ch 1

Anaerobic organisms require oxygen to survive.

False

Early Polynesians only traveled within sight of land.

False

Free oxygen was present in the Earth's primordial atmosphere.

False

In Europe, significant oceanographic knowledge was acquired during the Middle Ages.

False

Oceanic crust is less dense than continental crust because it is made of silica and manganese.

False

A rock sample contains 75 atoms of a parent isotope and 25 atoms of a daughter isotope. The half-life of the parent isotope is 100 years. How old is this rock?

50 years old

Of the following statements related to the formation of a density-stratified Earth, which is/are true?

Molten material will rise if it is less dense than the surrounding material.

Of the following statements about density stratification, which is/are true?

Outgassing is a direct result of density stratification.

The largest of the ocean basins, which currently covers more than half of the ocean surface, is the:

Pacific Ocean.

The first humans from Western Hemisphere known to have developed the art of navigation were the:

Phoenicians.

Describe the origin of Earth's oceans.

The water that fills our oceans was mostly derived from outgassing, with a minor component coming from ice comets.

According to the Geologic Time Scale, which selection lists the correct order of coexistence, from earliest to latest?

Trilobites and amphibians, insects and dinosaurs, dinosaurs and birds, flowering plants and fishes, humans and reptiles

According to the nebular hypothesis, __________.

all bodies in the solar system formed from an enormous cloud composed of mostly hydrogen and helium, with only a small percentage of heavier elements

All of the following were accomplishments of Captain James Cook except:

all of the above are correct.

One of the reasons that free oxygen in our atmosphere is important to the development and maintenance of life on Earth is because oxygen:

can form ozone and block some UV radiation.

core

composed mostly of iron and nickel with a liquefied metallic outer layer

mantle

contains minerals rich in iron and magnesium, between the crust and the core, and has the second largest volume according to the chemical classification

lithosphere

crust and the uppermost mantle consisting of a solid rock layer

The lithosphere consists of Earth's __________.

crust and uppermost mantle

The separation of the Earth into layers while it was molten was the result of the:

differing densities of the elements that make up the Earth.

Eratosthenes

first determination of Earth's circumference

A tentative, testable statement about the general nature of a phenomenon is called a/an:

hypothesis.

The term "scientific certainty" __________.

is false because science never reaches an absolute truth, because we can never be certain that we have all of the observations

Ptolemy

mapped world with Roman knowledge showing latitude and longitude

Current scientific knowledge indicates that the most likely origin of most of Earth's oceans was due to:

water vapor released from volcanic outgassing.

Earth's current atmosphere supports animal life because __________.

plant photosynthesis provides oxygen that is critical for aerobic respiration

A container holds 100 atoms of an isotope. This isotope has a half-life of 1.5 months. How many total atoms will be in the container after 3 months?

100 atoms

A container holds 100 atoms of an isotope. This isotope has a half-life of 1.5 months. How many atoms of the radioactive isotope will be in the container after 3 months?

25 atoms

The average depth of the world's oceans is approximately:

3,682 meters (12,080 feet).

Earth is about:

4.6 billion years old.

Have the oceans always been salty?

Although Earth's oceans have existed since early in the formation of the planet (at least 4 billion years ago), its chemical composition must have changed due to the high carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide content in the early atmosphere, as well as volcanic outgassing of gases such as chlorine.

The European "Age of Discovery" began with:

Christopher Columbus' discovery of the "New World."

Which of the following statements regarding continental and oceanic crust is TRUE?

Continental crust is thicker and less dense than oceanic crust.

The first person we are aware of who determined the circumference of the Earth using trigonometry and the angle of sunlight at Alexandria, Egypt, was:

Eratosthenes.

What is the difference between an ocean and a sea?

Seas are smaller and shallower bodies of saltwater, somewhat enclosed by land, but directly connected to the world oceans.

What did Stanley Miller's experiment demonstrate?

Stanley Miller's experiment demonstrated that vast amounts of organic molecules could have been produced in Earth's early oceans (a "pre-biotic soup").

Which of the following ideas about the development of life on Earth make scientific sense?

The "prebiotic soup" of the primitive oceans provided a likely environment for life to develop.

Of the following statements about the asthenosphere, which is/are true?

The asthenosphere is a plastic layer that extends from the base of the lithosphere to a depth of about 700 kilometers (430 miles).

Describe how the half-life of radioactive materials can be used to determine the age of a rock through radiometric age dating.

The half-life of a material is the time required for one-half of the atoms in a sample to decay to other atoms. The older Earth material is, the more radioactive material will have been converted to decay product(s). Scientists can measure the amount of radioactive material and the amount of resulting decay product in the rocks. By comparing these two quantities, the age of the material can be determined.

Two containers hold the same radioactive isotope. Container A contains 1000 atoms, and container B contains 500 atoms. Which of the following statements about containers A and B is true?

The rate of decay of atoms in container A is greater than the rate of decay of atoms in container B.

In general, the salinity content of ocean water has remained constant throughout the majority of Earth's history.

True

Radiometric dating is used to determine the ages of rocks.

True

The Earth's crust solidified around 4.5 billion years ago.

True

In science, which one of the following would be considered an observation? Select only one answer.

Waves are seen to approach the beach at an angle.

The important contribution to navigation made by Eratosthenes in the third century BC was __________.

a reasonably accurate calculation of the circumference of our planet

The water in Earth's oceans came __________.

mostly from volcanic outgassing and partly from comets

The Sun and the rest of the solar system formed about 5 billion years ago from a huge cloud of dust and gas called a:

nebula

basalt

oceanic crust

solar system

the Sun and the eight major planets revolving around it

What is the scientific definition of half-life?

the amount of time over which the number of parent isotopes decreases by half

Density stratification in relation to Earth's interior results in __________.

the highest density materials concentrated toward Earth's core, whereas progressively lower density components form concentric spheres around the core toward the planet's surface