Week1: Maps and the earth system
The earth is an Oblate spheroid / oblate ellipsoid
Mt. Chimborazo (Ecuador) is the mountain that is farthest from the center of the earth
1. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of conformal and equal-area map projections. Conformal strengths: preserves shape and direction. Great for navigation. Weekness: distorts area. Bad for estimating size. Equal area strengths: preserves area weakness: distorts shape.
2. List the five main components or “spheres” of the Earth system. Atmosphere: Mixture of gases extending from soil. Lithosphere: Outermost shell of solid earth. Cryosphere: Frozen water. Hydrosphere: Liquid water, mostly ocean. Biosphere: All living things & dead/decaying matter they produce
4. Describe the shape of the Earth, and why Mount Chimborazo is furthest from the center of the Earth (and not Mount Everest!).The earth is an Oblate Ellipsoid. Mount Chimborazo is furthest from the center of the Earth because the distance from sea level to the center of the earth is greater at the equator than it is anywhere else.
5. Define latitude and longitude, and which one you can measure from the stars.Latitude: Angle between the equator and a given point; able to measure from the stars. Longitude: Between the prime meridian and a given pointWeek 2: Earth-sun relationships Earth’s rotation: West to east ,
revolution: one complete circling of the sun by a planet, orbit, plane of the ecliptic-geometric plane defined by the orbit.Perihelion:point where planet is nearest to the sun.
Aphelion:point where planet is farthest from the sun.Equinox (vernal and autumnal): equinox: one of the two days(around mar21 and sep23) in the year when the sun’s noontime rays strike the earth vertically at the equator. In N. hemi terminology, the mar21 event is called the spring(vernal) equinox and sep23 event is called the fall(autumnal) equinox , solstice (June and December). Solar zenith angle-angle b/w straight up and the sun at noon...