Unit 8 Test Review -- Oceanography
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
__D__ 1. A large body of saline water that may be surrounded by land is a(n)
a. submersible.
c. global ocean
b. ocean.
d. sea.
__C__ 2. How much of Earth’s total mass is the global ocean?
a. 97%
c. 1/4,000
b. 1/2
d. 1/800
_B___ 3. Scientists use sonar to
a. measure the temperature of ocean water.
b. calculate the depth of the ocean floor.
c. photograph ocean organisms.
d. obtain samples from the ocean floor.
_D___ 4. The flattest regions on Earth are
a. trenches.
b. seamounts.
c. mid-ocean ridges.
d. abyssal plains.
_A___ 5. Most mid-ocean ridges form
a. below sea level.
b. in trenches.
c. in areas of increased volcanic activity.
d. along fracture zones.
_B___ 6. An atoll will eventually become a(n)
a. seamount.
b. guyot.
c. fracture zone.
d. mid-ocean ridge.
_B___ 7. Meteorite dust is one kind of
a. nodule.
b. inorganic sediment.
c. ooze.
d. core sample.
_D___ 8. Sediments from rivers spread over the deep-ocean basins by means of
a. icebergs.
c. wind.
b. chemical reactions.
d. turbidity currents.
_A___ 9. The silica in biogenic sediments comes mainly from
a. diatoms and radiolarians.
c. nodules.
b. foraminiferans.
d. calcium carbonate.
_D___ 10. The voyages of the HMS Challenger
a. provided information about plate tectonics.
b. proved there were five oceans.
c. provided valuable core samples.
d. laid the foundation for oceanography.
_A___ 11. Most river sediments are deposited
a. on the shore and continental shelf.
b. in the deep-ocean basins.
c. on abyssal plains.
d. on the continental rise.
_B___ 12. Thick sediment layers usually do not form on abyssal plains that are bordered by
a. submarine canyons.
c. seamounts.
b. trenches.
d. fracture zones.
_D___ 13. The source of most calcium carbonate in biogenic sediments is
a. diatoms.
c. silica
b. radiolarans.
d. foraminiferans.
_D___ 14. The third-largest ocean is the
a. Arctic Ocean.
b. Atlantic Ocean.
c. Pacific Ocean.
d. Indian Ocean.
_B___ 15. Cold ocean water sinks and moves through the
a. ocean’s thermocline.
c. polar regions.
b. ocean basins.
d. icebergs.
_D___ 16. What is called the foundation of life in the ocean?
a. whales
c. salt
b. minerals
d. plankton
_D___ 17. Nutrients in ocean water are stored
a. near the surface.
b. at the tropics.
c. at the polar regions.
d. in deep water.
_C___ 18. In addition to increased use of toxic chemicals, what has reduced the ocean’s ability to renew itself?
a. oil drilling
c. increased world population
b. global warming
d. chemical imbalance
_B___ 19. In addition to limiting the use of leaded gasoline, what has the United States done to reduce ocean pollution?
a. stopped the dumping of garbage into the ocean
b. banned the toxic chemical DDT
c. controlled the effects of acid rain
d. ended offshore oil drilling
_C___ 20. Raising aquatic plants and animals for human consumption is
a. farming.
c. aquaculture.
b. agriculture.
d. water farming.
_A___ 21. The process of removing salt from ocean water is called
a. desalination.
c. purifying.
b. freshening.
d. aqua filtering.
_C___ 22. As the temperature changes, the ocean and atmosphere are continuously exchanging
a. moisture.
c. gases.
b. pollutants.
d. chemicals.
_C___ 23. Oceans are often referred to as a carbon sink. How many times more carbon is contained in the ocean than in
the atmosphere?
a. 20 times
c. 60 times
b. 40 times
d. 80 times
_B___ 24. Trace elements in the ocean are those minerals that are
a. most valuable.
c. least desirable.
b. smallest in amount.
d. most dangerous.
_B___ 25. By studying variations in color in the ocean, scientists can determine the presence of
a. sea mammals.
c. oxygen.
b. phytoplankton.
d. trace elements.
_D___ 26. Plankton are the foundation of life in the ocean because they
a. are at the top of the ocean food chain.
b. establish a proper environment for all sea life.
c. balance the chemical composition of the ocean habitat.
d. form the base of the ocean food chain.
_D___ 27. Although most wavelengths of visible light are absorbed at varying degrees by ocean water and microscopic
sea life, the one color that is most reflected is
a. red.
c. violet.
b. green.
d. blue.
_B___ 28. Which of the following causes gyres to form?
a. deep currents
c. the Equatorial Countercurrent
b. the Coriolis effect
d. West Wind Drift
_C___ 29. One characteristic of the Antarctic Bottom Water is
a. warmth.
c. high density.
b. low salinity.
d. swiftness.
_D___ 30. A vast area of calm, warm water in the North Atlantic is the
a. North Atlantic Gyre.
c. Antarctic Bottom Water.
b. Gulf Stream.
d. Sargasso Sea.
_D___ 31. Waves strike the coastline head-on instead of at an angle as a result of
a. undertow.
c. fetch.
b. longshore currents.
d. refraction.
_A___ 32. The factors that determine the size of a wave are wind speed, fetch, and
a. the length of time the wind blows.
b. water temperature.
c. water salinity.
d. amount of sediment on the ocean floor.
_B___ 33. The major cause of tides is the
a. Earth’s rotation.
b. gravitational pull of the moon on Earth and its waters.
c. Earth’s revolution around the sun.
d. tidal bulge of Earth.
_C___ 34. The Mediterranean Sea has a small tidal range because
a. tidal oscillations amplify the effects of tidal bulges.
b. it has no tidal oscillations.
c. tidal oscillations reduce the effect of tidal bulges.
d. it has no tidal current.
_D___ 35. If high tide is at 4:00 p.m. today, at about what time will high tide occur tomorrow?
a. 4:00 a.m.
c. 4:25 p.m.
b. 3:10 p.m.
d. 4:50 p.m.
__C__ 36. The highest point of a wave is its
a. trough.
b. wave height.
c. crest.
d. wave period.
__B__ 37. Calling a tsunami a tidal wave is misleading because
a. a tsunami is not really a wave.
b. a tsunami is not caused by tides.
c. a tsunami does not occur in the ocean.
d. a tsunami only occurs during ebb tides.
__C__ 38. The force that causes tides is
a. wind.
b. refraction.
c. gravity.
d. friction.
__D__ 39. The swift, warm current that flows northward along the east coast of the United States is called the
a. North Atlantic Current.
c. North Equatorial Current.
b. West Wind Drift.
d. Gulf Stream.
__B__ 40. Which of the following occurs when the gravity of the sun and moon work against each other to create a small
daily tidal range?
a. spring tides
c. ebb tides
b. neap tides
d. flood tides
__C__ 41. A tsunami has a tremendous amount of energy because of its
a. long wave period.
c. long wavelength.
b. high speed.
d. great wave height.
__D__ 42. Most ocean locations have two high tides and two low tides daily because
a. the moon rises about 50 min later each day.
b. the gravitational forces of the sun and moon work against each other.
c. the moon orbits Earth in the same direction that Earth rotates.
d. there are two tidal bulges.
__D__ 43. Sandbars are formed by
a. undertow.
b. refraction.
c. rip currents.
d. longshore currents.
Short Answer
44. How could you tell that a sediment sample had been left on the ocean basin by an iceberg?
45. What might happen to populations of fish or dolphins if the number of plankton in an area of the ocean was
reduced?
46. At which time or times of the month would you expect a tidal bore to be highest?
44. ANS:
The sediment sample would contain rock and other materials that are normally only found on land. You
would have to determine that the materials could not have been washed into the ocean from rivers by turbidity
currents but were part of an area that had been covered by a glacier.
PTS: 1
DIF: 2
REF: 3
OBJ: 1
45. ANS:
Answers may vary. Sample answer: Since plankton are consumed by small organisms which are in turn food
for larger organisms, there would be less food for fish or dolphins in an area where the plankton population
was reduced, so the fish and dolphin population would also be reduced.
PTS: 1
DIF: 1
REF: 2
46. ANS:
at spring tides, during full and new moons
OBJ: 2
Matching
Match each item to the correct statement below.
a. shallow sea floor between the shoreline and deep-ocean bottom
b. body of water smaller than an ocean
c. lump of minerals found on the ocean floor
d. part of ocean floor made up of oceanic crust and a thin sediment layer
e. long, narrow depression in the deep-ocean basin
f. cylinder of sediment collected by drilling the ocean floor
g. flat, almost level area of the deep-ocean basin
h. body of salt water that covers nearly three-fourths of Earth’s surface
i. deep valley in the continental shelf or continental slope
j. force that spreads sediments over deep-ocean basin
_G___ 47.
_C___ 48.
_B___ 49.
_A___ 50.
_F___ 51.
_I___ 52.
_J___ 53.
_H___ 54.
_E___ 55.
abyssal plain
nodule
sea
continental margin
core sample
submarine canyon
turbidity current
global ocean
trench
Match each item with the correct statement below.
a. the ratio of the mass of a substance to the volume of the substance
b. elements that exist in very small amounts
c. a layer in a body of water in which water temperature drops with increased depth faster
than it does in other layers
d. a process of removing salt from ocean water
e. the raising of aquatic plants and animals for human use or consumption
f. the foundation of life in the ocean
g. potato-shaped lump of minerals found in deep water
h. the movement of deep, cold, and nutrient-rich water to the surface
i. organisms that swim actively in open water
j. a measure of the amount of dissolved salts and other solids in a given amount of liquid
_C___ 64.
_D___ 65.
_A___ 66.
_F___ 67.
_J___ 68.
_H___ 69.
_I___ 70.
_G___ 71.
_B___ 72.
thermocline
desalination
density
plankton
salinity
upwelling
nekton
nodule
trace elements