earth science

Pico do Príncipe

Pico do Príncipe is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pico do Príncipe rather than just read about it. In short: Pico do Príncipe is a mountain on the island of Príncipe, the smaller of the two inhabited islands of São Tomé and Príncipe. The elevation of the mountain is 947 metres (3,107 ft), making it the highest peak on the island.

Key takeaways

Pico do Príncipe belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pico do Príncipe to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pico do Príncipe from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Pico do Príncipe is a mountain on the island of Príncipe, the smaller of the two inhabited islands of São Tomé and Príncipe. The elevation of the mountain is 947 metres (3,107 ft), making it the highest peak on the island. The island is one of the volcanic swells that make up the Cameroon line of extinct and active volcanoes.

Topology The mountain is the remains of a volcano that has been inactive for 15.7 million years. The volcanoes on this island were at first primarily basalt, but later phonolite intruded in their cores. The basalt has been deeply eroded, leaving spectacular towers of the harder phonolite rising almost vertically from the rainforest. The peak has only occasionally been explored, with the first expedition in 1929 having established a base on the top. A second trip was made in 1956, but could not make a serious botanical inventory due to poor weather. The 1999 trip found that the mountain rises from a heavily forested plateau with elevation 600 to 700 metres (2,000 to 2,300 ft). From there, a series of ridges lead to the summit. At higher elevations the trees are more open and there are more epiphytes - plants that grow on the trees. The summit is a small mound surrounded on three sides by precipices.

Ecology The 1999 expedition was by members of Ecofac, a Non-Government Organization that plans to assist in conservation through helping to develop ecotourism on the island. The ecology of the forests on and around the mountain has not been well-researched, but some endemic species of birds and orchids have been found, and it seem clear that there are many endemic plants and insects. A proposed conservation zone covering one third of Principe would include this mountain and three others higher than 500m: Mesa (537m), Pico Papagaio (680m) and Pico Mencorne (921m). 28 species of birds have been recorded in the area, of which seven are endemic to Principe and four are of global conservation concern. Other endemic species are the skink Feylinia polylepis, the burrrowing snake Typhlops elegans and the frog Leptopelis palmatus. An endemic sub-species of the shrew Crocidura poensis is also present.

See also List of mountains in São Tomé and Príncipe

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pico do Príncipe

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pico do Príncipe claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pico do Príncipe before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pico do Príncipe ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pico do Príncipe

In research: Pico do Príncipe appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pico do Príncipe in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pico do Príncipe is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Mountains of São Tomé and Príncipe, Príncipe, Shield volcanoes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pico do Príncipe outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pico do Príncipe in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pico do Príncipe means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pico do Príncipe out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pico do Príncipe in simple terms?

Why does Pico do Príncipe matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pico do Príncipe?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pico do Príncipe.