Deck 1: An Ocean World

Question 1

W hat would a visitor approaching Earth from space see 4.4 billion years ago?

A) a blue planet due to 71% of its surface being covered by water
B) a hot, vapor-shrouded sphere blanketed by lightning-stroked clouds
C) a supercontinent breaking apart into smaller pieces
D) a landscape dominated by continents with small bodies of water dispersed throughout

Answer 1

B

Question 2

What process allows the sun to generate light and heat?

A) accretion
B) oxygen revolution
C) density stratification
D) nuclear fusion

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The ocean originated from .

A) water vapor produced by cellular respiration in early living organisms
B) radioactive heating of Earth's interior, and the heating of the surface by meteorites striking and melting the outer layers of Earth
C) capture of water molecules in space by Earth's gravity
D) volcanic gases, radioactive heating of Earth's interior, and a barrage of icy comets or asteroids striking and melting the outer layers of Earth

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The world ocean .

A) plays a minor role in the weather and shape of landmasses of Earth
B) does not influence the way organisms live on land
C) dramatically influences weather, nurtures life, and provides crucial natural resources
D) has an average depth that represents over half of Earth's radius

Question 5

When using the scientific method, scientific theories must be .

A) tested and consistently supported by observations or experiments
B) verified by the leading authorities in the field
C) consistent with previous, universally accepted scientific concepts
D) consistent with the fact that the ocean is of great age

Question 6

About % of Earth's water is found in the ocean.

A) 97
B) 71
C) 67
D) 30

Question 7

Volcanic venting of substances including water vapor is called .

A) outgassing
B) fissure
C) fusion
D) condensation

Question 8

What are the abundant elements that make up the composition of Earth's present-day atmosphere?

A) oxygen and carbon dioxide
B) nitrogen and oxygen
C) carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and hydrogen
D) hydrogen and oxygen

Question 9

On a planetary scale, the ocean comprises about % of Earth's mass.

A) 71
B) 20
C) 8
D) 0.02

Question 10

S cientists believe that answers to questions are .

A) always questionable
B) sometimes correct, but mostly wrong
C) ultimately knowable
D) extremely simple if you look in the right places

Question 11

New planets formed in a cloud of dust and debris surrounding our young sun through a process known as .

A) supernova
B) oxygen revolution
C) accretion
D) cataclysmic expansion of energy and matter

Question 12

Which statement is most consistent with the scientific method?

A) Hypotheses cannot be revised after they are proposed.
B) Hypotheses are tested through observations and controlled experiments.
C) Scientific laws always arise fully formed and in correlating groups.
D) Theories cannot be modified after they are tested.

Question 13

The death of a star is characterized by a massive release of energy called a .

A) nebula
B) protostar
C) supernova
D) comet

Question 14

Oxygen first began to accumulate in Earth's atmosphere as a result of .

A) biosynthesis
B) cellular respiration
C) methane synthesis
D) photosynthesis

Question 15

Stars spend their lives changing its hydrogen and helium to .

A) carbon, oxygen, silicon, and iron
B) nitrogen and oxygen
C) water and carbon dioxide
D) ammonia and methane

Question 16

What comprises the most abundant form of matter in the universe?

A) water molecules
B) planets and planet-like bodies
C) dust and debris
D) hydrogen and helium

Question 17

What is the clumping of smaller particles into large masses?

A) accretion
B) nuclear fusion
C) density stratification
D) oxygen revolution

Question 18

Earth's inner core is primarily made of .

A) magnesium
B) water
C) iron
D) silicates

Question 19

The field of marine science involves .

A) the building of oil platforms, ships, harbors, and other structures that enable us to use the ocean wisely
B) the process of making observations, asking questions, and forming hypotheses
C) the scientific study of the ocean, its associated life-forms, and its bordering lands
D) testing hypotheses by controlled experiments

Question 20

The average land elevation is approximately .

A) 760 meters (2,500 feet)
B) 3,700 meters (12,000 feet)
C) 200 meters (650 feet)
D) 840 meters (2,756 feet)

Question 21

Which individual was the first to provide a rough chart of an ocean current, specifically, the Gulf Stream?

A) Edward Forbes
B) Tim Folger
C) Benjamin Franklin
D) Captain James Cook

Question 22

The Challenger expedition ( 1872-1876 ) was a unique and historic voyage. Why?

A) It is the longest continuous scientific oceanographic expedition on record.
B) Its scientists developed the first reliable navigational charts to indicate current and wind patterns.
C) It was the first expedition to use an echo sounder to study the seafloor.
D) It proved the hypothesis that life could not exist in the deep sea.

Question 23

The primary physical process responsible for the formation of Earth's layers, the inner and outer core, mantle, and crust is .

A) density stratification
B) radioactive decay
C) outgassing
D) mass layering

Question 24

What was one accomplishment of Captain James Cook?

A) He was the first to circumnavigate the world.
B) He was the first to land on the coast of Antarctica.
C) He was the first European to explore the South Pacific.
D) He mapped the coasts of Australia and New Zealand.

Question 25

What did the Polynesians use to navigate between the islands in the Pacific Ocean?

A) the compass invented by the Chinese
B) detailed maps with latitude and longitude lines
C) maritime records obtained from the Library of Alexandria
D) subtle directional clues based off of wind and wave patterns, the sun, moon, and stars, and marine organisms

Question 26

What did the German Meteor expedition discover during their 1925 crisscross across the South Atlantic for 2 years?

A) a completely flat ocean floor
B) the deepest part of the ocean's deepest trench
C) a varied and often extremely rugged bottom profile
D) evidence for seafloor spreading and plate tectonics

Question 27

The cousin of which scientist worked out the first rough chart of the Gulf Stream?

A) Charles Darwin
B) Edward Forbes
C) John Murray
D) Benjamin Franklin

Question 28

Which voyage was the first expedition devoted purely to marine science?

A) Matthew Maury's oceanographic work as a U.S. naval officer
B) the Challenger expedition
C) Benjamin Franklin's first voyage across the Atlantic to take up his post as American Ambassador to France
D) Captain Cook's voyage to Tahiti in the ship Endeavour

Question 29

A(n) is a graphic representation that depicts information about the ocean and ocean features.

A) seismograph
B) echo sounder
C) chart
D) atlas

Question 30

Which statement is true with regard to latitude and longitude?

A) Longitudinal lines are drawn parallel to the equator, while latitudinal lines are drawn from pole to pole.
B) Latitude and longitude comprise a system of imaginary lines dividing Earth's surface into a grid.
C) Greenwich, England was the original location of "zero longitude."
D) Zero degrees latitude is the prime meridian and zero degrees longitude is the equator.

Question 31

Who was the first person to estimate the size of the Earth within approximately 8% of its true size based on the geometric observations of travelers?

A) Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy
B) Eratosthenes of Cyrene
C) U.S. naval officer Matthew Maury
D) The Polynesians

Question 32

Edward Forbes was an Edinburgh professor who thought that .

A) life was plentiful in the deep sea
B) there was an easy route to the orient from Europe
C) no life existed in the deep sea because of high pressure and lack of light
D) the Pacific Ocean was much smaller than it truly is

Question 33

The word "oceanography" was first coined in association with .

A) Cook's third voyage
B) the Challenger expedition
C) the founding of the Library of Alexandria
D) Captain James Cook's first voyage

Question 34

What information did NASA's Earth-observing satellite, AQUA , collect to learn about Earth's water cycle?

A) amount of phytoplankton and dissolved organic matter in the oceans
B) samples of seafloor sediments
C) changes in sea surface elevation
D) ocean floor topography

Question 35

Who was the first person to compile a picture of the large-scale wind and current systems?

A) Benjamin Franklin
B) Matthew Maury
C) Eratosthenes of Cyrene
D) Wyville Thomson

Question 36

Which individual would be most likely to receive the title of "first marine scientist"?

A) Matthew Maury
B) Captain James Cook
C) Christopher Columbus
D) Wyville Thompson (of the Challenger expedition)

Question 37

Although the first regular ocean traders were probably the Cretans or the Phoenicians, the first direct evidence of voyaging, traveling the ocean for a specific purpose, comes from   .

A) ancient maps left by Polynesian people
B) Eratosthenes's latitudinal and longitudinal maps
C) records of trade in the Mediterranean Sea
D) James Cook's accurate charts of New Zealand, Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef

Question 38

Who is considered to be the father of physical oceanography?

A) Eratosthenes
B) Ptolemy
C) Matthew Maury
D) Captain James Cook

Question 39

During its initial formation by the accretion of particles, the young Earth was .

A) shrouded in a thick atmosphere
B) density stratified with a core, mantle, and crust
C) likely chemically homogenous throughout
D) completely covered by an ocean

Question 40

What was the most important outcome of Matthew Maury's work?

A) the discovery of the Hawai'ian Islands
B) the  formulation of a working hypothesis for the formation of coral reefs
C) the  invention of a chronometer for the determination of longitude
D) the  charting of ocean currents to significantly shorten the travel time of sailors

Question 41

Latitude is a measurement that uses the prime meridian (Greenwich, England) as a reference point to help determine the exact location of a specific point on Earth.

Question 42

Gravity was important in the formation of our planet because it pulled dense metals such as iron and nickel inward, forming Earth's core.

Question 43

The ocean provides a variety of resources ranging from food and water to energy, construction materials, and life-saving pharmaceuticals.

Question 44

Glomar Challenger is known mainly for .

A) being the first modern scientific survey ship to circumnavigate the globe
B) being the first nuclear powered scientific research vessel
C) being owned and operated simultaneously by four governmental agencies
D) taking the first complete cores of seafloor sediments

Question 45

The materials that formed the Earth and the ocean were formed within starts billions of years ago.

Question 46

What type of information about the ocean are satellites most likely to provide to scientists?

A) amount of phytoplankton and dissolved organic matter
B) pH of the ocean in different locations
C) sea floor bathymetry
D) sea floor sedimentation rate

Question 47

What device bounces sound waves off the ocean bottom to study the depth and contours of the seafloor?

A) echo sounder
B) satellite
C) bathyscaphe
D) submersible

Question 48

The average land elevation on Earth is greater than the average depth of the ocean.

Question 49

The first scientific expedition to use an echo sounder was the .

A) Challenger expedition
B) Meteor expedition
C) United States Exploring expedition
D) voyage of Trieste

Question 50

The Library of Alexandria was an important gathering place for intellectuals and a warehouse for written knowledge relating to trade, natural wonders, artistic achievements, and other items of interest to seafarers.

Question 51

Scientific hypotheses are never revised or updated.

Question 52

Nuclear fusion is the changing of hydrogen and helium into heavier elements of carbon, oxygen, silicon, and iron in stars.

Question 53

Humanity did not spread to nearly all of the inhabitable areas of Earth until after the European voyages of discovery in the late 1400s and early 1500s.

Question 54

The ancestors of invertebrates produced enough oxygen to oxidize minerals dissolved in the ocean and surface sediments through a process called respiration.

Question 55

Eratosthenes was a scientist who was interested in the size of Earth and used methods of geometry to determine the circumference of our planet.

Question 56

Modern oceanography began with the efforts of , who trapped his ship in pack ice to explore the Arctic.

A) Forbes
B) Wilkes
C) Thomson
D) Nansen

Question 57

The ocean holds more than 97% of Earth's water.

Question 58

Atoms that make up Earth, its ocean, and its inhabitants were formed within stars billions of years ago.

Question 59

Marine science draws on information from disciplines of geology, biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering.

Question 60

Captain Cook was the first scientist to drift in the Arctic ice pack and proved no Arctic continent existed.

Question 61

Describe the basic processes and timeline that led to the formation of Earth and its ocean and atmosphere.

Question 62

How do echo sounders work and what kind of information can they provide about the ocean floor?

Question 63

Examine "The World" chart from the third century B.C.E. where Eratosthenes drew latitude and longitude lines through important places rather than spacing them at regular intervals as we do today. Briefly describe the misconceptions the Alexandrians had of the world.

Question 64

Modern technologies enable scientists to acquire information about the ocean relatively rapidly. How have satellites changed the way we perceive, navigate, and study the ocean?

Question 65

Describe the contributions made by Matthew Maury that improved our understanding of ocean science.

Question 66

Using specific examples, describe how advances in navigation and voyaging relate to the advent of marine science.

Question 67

What is meant by a "single world ocean"?

Question 68

Briefly describe the formation of our density stratified Earth.

Question 69

Describe the general steps involved in the scientific method.

Question 70

Discuss the early atmosphere and how it could have led to the evolution of life on Earth.