Deck 15: Restless Realm: Oceans and Coasts

Question 1

What percentage of seawater,on average,consists of dissolved salt ions?

A) 1.5%
B) 3.5%
C) 5.5%
D) 6.5%

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The density of seawater increases with ____________.

A) increasing temperature and increasing salinity
B) decreasing temperature and increasing salinity
C) increasing temperature and decreasing salinity
D) decreasing temperature and decreasing salinity

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Tidal reach is affected by ____________.

A) the slope of the coastline
B) the position of the Sun
C) Both A and B are correct.
D) None of the above is correct.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which trench includes the world's deepest sea floor (more than 11 km below sea level)?

A) Peru-Chile Trench
B) Puerto Rican Trench
C) Mariana Trench
D) Kamchatka Trench

Question 5

Of the choices below,which portions of the sea floor are most steeply tilted?

A) abyssal plains
B) continental rises
C) continental shelves
D) continental slopes

Question 6

As compared to continental interiors,surface temperatures in coastal regions ____________.

A) are warmer throughout the year
B) are colder throughout the year
C) experience a more extreme range throughout the year
D) experience a less extreme range throughout the year

Question 7

Most of the igneous rocks within oceanic abyssal plains are ____________.

A) exposed at the surface of the sea floor
B) covered by sand and gravel introduced by rivers at deltas
C) covered by clay and the skeletal remains of microplankton
D) covered by limestones made up of the fragments of large invertebrate shells

Question 8

The most prominent force inducing tides on Earth is the ____________.

A) Sun's gravitational pull
B) Moon's gravitational pull
C) electromagnetic attraction between Earth and the Sun
D) gravitational attraction between ocean waters and the continents on Earth

Question 9

As compared to freshwater,saline ocean water is ____________ and therefore provides ____________ support to floating objects.

A) less dense; more buoyant
B) less dense; less buoyant
C) denser; more buoyant
D) denser; less buoyant

Question 10

The deepest segments of the ocean floor are found ____________.

A) along mid-ocean ridges
B) in the geographic centers of abyssal plains
C) in trenches associated with passive margins
D) in trenches associated with subduction zones

Question 11

Approximately what percentage of Earth's surface is covered with water?

A) 30%
B) 50%
C) 70%
D) 85%

Question 12

The magnitude of tidal effect (lateral extent of the intertidal zone between low and high tides)is affected by ____________.

A) the slope of the coastline
B) the position of the Sun
C) Both A and B are correct.
D) None of the above is correct.

Question 13

Major oceanic surface currents travel ____________.

A) parallel to the prevailing wind direction in the region
B) in direct opposition to prevailing winds as a result of the Coriolis effect
C) at an angle to prevailing winds as a result of the Coriolis effect
D) at an angle to prevailing winds as a result of the Doppler effect

Question 14

____________ make up a majority of the ocean floor worldwide.

A) Abyssal plains
B) Continental rises
C) Continental shelves
D) Continental slopes

Question 15

The form and topography (depth profile)of the ocean floor is termed ____________.

A) orogeny
B) bathymetry
C) allocthony
D) aquitopography

Question 16

A bathymetric map of the ocean would utilize contours to connect points of equal ____________.

A) surface salinity
B) surface temperature
C) temperature at the sea floor
D) depth of the sea floor below sea level

Question 17

The shallowest portion of the ocean is found along the margins of continents in regions termed ____________.

A) abyssal plains
B) continental rises
C) continental shelves
D) continental slopes

Question 18

Which type of continental coastline features a much broader continental shelf?

A) passive continental margins
B) active continental margins

Question 19

If currents are largely directed toward shore,the area is likely to experience ____________.

A) upwelling
B) downwelling

Question 20

Compared to continental lithosphere,oceanic lithosphere is ____________.

A) thicker
B) thinner
C) approximately the same thickness

Question 21

A wave will disturb the water to a depth equal to ____________.

A) its wavelength
B) its surface amplitude
C) the bottom of the sea floor
D) one-half of its wavelength

Question 22

Wave crests ____________.

A) refract (bend) so as to impact the shore in a nearly parallel manner
B) refract so as to impact the shore nearly perpendicular to the shoreline
C) reflect directly backward from the angle at which they approached the shoreline
D) are reflected off the shoreline, but never refract

Question 23

Because of wave refraction,erosion along an irregular coastline is ____________.

A) even along the length of the coast
B) greatest in headlands (points of land projected out toward the sea)
C) greatest in bays

Question 24

Rogue waves arise from constructive interference of multiple convergent waves; these waves occasionally can be more than 100 feet high.

Question 25

Global circulation of ocean water is influenced by ____________.

A) surface winds
B) coastal upwelling and downwelling
C) sinking of cold and saline water
D) All of the above.

Question 26

Tidal reach will be greatest locally during a ____________.

A) full or last quarter moon
B) full or first quarter moon
C) full or new moon
D) first quarter or last quarter moon

Question 27

When the sea level rises,the ocean may invade a river valley,producing a nearshore body of water of mixed and variable salinity termed a(n)____________.

A) atoll
B) lagoon
C) estuary
D) jetty

Question 28

As waves approach shore in shallow water their speed ____________.

A) increases
B) decreases

Question 29

When high tide occurs at any single shoreline,that means it is also high tide at all other coasts throughout the world.

Question 30

Every shoreline experiences a tidal reach (difference in elevation between high and low tide)of about 3 m.

Question 31

At the equatorial ocean basins,sea surface temperatures may reach 30°C or greater; at the sea floor 5 km below,the temperature is ____________.

A) slightly warmer (33°C)
B) about room temperature (25°C)
C) cool (10-15°C)
D) near freezing (2-4°C)

Question 32

Longshore currents flow ____________.

A) directly toward the shoreline
B) directly away from the shoreline
C) parallel to the shoreline

Question 33

Flooded valleys that were excavated by glaciers are termed ____________.

A) deltas
B) tombolos
C) fjords
D) fords

Question 34

Rip currents flow ____________.

A) directly toward the shoreline
B) directly away from the shoreline
C) parallel to the shoreline

Question 35

Due to the Coriolis effect,surface currents in the oceans are always pulled to the ____________ in the northern hemisphere as compared to the prevailing wind direction.

A) north
B) east
C) right
D) left

Question 36

A coastline is more likely to consist of a tidal flat than a beach if ____________.

A) the shore is protected from strong waves
B) the shore is exposed to strong waves
C) the shore is in a warm climate
D) the shoreline runs east-west rather than north-south

Question 37

Sand groins ____________.

A) have solved the problem of beach drift
B) increase erosion rates in the region upcurrent from the groin
C) increase erosion rates in the region downcurrent from the groin
D) increase depositional rates in the region downcurrent from the groin

Question 38

Wave refraction causes longshore currents to travel ____________.

A) directly onshore
B) from embayments toward headlands
C) directly offshore
D) from headlands toward embayments

Question 39

The strongest winds within a hurricane are found in the ____________.

A) outermost rain bands
B) eye
C) eye wall
D) relatively dry areas between bands

Question 40

Estuaries most commonly have salinity that is ____________.

A) identical to normal marine salinity
B) identical to fresh water
C) hypersaline (greater than normal marine salinity)
D) brackish (between freshwater and marine salinity)