Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

Stars spend their lives changing its hydrogen and helium to .

Accepted Answer

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

Question 4

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 5

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

Accepted Answer

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 6

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 7

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

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

Earth's inner core is primarily made of .

Accepted Answer

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

Question 9

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

Accepted Answer

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 10

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 11

Describe the general steps involved in the scientific method.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Describe the general steps involved in the...

Question 12

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

Accepted Answer

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 13

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 14

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

Accepted Answer

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

Question 15

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

Accepted Answer

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 16

The field of marine science involves .

Accepted Answer

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 17

What process allows the sun to generate light and heat?

Accepted Answer

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

Question 18

Which statement is true with regard to latitude and longitude?

Accepted Answer

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 19

The ocean originated from .

Accepted Answer

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

Question 20

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

Accepted Answer

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

Exam 1: An Ocean World