami from today's massive earthquake near Alaska will arrive in Hilo, Hawaii at 2 PM.
B) Landslides are expected in the Tacoma, WA area throughout the weekend.
C) Tremors from an earthquake may cause damage to poorly built structures.
D) There is a 50% chance of thunderstorms in the Seattle region on Saturday.
E) Four to five inches of rain may fall with the Category 2 storm off of the coast of Alabama.

Question 34

Catastrophes and natural disasters differ in the magnitude of the effect of the hazard.

Question 35

The structure of rocks (faults, cracks, or folded rocks) can give clues as to the type of hazards found in a location.

Question 36

Any kind of natural hazard can occur in any place at any time.

Question 37

Natural hazards in the U.S. only occur in the San Francisco area of California.

Question 38

Which of the following statements best explains why events that have caused disasters in the past are now causing catastrophes?

A) People are less aware of disasters and are less prepared.
B) Governments are not as interested in preparing for disasters as they were in the past.
C) Human population growth has caused a greater concentration of population in certain areas and puts a greater demand on earth's resources.
D) The earth is aging and therefore becoming more prone to natural hazards.
E) Scientists understand less today about disasters than they did in the past.

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT a reactive response to Hurricane Katrina?

A) Avoid rebuilding in the areas of New Orleans that are below sea level
B) Homes are rebuilt.
C) People are given counseling for fears that they may still have.
D) Communication lines are restored.
E) Money is given by the government to rebuilt small businesses.

Question 40

Some kind of natural disaster is possible for almost every region of the United States.

Question 41

The amount of risk from a volcanic eruption depends on both the probability of an eruption and where the volcano is located with respect to people and property.

Question 42

Human population growth is often considered the biggest environmental problem because there is no way to provide food for any additional people.

Question 43

Some events that used to be disasters in the past are now causing catastrophes.

Question 44

Risk assessment is a straightforward procedure in which scientists deal with abundant and exact data.

Question 45

An area that has been hit by a natural disaster is usually not likely to have another one in the future.

Question 46

The rock cycle shows that rocks are very old and not much use in understanding today's problems.

Question 47

Igneous rocks are usually associated with volcanic activity.

Question 48

Natural disasters are defined as a response by the earth to human activities.

Question 49

Natural hazards are predictable to some degree.

Question 50

Fortunately, global warming is expected to have little impact on natural disasters and natural hazards.

Question 51

Earthquakes can often cause other disasters such as tsunami or landslides.

Question 52

Something that is an acceptable risk to one person is also acceptable to everyone else.

Question 53

Natural disasters can be beneficial to the earth.

Question 54

Land use planning is one of the most effective ways to mitigate natural hazards.

Question 55

Low magnitude (less damaging) natural hazards tend to occur more frequently than high magnitude (more damaging) natural hazards.

Question 56

Some chemical elements in the biogeochemical cycle are still not well understood.

Question 57

A careful understanding of the hydrologic cycle indicates that drought is a misconception and that there is always available drinking water.

Question 58

Benefits of natural hazards are referred to as natural service functions.

Question 59

One of the problems with forecasting natural disasters is that hazardous processes always occur without warning.

Question 60

Why did the Haitian earthquake become a catastrophe? Explain some anticipatory responses that might have had an impact on mitigating the disaster.

Question 61

Choose any natural hazard and describe why it is a hazard. Next, describe how it might cause a disaster and how it might become a catastrophe.

Question 62

Evaluate the following statement "The U.S. is a free country and everyone should be able to choose where they want to live."

Question 63

Assume that you are the mayor of a city with the following threats: earthquakes and hurricanes. How would you minimize those threats to the residents of your city?

Question 64

In the past, many people believed that natural hazards were random events that took place on the Earth's surface. Explain why this is not true and how scientists know where hazards might occur. Explain how thinking of hazards scientifically will help communities and average people cope with the disaster.

Question 65

List one Internal and one External process on the Earth. Explain what is the fundamental difference between the two.

Question 66

Explain the difference between a forecast and a prediction.

Question 67

Explain how scientists know where natural hazards are likely to occur.

Question 68

What are some natural service functions of hazards such as floods, earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions?

Question 69

Explain how the rock cycle is related to all of the other cycles.

Question 70

How might global climate change influence the occurrence of natural hazards?

Question 71

Using a natural hazard as an example, explain what the following phrase means: "The present is the key to the past."