Deck 6: Water and Ocean Structure

Question 1

Which does not have an effect on water's density?

A) Temperature
B) Pressure
C) Viscosity
D) Salinity

Answer 1

C
Density can be affected by temperature, salinity, and pressure. For example, water's density increases as temperature decreases. This is a normal occurrence, but water takes on a unique behavior. At approximately 4° Celsius, water's density begins to decrease again. Slight changes in the density of water can lead to layering of water masses in the ocean. Information can be found in the section Water Has Unusual Thermal Characteristics.

Question 2

How is sound transmitted through a medium?

A) By rapid vibrations of molecules
B) By rapid temperature changes in a medium
C) By rapid pressure changes in a medium
D) By rapid random movements

Answer 2

C
Sound energy is spread by rapid pressure changes. Sound's intensity decreases as it moves through seawater due to scattering, spreading and absorption. Information can be found in the section Sound Travels Much Farther Than Light through the Ocean.

Question 3

Why is sensible heat detectable while heat that is not sensible cannot be measured?

A) A thermometer can measure the decrease in temperature but not heat capacity.
B) The latent heat of fusion cannot be calculated.
C) Heat that is not sensible and heat that is sensible can both be measured.
D) A thermometer measures the decrease in temperature, but as liquid changes to solid, the loss of heat is not measurable.

Answer 3

D
Sensible heat loss is the detectable decrease in heat. This is measured by thermometers. As the liquid begins to change into a solid the decrease in temperature is undetectable until all of the liquid has phase changed. Information can be found in the section Water Has Unusual Thermal Characteristics.

Question 4

What is a shadow zone?

A) A zone that is unable to be penetrated by sound waves due to the density of seawater.
B) A zone that is unable to be penetrated by light waves due to deep depths.
C) A zone created in front of ships and submarines that creates a converging blind spot for sound waves.
D) A zone where the divergence of sound waves creates a region that has little sound energy penetration.

Question 5

The pycnocline isolates the majority of the world ocean from:

A) heating and cooling brought on by solar energy fluctuations.
B) wind driven circulations.
C) light.
D) All of these choices conditions.

Question 6

Why is ice effective at cooling drinks?

A) The sensible heat loss of water
B) The heat capacity of water
C) The latent heat of fusion
D) The diffusion of heat energy

Question 7

What is the main reason for the stratification in the north polar waters?

A) Temperature
B) Salinity
C) Depth
D) Pressure

Question 8

What allows water to be a polar molecule?

A) Hydrogen bonds
B) Adhesion
C) Surface tension
D) The angular shape of the molecule

Question 9

What is the name for a zone that decreases in temperature with depth?

A) Pycnocline
B) Thermocline
C) Halocline
D) Mixed layer

Question 10

____ connect(s) atoms by sharing the energy of paired electrons.

A) Covalent bonds
B) Hydrogen bonds
C) Cohesion
D) Adhesion

Question 11

What is thermal inertia?

A) The increase of heat energy
B) The propensity for a substance to resist temperature changes
C) The properties that moderate changes in temperature
D) The amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of a substance by 1° Celsius

Question 12

What contributes to the high biological activity and surface nutrients in southern polar waters?

A) Deep-water upwelling
B) Weak stratification
C) There is a lack of continental margins
D) All are contributing factors

Question 13

Why does the ocean not boil or freeze solid in different regions of the world?

A) The latent heat of fusion and vaporization balance the heat energy inputs and outputs.
B) Heat is able to be transferred to water vapor.
C) Heat is transported by oceanic and atmospheric circulation.
D) The thermal inertia of water is low in certain regions.

Question 14

What is the only substance to have a higher heat capacity than liquid water?

A) Acetone
B) Gasoline
C) Ammonia
D) Ice

Question 15

Which water mass is characterized by increasing density with deeper depths?

A) Surface zone
B) Deep zone
C) Pycnocline zone
D) Mixed layer

Question 16

Which statement is not true of the relationship between latitude and ocean characteristics?

A) The temperature in temperate waters is considered to be the most variable.
B) Tropical waters are the only regions in which evaporation exceeds precipitation.
C) Temperate waters have the largest variation in salinity.
D) The polar waters have the lowest average salinity due to the melting of ice.

Question 17

As pure water approaches its freezing point, the density decreases. Why does this happen?

A) The water compresses into ice.
B) The hydrogen bonds become rigid, allowing it to expand slightly.
C) The hydrogen bonds break as the molecules compress.
D) Ice takes up a smaller surface area than liquid water.

Question 18

What visible light wave is almost completely absorbed and converted to heat within the first few meters of the ocean?

A) Red light waves
B) Yellow light waves
C) Green light waves
D) Blue light waves

Question 19

What is the structure of carbon dioxide an example of?

A) An element
B) An atom
C) A compound
D) A polar molecule

Question 20

What effect does temperature and pressure have on the speed of sound when entering seawater?

A) The speed of sound increases as temperature and pressure decreases.
B) The speed of sound increases with temperature increases, but decreases with pressure.
C) The speed of sound decreases as temperature and pressure decrease.
D) The speed of sound is impacted by pressure but not temperature.

Question 21

Which is not a characteristic of thermoclines?

A) Tropical thermoclines are deeper than those at higher latitudes.
B) Thermoclines are not identical in form.
C) Polar waters tend to lack thermoclines.
D) Thermoclines are more abrupt in the high latitudes.

Question 22

Why does sound travel rapidly though the lower well-mixed surface layer?

A) Temperature and pressure are homogeneous
B) Temperature and salinity are homogeneous
C) It produces high refraction areas
D) Density is heterogeneous

Question 23

The polarity of water makes it able to dissolve many compounds.

Question 24

The influence of water on global temperatures, due to water's thermal characteristics, prevent broad swings of temperature during the day and night.

Question 25

How does the absorption of light provide heat energy in the ocean?

A) The addition of light increases the heat capacity of molecules.
B) The light makes water molecules vibrate and then the electromagnetic energy is converted to heat energy.
C) The light energy is absorbed by photosynthetic organisms which convert it to heat energy.
D) Tiny suspended particles absorb heat and transfer it to the ocean.

Question 26

Heat and temperature are synonymous terms.

Question 27

What important characteristic of water is the blue color attributed to?

A) The large oxygen atoms
B) The covalent bonds
C) Adhesion to other solids
D) The hydrogen bonds

Question 28

The refractive index of seawater:

A) is greater than freshwater.
B) is less than freshwater.
C) is equal to freshwater.
D) decreases with increasing salinity.

Question 29

What is true of heat capacity?

A) It is the measure of an object's response to an input of heat.
B) It is the measure of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram by 1° Celsius.
C) It is the measure of energy produced by random vibrations of atoms or molecules.
D) It is a consistent amount across various substances.

Question 30

The amount of heat generated does not always indicate a higher temperature.

Question 31

Only blue and green wavelengths pass through water in any appreciable quantity or distance.

Question 32

What is the difference between adhesion and cohesion?

A) Adhesion is the tendency of water molecules to stick to each other while cohesion is the tendency of water molecules to stick to other solids.
B) Adhesion allows water to create a surface tension while cohesion causes capillary action.
C) Adhesion is the tendency of water molecules to stick to solids while cohesion is the property that allows water molecules to stick to each other.
D) Adhesion and cohesion are synonymous terms.

Question 33

What is the typical depth of light penetration in the open ocean?

A) 40 meters
B) 100 meters
C) 330 meters
D) 600 meters

Question 34

The most stable layer in terms of temperature and density is the mixed layer.

Question 35

The same amount of heat energy is needed for latent heat of fusion as the latent heat of vaporization.

Question 36

Why is the sofar layer efficient for sound travel?

A) Refraction causes the sound energy to remain within the layer.
B) The density of the sofar layer traps the sound energy.
C) Sound energy bends away from layers of lower sound velocity.
D) Temperatures and salinity conditions are homogeneous.

Question 37

Sound and light waves bend because they travel at different speeds in different media.

Question 38

The latent heat of seawater is different than pure water due to the dissolved solids and gases present.

Question 39

Why does the latent heat of vaporization require so much heat energy?

A) The energy is needed to break the strong covalent bonds.
B) The energy is required to stabilize bond vibrations.
C) The energy is used to break the hydrogen bonds.
D) All of these choices.

Question 40

The liquid state of water is more efficient in the organization of water molecules than solid ice.

Question 41

How do the properties of water help our oceans to remain in liquid form?

Question 42

The continuous removal of heat from water corresponds to a consistent decrease in temperature.

Question 43

How is heat moved from the tropics to the poles? Be specific. How is most heat energy transported?

Question 44

How do water's thermostatic properties maintain global temperatures? Explain heat capacity and latent heat in your answer.

Question 45

Explain how light and sound waves behave in seawater. What kind of effects do they have on inhabitants of the ocean?

Question 46

The amount of heat energy transferred in the ocean is significantly higher than that in the atmosphere.

Question 47

Scattering occurs more in water than air due to the greater density of water.

Question 48

Explain how hydrogen bonds form in water. How do these bonds influence properties of water? How might the phase of water (liquid, solid, or gas) change the interaction of hydrogen bonds?

Question 49

Lower frequencies of sound are absorbed sooner than higher frequencies in water.

Question 50

The annual freezing and thawing of ice is a major factor on the regulation of temperatures on Earth.