NAME___________________________ DATE___________ PERIOD_____
HYDROLOGY POST TEST STUDY GUIDE
Directions: Answer the following questions and use this to help you study for your test! Our
test is on ___________________ and this study guide is due on _____________.
QUESTION
1. What percentage of Earth is
covered in water?
2. What percentage of the
water on Earth is saltwater?
What percentage is
freshwater?
3. Where is the majority of
Earth’s freshwater stored? Is
this easily available to us?
4. Define “water cycle”. What
powers the water cycle?
RESPONSE
71%
97% is salt water
3% is freshwater
Most of our freshwater is stored in the ice caps & glaciers
(about 75%). It is not easily available to humans.
The water cycle is the movement of water from the oceans
to the atmosphere and back to the Earth again. The sun
powers the water cycle.
5. Describe evaporation.
When water molecules are heated and change from a liquid
to a gas.
6. Describe condensation.
Where does this take place?
When water vapor (a gas) cools and changes back into a
liquid. This occurs in the atmosphere and forms clouds.
7. Define “precipitation”.
Water falling to Earth as rain, sleet, snow, or hail.
8. Describe transpiration.
When plants produce water and it evaporates back into the
atmosphere.
9. Describe
infiltration/percolation.
Infiltration is when water soaks into the ground.
Percolation is when the groundwater fills the spaces in the
soil.
10. Describe runoff.
When water doesn’t soak into the ground and runs over
Earth’s surface.
11. List Earth’s oceans in
Pacific
order from largest to smallest. Atlantic
Indian
Southern
Arctic
12. Are the Earth’s oceans the No they are always changing. As the plates move, the size
same now as they were when
of the oceans change. The Pacific is shrinking because of
Earth began to form? Explain. subduction zones and the Atlantic is growing because of the
mid ocean ridges spreading apart.
13. What is SONAR?
SOund
Navigation
And
Ranging
The sound pulses bounce back.
14. With SONAR, what
happens to sound pulses from a
ship after they hit the ocean
floor?
15. The longer it takes sound
The deeper the ocean floor is at that point.
from SONAR to return to a
ship…..
16. The continental margin
Continental shelf, continental slope, continental rise.
consists of the ….
17. The deep ocean basin
consists of the…..
Abyssal plain, mid –ocean ridge, seamounts, and trenches.
18. Define “salinity”.
The amount of dissolved salts in the ocean.
19. What factors are
responsible for differences in
the salinity of ocean water?
Evaporation/Climate, circulation (currents), and freshwater
inflow (rivers flowing into oceans).
20. What is the most
abundant dissolved salt in the
ocean water?
Sodium Chloride
21. As water gets denser,
how does it move?
Colder, saltier water will sink to the bottom of the ocean and
move as a deep ocean current.
22. What process in the
water cycle increases the
salinity of ocean water?
Evaporation decreases the amount of water, but the salt is left
behind.
Freezing causes the water to become ice, and also leaves the
salt behind.
Cold salty water will sink to the bottom and increase the
salinity near the ocean floor.
A “river-like” movement of ocean water due to the global winds,
changes in temperature, salinity, or density.
23. Define “ocean currents”.
24. Compare & contrast
surface currents & deep
currents.
25. The curved path of
surface currents & global
winds (Coriolis effect) is
caused by…..
26. Ocean currents in the
Northern hemisphere turn…..
Surface Currents
Caused by wind
Flow on the surface
Direction changed by
Coriolis Effect
Earth’s Rotation



Deep Currents


Caused by changes in
temperature & density
Flow near ocean floor
Clockwise
27. Ocean currents in the
Southern hemisphere turn….
Counter-clockwise
28. One of the longest
surface currents that causes
the British Isles to have a
warmer climate is the …..
29. How do warm water
currents affect the coastal
areas along which they flow?
Gulf Stream
Warm water currents carry warm air to coastal areas that
might normally be colder. Great Britain is much warmer
because of the warm Gulf Stream current.
30. How do cold water
currents affect the coastal
areas along which they flow?
Cold Water currents cool the coastal areas they flow towards
and make very hot areas much cooler. The cold California
Current helps cool down areas of the west coast and Mexico.
31. What affects the
movement of deep currents?
Salinity and temperature
32. Define “waves”. How do
they form?
Waves form from the wind blowing across the water’s surface.
33. Draw a wave. Identify
and define the following:
crest, trough, wavelength &
wave height
Wave length
Crest
Wave Height
Trough
34. How do particles of
water in a wave move?
In a circular motion.
35. Define “tides”. How do
they form?
Tides form from the pull of the moon’s gravity.
36. Approximately how many
high tides and how many low
tides occur in one day?
37. Define “spring tide”.
Draw the relative positions of
the Earth, sun and moon when
a spring tide occurs.
2 high tides and 2 low tides form each day.
A Spring tide occurs during the New Moon and Full moon (twice
a month) when the Moon, the Earth, and the sun are aligned.
The gravitational pull is greatest so the tidal range is at its
largest.
38. Define “neap tide”. Draw
the relative positions of the
Earth, sun and moon when a
neap tide occurs.
A Neap tide occurs during the 1st & 3rd Quarters of the moon
when the Moon, Earth, & sun are at right angles to each other.
The gravitational pull is at its weakest and the tidal range is at
its smallest.