The Final exam will be based on lecture material and readings covered in the second half of the term. It is NOT cumulative (on the whole term). It will be based on:
- Chapters 16-18 of Geosystems and online notes covering those chapters, also the online notes on Eolian and Desert Landforms
Format
The exam will be online.
The exam will be 1 hour and include up to 100 multiple choice questions.
You may not be able to answer them all in the allotted time. That’s OK. I will scale up the grades as necessary.
The Exam is NOT open book. ANY cheating, use of notes, text, or communication during the exam will result in a “0” on the exam and an “F” in the course.
In order to prevent cheating, but in order to provide supervision, I will set up a Zoom call and send you a link. During the exam, please have your camera turned on, so I can make sure you are not using other study materials. Make sure you take the exam on a computer that has a working webcam.
You MUST sign in to Zoom by 4 p.m. and have your video and sound ON for the entire exam. Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83428783998?pwd=aFBxYnVvNU5tMjZoaVdROGFhYnJidz09
Passcode GEO100
For example … a multiple choice question might be:
A glacier is …
a. another word for glossolalia (a.k.a. speaking in tongues),
b. a large accumulation of ice, on land or floating as an ice shelf attached to land.
c. a hockey player who is an exceptionally speedy skater,
d. the favourite food of the Loch Ness Monster.
Hopefully you’ll pick “b”!
How to Study …
Read over the online notes (you may wish to print them off). I like the “onion method” of studying as opposed to cramming. The onion method means I read over the notes tonight … and absorb some (one layer of knowledge). I read over the notes tomorrow (another layer of knowledge). And so on, and so on, gradually adding layers of knowledge. You need to start today!
As you read the notes, do use the figures in the text (an online resources) as references. The figures/pictures really help you visualize what you’re studying!
I will NOT ask you anything that is only in the text, but not in your notes!
A few things you should definitely review (not an exhaustive list!):
- coastal landforms (tombolos etc)
- glacial landforms (various moraines, cirques, etc)
- soils – the sand/silt/clay triangle (know how to use it – I’ll give it to you though)
- coral reefs
- periglacial (arctic) landforms (pingos etc)
- tides – what causes them/high and low tide
- soil orders – know basic info about them
- groundwater (aartesian wells etc)
- wave motion and beach sorting
- eolian erosion – how wind sculpts landscape
- desert landscapes – how sand dunes form
- soil profiles – how they work