Potential Exam Questions, Exam #1
Potential Short Answer Questions
- Slovic identified two groups of factors that influence
how people think about risk : the 'knowability" group, and the "dread"
group. For each of these two groups, identify and explain
at least five factors that make up the group (that means you need a total
of ten factors. They should be ten distinct
factors, not just a factor and its opposite. For example "red" and
"not red" are two extremes of one factor, "redness").
- What drives hurricanes? Explain where the energy that powers hurricanes
comes from, and what conditions are necessary for a hurricane to develop and
persist.
- In the picture, what kind of landslide has occurred? How have humans helped
to cause this landslide?
- Explain the difference between the driving forces and resisting forces in
landslides. Describe two ways people increase the driving forces, and two
ways people reduce the resisting forces.
- Contrast the four types of plate boundaries (diverging, converging-subduction,
converging-suture, and transform) with respect to how plates interact there,
what geologic features occur there, and what natural hazards are associated
with each.
- Contrast the three main types of lava (basalt, andesite, rhyolite) by their
behavior and the type of volcano associated with each.
- Describe each of these volcanic hazards and the type of volcano each is
associated with: lava, pyroclastics, lahars, gases.
- Contrast these four kinds of volcanoes, including the appearance, the plate
setting, the type of lava, and the hazards associated with each: shield, stratovolcano,
dome, cinder cone.
- Explain how earthquakes occur using elastic rebound theory.
- Describe the earthquake patterns associated with each of these plate boundaries:
diverging, subduction, suture, transform.
- Compare the magnitude and intensity of an earthquake. For each, be sure
to include a definition, how it is measured, and what factors affect it.
- Explain how the gradient, velocity, discharge and sediment load of a stream
are related. Be sure to define each term in your answer
- What causes a stream to meander? Describe three landforms created by meandering.
How does each one form?
- Describe four factors that impact flooding, and give specific examples of
floods associated with at least two factors.
- Describe at least five ways people increase the risk from flooding.
Potential Essay Questions
1.Consider the Doonesbury cartoon below, where reporters are asking questions
of an imaginary character called Fear Itself, who is defending the war in Iraq.
![](fear.gif)
Ignore for a moment your personal political leanings and your positions on
the war in Iraq, on gun violence, or on automobile use. Analyze this situation
using the "dread" and "knowability" factors. Why might people
regard the risk of terrorism as greater than the risk posed by guns or cars,
even though there have been more deaths from either of those two sources than
from terrorism? Be very specific in analyzing the question, referring to specific
factors that play a part in people’s perception of risk.
2. You are a member of the International Volcanic Hazard Task Force. Your team
is called out to evaluate the potential hazard from a specific volcano near
a large urban area (you will be given a map and picture of the volcano at the
time)
- Look at the picture and the map carefully. What kind of volcano is this?
What hazards would you expect from this volcano?
- What factors do you need to consider as your team decides whether to issue
a prediction of volcanic activity?
- What other steps would you recommend the local government take to reduce
the long-term danger from the volcano?
3. After a landslide in the Bay Area, a group of homeowners sue the city, claiming
city negligence in controlling drainage in the region was responsible for the
damage.
a. Under what circumstances could the homeowners have a legitimate claim?
Cite at least two arguments. What kind of evidence would you look for in support
of each of these arguments?
b. Under what circumstances would the city have a legitimate defense? Cite
at least two arguments. What kind of evidence would you look for in support
of each of these arguments?