CONS 127 University of British Columbia 2026 Complete Remote
Sensing and Earth Observation Exam Notes & Practice Questions
Introduction:
This document contains comprehensive exam notes and actual
practice questions with answers for CONS 127 at the University of
British Columbia. It covers remote sensing principles, spectral
signatures, Landsat and MODIS applications, vegetation phenology,
abrupt and gradual environmental change, cryosphere monitoring,
oceans and freshwater, wildlife tracking, LiDAR, radar, human
footprint analysis, climate change impacts, and wellness
applications using Earth observation data.
The material includes detailed explanations of spatial, spectral,
temporal, and radiometric resolution, NDVI interpretation, wildfire
and forest harvest detection, sea surface temperature monitoring,
cryosphere dynamics, animal habitat mapping, and urban heat
vulnerability analysis. It is useful for final exam preparation and
review of major remote sensing concepts and case studies.
Exam Questions and Answers
What is the name of the project on the international space station
that provides high resolution video of the earth --- correct precise
answer ---the HDEV experiment has HD video cameras that capture
pictures from Earth. The 4 cameras provide comparable angles of
the Earth
,Define wavelength --- correct precise answer ---the distance
between peaks
define frequency --- correct precise answer ---the number of
wavelength that pass through a point in one second
what is the symbol for the speed of light --- correct precise answer
---c
what is the shortest wavelength emitted by the sun --- correct
precise answer ---gamma rays
100nm is how many microns --- correct precise answer ---
.1microns=100nm
What is the color of the longest wavelength of visible light ---
correct precise answer ---red has the longest wavelength, violet
has the shortest
what happens to near infrared light when it hits water? --- correct
precise answer ---Most MIR is absorbed by water becasue of its red
color. Water reflects blues and greens mostly in the visible part of
the spectrum
,what is the most important and dominant vegetation pigment ---
correct precise answer ---cholorphyll
What colours of light does cholophyll absorb --- correct precise
answer ---green light is reflected, reds/violet/blue/otheres are
absorbed
What happens to NIR photons when they intercept healthy
vegetation --- correct precise answer ---When NIR photons
intercept healhty vegetation the photons bounce around in the lead
and then bounce out which is why there is a peak on the graph in
the NIR
What does NDVI stand for --- correct precise answer ---Normalized
Difference Vegetation Index
Give a definition of spatial resolution --- correct precise answer ---
each pixel has a value that tells you the number of photons. spatial
resolution is the number of pixels utilized in construction of a
digital image
what are the two advantages and disadvantages of active remote
sensing technologies --- correct precise answer ---Disadvantages:
Expensive to analyze, limited spectral information
Advantages: we can control the beam of energy, can penetrate soil
, What portion of the EM spectrum is used by RADAR --- correct
precise answer ---RADAR uses radiowaves to ping certain objects
on the ground/microwaves
how does the size of RADAR wavelength being used relate to the
size of what RADAR can sense --- correct precise answer ---A lower
frequency RADAR will have a larger beam-width than a high
frequency one. The power per unit area must therefore decrease as
the area increasese
What three components are used in a LiDAR remote sensing system
--- correct precise answer ---Light waves to detect the distance of
an object, laser ranging for accurate distance measurement, GPS,
inertial measurement unit to record precise orientation of the
sensor
What are the three components of spectral resolution --- correct
precise answer ---the number of bands used, their location on the
spectrum, the bandwdith of each channel
Why would Canada want its own receiving station? --- correct
precise answer ---It can acquire more satellite data. Most satellites
do not have a lot of on board recorders, as a result the need to
directly downlink their acquired images to the antennas of
Sensing and Earth Observation Exam Notes & Practice Questions
Introduction:
This document contains comprehensive exam notes and actual
practice questions with answers for CONS 127 at the University of
British Columbia. It covers remote sensing principles, spectral
signatures, Landsat and MODIS applications, vegetation phenology,
abrupt and gradual environmental change, cryosphere monitoring,
oceans and freshwater, wildlife tracking, LiDAR, radar, human
footprint analysis, climate change impacts, and wellness
applications using Earth observation data.
The material includes detailed explanations of spatial, spectral,
temporal, and radiometric resolution, NDVI interpretation, wildfire
and forest harvest detection, sea surface temperature monitoring,
cryosphere dynamics, animal habitat mapping, and urban heat
vulnerability analysis. It is useful for final exam preparation and
review of major remote sensing concepts and case studies.
Exam Questions and Answers
What is the name of the project on the international space station
that provides high resolution video of the earth --- correct precise
answer ---the HDEV experiment has HD video cameras that capture
pictures from Earth. The 4 cameras provide comparable angles of
the Earth
,Define wavelength --- correct precise answer ---the distance
between peaks
define frequency --- correct precise answer ---the number of
wavelength that pass through a point in one second
what is the symbol for the speed of light --- correct precise answer
---c
what is the shortest wavelength emitted by the sun --- correct
precise answer ---gamma rays
100nm is how many microns --- correct precise answer ---
.1microns=100nm
What is the color of the longest wavelength of visible light ---
correct precise answer ---red has the longest wavelength, violet
has the shortest
what happens to near infrared light when it hits water? --- correct
precise answer ---Most MIR is absorbed by water becasue of its red
color. Water reflects blues and greens mostly in the visible part of
the spectrum
,what is the most important and dominant vegetation pigment ---
correct precise answer ---cholorphyll
What colours of light does cholophyll absorb --- correct precise
answer ---green light is reflected, reds/violet/blue/otheres are
absorbed
What happens to NIR photons when they intercept healthy
vegetation --- correct precise answer ---When NIR photons
intercept healhty vegetation the photons bounce around in the lead
and then bounce out which is why there is a peak on the graph in
the NIR
What does NDVI stand for --- correct precise answer ---Normalized
Difference Vegetation Index
Give a definition of spatial resolution --- correct precise answer ---
each pixel has a value that tells you the number of photons. spatial
resolution is the number of pixels utilized in construction of a
digital image
what are the two advantages and disadvantages of active remote
sensing technologies --- correct precise answer ---Disadvantages:
Expensive to analyze, limited spectral information
Advantages: we can control the beam of energy, can penetrate soil
, What portion of the EM spectrum is used by RADAR --- correct
precise answer ---RADAR uses radiowaves to ping certain objects
on the ground/microwaves
how does the size of RADAR wavelength being used relate to the
size of what RADAR can sense --- correct precise answer ---A lower
frequency RADAR will have a larger beam-width than a high
frequency one. The power per unit area must therefore decrease as
the area increasese
What three components are used in a LiDAR remote sensing system
--- correct precise answer ---Light waves to detect the distance of
an object, laser ranging for accurate distance measurement, GPS,
inertial measurement unit to record precise orientation of the
sensor
What are the three components of spectral resolution --- correct
precise answer ---the number of bands used, their location on the
spectrum, the bandwdith of each channel
Why would Canada want its own receiving station? --- correct
precise answer ---It can acquire more satellite data. Most satellites
do not have a lot of on board recorders, as a result the need to
directly downlink their acquired images to the antennas of
