NOTE: The exam will be made up of multiple choice, true/false, and short answer questions.

1. Time scale
2. Describe the basic concept of Plate Tectonics (include plate boundary types).
3. Describe the rock cycle and the 3 types of rocks found in the rock cycle.
4. List the 3 geologic provinces located in the Southwest; distinguish them by geographic characteristics.
5. When was the maximum extent of the last great ice age?

1. What happens to the sun’s radiation as it passes through Earth's atmosphere?
2. Describe the relationship between amount of solar insolation that hits the Earth and the angle of the sun’s rays.
3. Why do we have seasons?
4. How is excess energy at the equator transferred to the poles?
5. Explain the ultimate effect in the Northern Hemisphere of Coriolis force.
6. Describe dry lapse rate.
7. How does temperature affect the amount of moisture an air parcel can hold?
8. Describe the 4 air mass types.
9. Explain the basic concepts of El Niño and La Niña and how this affects Southwest climate.
10. How does a summer monsoon storm develop?
11. What environmental variable might help predict a summer's monsoon rainfall total?
12. Describe the summer and winter precipitation patterns for Tucson.

1. What does the term "half-life" mean for radioactive isotopes?
2. Provide a couple examples of radioactive isotopes.
3. Briefly describe what kinds of things can be dated using radiocarbon.
4. Is radiocarbon dating perfectly accurate? If not, why not?
5. How are tree rings used as a dating technique?
6. Who founded dendrochronology as a science?
7. Describe the "Bridging the Gap" event; bring details.

1. Describe packrat midden analysis.
2. What is amberat?
3. What type of environmental information can be obtained from packrat middens?
4. Interpret (broadly) a packrat macrofossil assemblage.
5. Define Uniformitarianism.
6. Give an example application of Uniformitarianism.
7. How does tree growth tell us about climate?
8. Discuss concepts that unify packrat midden analysis and dendrochronology in the study of past climates.
9. Describe the importance of "modern homework" in paleoenvironmental research, and give an example.

1. How is desert defined in terms of precipitation and evaporation?
2. How is atmospheric circulation related to the location of major deserts on the Earth?
3. What is the rain shadow effect and how does it relate to deserts?
4. How do cold water ocean currents affect deserts?
5. List the 4 deserts located of North America. Know a major indicator plant of each one.
6. How do precipitation and temperature vary in the four North American deserts?
7. Describe a notable plant of the Sonoran Desert and how humans might use it.
8. Describe major tree species of the Sonoran Desert and why they are important.
9. Name desert ecosystem benefits to the Southwest?
10. What is the exotic plant that is currently invading the Sonoran desert.

1. How do the size of an island and the distance of that island from the mainland affect the number of species that island has?
2. How many species source areas do the Sky Islands of the SW have?
3. Within the troposphere, what is the relationship between altitude and temperature?
4. What is the relationship between precipitation and elevation?
5. Name some features that make the SW Sky Island Archipelago unique on the planet.
6. In the context of mountain vegetation zones, what is the relationship between aspect (north- or south-facing) and solar insolation?
7. List Southwestern mountain vegetation zones in relative order by elevation.
8. What tree species provides the most volume of wood in Arizona and New Mexico.
9. Name mountain ecosystem benefits to the Southwest?
10. Which national forest of the Southwest has the highest diversity of plants and animals.