Oceans 11 Exam Outline
The format of the exam will be:
Part A: Multiple Choice 20 points 40 questions
Part B: Match Up 10 points 20 questions
Part C: True & False 5 points 10 questions
Part D: Fill in the Blanks 5 points 10 questions
Part E: Diagrams 20 points 5 diagrams
Part F: Short/Long Answer 30 points 4 questions
Part G: Article & Questions 10 points) 10 questions
Total points 100 points
Guiding Questions: ****Use your notes to verify the answers and to make comparisons to what we done in class.
1. What are the deep V-shaped valleys found cut into either the continental shelf or slope?
Trenches
2. What is the Percentage of Ocean, freshwater on the Earth's surface?
71 %
3. Evidence used by Alfred Wegener to support his hypothesis of continental drift.
Matching of coastlines; diversity of species of fossils; evidence of glaciers in tropical areas etc
4. What is the largest single geographic feature of our planet?
Pacific Ocean
5. What ocean contains more than half of all the ocean water on earth?
Pacific
6. What is used to determine the depth of the ocean floor?
Sonar
7. What are the layers of Earth?
Lithosphere, asthenosphere, mantle, and inner and outer core
8. What is the age differences of the continental crust and oceanic? (Hint. Which one is younger?)
The ocean crust is much younger and denser than the continental crust
9. The Hawaiian Islands are associated with which type of plate boundary?
None it is considered a hotspot
10. Where do the majority of the world's earthquakes occur along which plate boundaries?
Convergent boundaries
11. The Trench is associated with which type of plate boundary?
Convergent (subduction)
12. Iceland is associated with which type of plate boundary?
Divergent (continental rifting)
13. What are the characteristics of the Pacific Ocean?
Largest ocean, and is found between North America and Asia
14. The Andes Mountains are associated with which type of plate boundary?
Convergent
15. Describe and know the layers of the earth?
Lithosphere (continental crust, less dense, makes up the plates etc)
Asthenosphere (termed “plastic-like”)
Mantle (Liquid)
Outer core (less dense then the inner core made up of iron and nickel)
Inner core (soild)
16. What coastline is the largest in the world?
Canada
17. Know the different types of plate boundaries and examples.
Covergent (Himalayas), Divergent (Iceland), Transform (St. Andres Fault)
Moving together; moving apart; and sliding past one another
18. What plate boundary is associated with Continental mountain?
Convergent
19. Which layer of the Earth is made up of tectonic plates?
Lithosphere
20. What is the process by which the ocean floor sinks beneath a deep-ocean trench and back into the mantle?
Subduction zone
21. How is a rift valley formed?
Diverge
22. Which of the following appears to cause movement of Earth's tectonic plates?
Convection currents
23. Define neap tides and spring tides.
Neap tides occur when the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun are perpendicular to one another and occur during quarter moons. Smaller high and smaller low tides caused when the sun and moon pull in different directions.
Spring tides have extra high (highest) and extra low (lowest) tides caused when the sun and the moon pull in the same direction. Happen when the Moon and Sun are in line with each other (at the new and full moons).
24. What is the main cause of the Gulf Stream?
Winding blowing in regular directions all the time.
25. Define salinity.
The amount of salt in a given body of water.
26. What causes the currents to curve instead of moving in straight lines?
Coriolis effect
27. Know the characteristics of cold water and warm water in relation to density.
Cold water is much more dense then warm water therefore it sinks whereas the warm water stays around the surface of the ocean.
28. What occurs when circulation in the ocean brings deep, cold water to the ocean surface?
Upwelling
29. Know the characteristics of a wave and be able to label the diagram.
30. What is the highest and lowest point on a wave?
Highest = crest lowest = trough
31. What are surface currents caused by?
Wind
32. What is caused when wind blows across a body of water which causes the water to move?
Friction
33. The size of a wave is affected by?
Wind
34. What are density currents caused by?
Salinity and Temperature
35. The wind that blows on the water, passing its energy to the water. As this energy passes through the water, in what way do the water molecules move?
The water molecules move against the currents
36. Know the different zones of the ocean.
Layers of the Ocean
Scientists have divided the ocean into five main layers. These layers, known as "zones", extend from the surface to the most extreme depths where light can no longer penetrate. These deep zones are where some of the most bizarre and fascinating creatures in the sea can be found. As we dive deeper into these largely unexplored places, the temperature drops and the pressure increases at an astounding rate. The following diagram lists each of these zones in order of depth.
Diagram of the five layers of the ocean. Image copyright Sea and Sky
Epipelagic Zone - The surface layer of the ocean is known as the epipelagic zone and extends from the surface to 200 meters (656 feet). It is also known as the sunlight zone because this is where most of the visible light exists. With the light come heat. This heat is responsible for the wide range of temperatures that occur in this zone.
Mesopelagic Zone - Below the epipelagic zone is the mesopelagic zone, extending from 200 meters (656 feet) to 1000 meters (3281 feet). The mesopelagic zone is sometimes referred to as the twilight zone or the midwater zone. The light that penetrates to this depth is extremely faint. It is in this zone that we begin to see the twinkling lights of bioluminescent creatures. A great diversity of strange and bizarre fishes can be found here.
Bathypelagic Zone - The next layer is called the bathypelagic zone. It is sometimes referred to as the midnight zone or the dark zone. This zone extends from 1000 meters (3281 feet) down to 4000 meters (13,124 feet). Here the only visible light is that produced by the creatures themselves. The water pressure at this depth is immense, reaching 5,850 pounds per square inch. In spite of the pressure, a surprisingly large number of creatures can be found here. Sperm whales can dive down to this level in search of food. Most of the animals that live at these depths are black or red in color due to the lack of light.
Abyssopelagic Zone - The next layer is called the abyssopelagic zone, also known as the abyssal zone or simply as the abyss. It extends from 4000 meters (13,124 feet) to 6000 meters (19,686 feet). The name comes from a Greek word meaning "no bottom". The water temperature is near freezing, and there is no light at all. Very few creatures can be found at these crushing depths. Most of these are invertebrates such as basket stars and tiny squids. Three-quarters of the ocean floor lies within this zone. The deepest fish ever discovered was found in the Puerto Rico Trench at a depth of 27,460 feet (8,372 meters).
Hadalpelagic Zone - Beyond the abyssopelagic zone lies the forbidding hadalpelagic zone. This layer extends from 6000 meters (19,686 feet) to the bottom of the deepest parts of the ocean. These areas are mostly found in deep water trenches and canyons. The deepest point in the ocean is located in the Mariana Trench off the coast of Japan at 35,797 feet (10,911 meters). The temperature of the water is just above freezing, and the pressure is an incredible eight tons per square inch. That is approximately the weight of 48 Boeing 747 jets. In spite of the pressure and temperature, life can still be found here. Invertebrates such as starfish and tube worms can thrive at these depths.
37. Where does the neritic zone of the ocean lie?
also called the Sublittoral zone is the part of the ocean extending from the low tide mark to the edge of the continental shelf, with a relatively shallow depth extending to about 200 meters (100 fathoms).
38. What is the series in which a large fish eats a small fish that has eaten algae?
Oceanic foodchain
39. Define a Biome, ecology, ecosystem, biosphere and abiotic and biotic.
Biome - major biotic community characterized by the dominant forms of plant life and the prevailing climate.
Ecology - the study of relations between organisms and their environment.
Ecosystem - a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment (abiotic and biotic factors).
Biosphere - the regions of the surface and atmosphere of the Earth (or other planet) where living organisms exist.
Abiotic - are non-living chemical and physical factors in the environment.
Biotic - of or relating to living organisms.
40. What is an abiotic factor that varies less in marine biomes than in land biomes?
Temperature
41. Among the following which term includes the others salt marsh, lagoon, mangrove swamp and estuary?
A salt marsh (also known as saltings) is a type of marsh that is a transitional intertidal between land and salty or brackish water (e.g.: sloughs, bays, lagoon, mangrove swamp, estuaries).
44. Know the water cycle and be able to label the diagram.
45. Marine biomes are divided into ecologically distinct zones what are they?
Depth and distance from the shore where organisms can attach.
46. In a marine biome, organisms experience radical changes in their environment each day in which zone?
Intertidal zone
47. In a lake containing sunfish, northern pike, water bugs, algae, and minnows, what organism would be present in the smallest numbers?
Northern pike (top of this food chain) -> as you go up the food chain organisms get larger but population is much smaller.
48. In the North Sea, tuna feed on herring and herring feed on sand eels. Cod and seabirds also feed on the eels. Assuming that North Sea fishermen overfish cod and herring to the point that their populations greatly decrease, what is the most likely result on the tuna and seabird populations?
Tuna population would decrease (herring would be in low amount therefore not much food for tuna)
Seabirds population would increase (more eels because there would be less competition with the small numbers of cod)
49. Sonar uses WHAT to find objects in the ocean?
Sound waves
50. Why do Ocean basins get wider with time?
Seafloor spreading
51. What are tectonic plates moved around by?
Convection currents
52. The Himalayan Mountain Range of Asia is an example of what plate?
Convergent
53. Ocean floor is neither created nor destroyed along which plate boundaries?
Transform
54. What are Island Chains are formed by?
Divergent
55. Define tides.
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the rotation of the Earth and the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun. The tides occur with a period of approximately 12 and a half hours and are influenced by the shape of the near-shore bottom.
56. What is the horizontal distance between successive crests known as?
Wavelength
57. A substantial rise in sea level along a coast during a severe storm is called what?
Storm surge
58. The tidal bulge on the side of the Earth opposite the moon is due to what?
Gravitational forces
59. What ocean contains more than half of all the ocean water on earth?
Pacific
60. What is the deepest ocean on earth?
Pacific
61. What is used to determine the depth of the ocean floor?
Sonar – sound waves
62. What are the three principle gases found in the ocean?
Carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen gases
63. What gases dissolves most easily in ocean water?
Carbon dioxide gas
64. What do evaporation and freezing increase in the ocean?
Salinity
65. What ocean has very low salinity because of the low evaporation rate and the large amounts of freshwater that enter this ocean?
Arctic
66. What are the two factors that affect the density of ocean water?
Temperature and Salinity
67. What are the free-floating, microscopic plants and animals called?
Plankton
68. What removes dissolved gases and nutrients from the water and uses the energy from sunlight to carry on photosynthesis?
Phytoplankton
69. What serves as a food source for zooplankton?
Zooplankton are floating or weakly mobile microscopic or barely visible aquatic animals that eat algae.
70. What other process, in addition to the action of waves and tides, causes deep ocean water to move upward?
Currents
71. What is the process that extracts freshwater from saltwater?
Desalination
72. What is the most valuable mineral resource taken from beneath the sea floor?
Petroleum
73. What is the driving force of surface currents?
Wind
74. What are the huge circles of moving water that flow clockwise in the northern hemisphere, and counter clockwise in the southern hemisphere?
Gyres
75. What two factors affect the density of ocean water and cause deep currents?
Temperature and salinity
76. What is a periodic up and down movement of water?
Waves
77. What are the two basic parts of a wave?
Trough and Crest
78. What is the speed of a wave that has a wave that has a wavelength of 225 meters and a period of 15 seconds?
225/15 = 15 m/s
79. What destructive waves can be caused by volcanic eruptions and underwater landslides, but are usually the result of an earthquake on the ocean floor?
Tsunamis
80. How many high tides and low tides do most locations in the ocean have daily?
Four in total (2 high and 2 low tides)