Oceanography- Concept Quizzes

In which year were gas hydrates discovered?

1976

What is the pH of lemon and lime juice?

2

Oxygen comprises about ________ percent of the Earth's present atmosphere.

20

The great oxidation event resulted in the massive die-off of which of the following?

Anaerobic bacteria

Which of the following is not a known hotspot? - Yellowstone - Hawaii - Iceland - Galapagos - Antarctica

Antarctica

The White Cliffs of Dover are an example of which of the following sediment types?

Biogenous Sediment

What is the general shape of a tablemount?

Flat

Which one of the following is not considered a true type of oceanic island?

Islands that are parts of continents (such as British Isles)

A beaker contains a mixture of ice and pure liquid water at 0°C. What happens to the temperature of the liquid water as heat is added?

It remains constant until the ice melts, and then it begins to rise.

What is the expected calcium carbonate content in modern surface sediments at a latitude of 60 degrees south and a longitude of 40 degrees east?

Less than 50% by weight

Which epoch is not part of Paleogene?

Miocene

What does NOAA stand for?

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

________ are events and phenomena that we can detect with our senses.

Observations

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - Oceanic Trench - Divergent Plate Boundary - Rift Valley - Rifting - Seafloor spreading

Oceanic Trench

In which period did the first fishes appear?

Ordovician

Which of the following was not used as evidence for continental drift?

Paleomagnetic reversals

Which period is not part of the Mesozoic? - Cretaceous - Jurrasic - Triassic - Permian

Permian

Which of the following resources found in ocean sediments has the greatest economic value?

Petroleum

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - Potassium Ion - Calcium Ion - Hydrogen Ion - Sodium Ion - Magnesium Ion

Potassium Ion

Which of the following was true about the Protoearth?

Protoearth's deep structure was homogeneous.

Which European navigator was known for using a simple method for determining latitude in the Northern Hemisphere?

Pytheas

Which of the following is an example of a continental-continental divergent plate boundary?

Red Sea

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - Continetal arc - Volcanic arc - Rift Valley - Convergent Plate Boundary - Island Arc

Rift valley

What's another name for an abyssal hill?

Seaknolls

Which of the following best defines temperature?

The direct measure of the average kinetic energy of a substance's molecules

The Alpine Fault of New Zealand is an example of ________ plate boundary.

a continental transform

The San Andreas Fault is an example of ________ plate boundary.

a continental transform

Oceanic crust is predominantly composed of the igneous rock called ________.

basalt

Earth's atmosphere became oxygen rich about 2.45 ________ years ago.

billion

Characteristics of passive continental margins include which of the following?

broad contiental shelves

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

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - Continental shelf - contienntal flood basalt - contienntal slope - continental rise - abyssal plain

continental flood basalt

Which of the following is not present in metal sulfide deposits that are associated with hydrothermal vents?

gold

Volcanic peaks that are below sea level but rise more than 1 kilometer above the deep-ocean floor and have a flattened top are called ________.

guyots

Rapidly changing salinity with depth is called the ________.

halocline

The type of marine sediment that forms the thickest deposits worldwide is ________.

neritic siliceous sediment deposits

On an annual basis which of the following fluxes between reservoirs of the hydrologic cycle is the largest?

ocean to atmosphere

The steeply-sloping and slower-spreading parts of the mid-ocean ridge are called ________.

oceanic ridges

Stanley Miller's 1952 experiment created ________ from the chemical ingredients thought to exist in Earth's early ocean.

simple organic compounds

Plate tectonics and evolution, which are held with a high degree of confidence because of rigorous testing and verification, are examples of ________.

theories

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - Pillow basalts - Metal Sulfide Deposits - rift valley - seamounts - trenches

trenches

Underwater avalanches of muddy water mixed with rocks and debris are ________.

turdidity currents

The oldest known rocks on Earth are about ________ years old.

4.3 billion

Which one of the following is the most common types of foraminifer ooze?

Coccolithophores

Active continental margins are characterized by which of the following?

Deep-sea trenches

Which of the following was used during early exploration of the oceans to collect sediment samples?

Dredge

What is the expected calcium carbonate content in modern surface sediments at a latitude of 0 degrees and a longitude of 120 degrees west?

Greater than 80% by weight

Which of the following best defines latent heat?

The energy needed to break the intermolecular bonds that hold molecules in place

What was the one line of evidence that Alfred Wegner could not explain with continental drift?

The mechanism for the movement of the plates

Sediments that are poorly sorted were most likely deposited by ________.

a glacier

Which seafloor feature is generally the smallest in height?

abyssal hill

The most likely place to find abundant manganese nodules is on the ________.

abyssal plain far from a continent

What is the motion of a juvenile stage of the Wilson cycle?

divergence

Which of the following has pH of 11?

household ammonia

Rocks that are composed primarily of calcium carbonate are called ________.

limestone

Which of the following is Earth's rigid layer that includes the crust plus the topmost portion of the mantle?

lithosphere

Earth's second atmosphere formed from ________.

outgassing

A layer of rapidly changing density with depth is called a ________.

pycnocline

When water freezes, its volume increases by ________.

9%

What percentage of an icebergs mass is below the waterline?

90%

Even though ________ of marine species are bottom dwelling, the vast majority of the ocean's biomass is planktonic.

98%

Which of the following will cause the lowest air pressure at the surface?

A column of warm, less dense air

Which of the following human threats to the ocean has resulted in making it more difficult for corals to build skeletons?

Acidification

Which set of fins is used as stabilizers?

Anal and dorsal

Peru's residents are familiar with ENSO as it brings a warm current that reduces populations of which animal?

Anchovies

Multicellular, eukaryotic organisms that range in complexity from simple sponges to complex vertebrates belong to the kingdom ________.

Animalia

Which of the following estuaries forms when wave action creates a barrier island that separates the estuary from the ocean?

Bar-Built Estuary

Ninety eight percent of marine species belong to which of the following?

Benthos

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: A tidal bulge is not created on the side of Earth facing away from the Moon BECAUSE the provided gravitational force is greater than the required centripetal force.

Both the assertion and the reason are incorrect.

Which set of fins is used for moving fast?

Caudal and pectoral

Dolphins are members of which of the following orders?

Cetacea

Which of the following deep-water fish was originally called the toothfish and is now on the Seafood Watch List of fish to avoid purchasing?

Chilean Seabass

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - Rift Valley - Black Smoker - Deep focus earthquake - White Smoker - Hydrothermal Vent

Deep focus earthquake

Release of large numbers of eggs into the water column is an adaptation to cope with which of the following adverse conditions of the rocky intertidal zone?

Difficulty finding mates

Coastal winds can cause upwelling or downwelling due to which of the following?

Ekman transport

The observation that ships and icebergs in the southern hemisphere float to the left of the wind direction is an example of which of the following?

Ekman transport

Which of the following domains includes complex organisms: multicellular plants, multicellular animals, fungi, and protoctists?

Eukarya

The polar easterly winds blow in which of the following directions in the Northern Hemisphere?

From northeast to southwest

Which of the following kingdoms includes 100,000 species of mold and lichen?

Fungi

Which type of current flow moves in a circular path around a subtropical convergence, reflecting Ekman transport, gravity, and the Coriolis effect?

Geostrophic circulation

Which of the following is NOT an eastern boundary current?

Gulf Stream

The water level of the eastern Mediterranean Sea is lower than the level at the Strait of Gibraltar due to which of the following?

High evaporation

Songs of which of the following whales are thought to be a form of sexual display?

Humpback whale

Which of the following is considered the world's largest oil spill?

Intentional dumping by the Iraqi army in 1991.

Which of the following is an example of an oceanic transform plate boundary?

Mendocino Fault

Which German vessel used echo sounding to identify the underwater mountain range running through the center of the South Atlantic Ocean?

Meteor

Based on the map of worldwide tidal patterns, California experiences which of the following?

Mixed Tidal Pattern

Which of the following is considered point source pollution?

Municipal sewage sludge

The stinging tentacles of a sea anemone protecting a clown fish which chases away any fish that tries to feed on the anemone is an example of which of the following types of symbiotic relationship?

Mutualism

Which of the following word pairs correctly link a descriptor with the way in which the organism lives in the ocean?

Nekton-swim

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - Nektoplankton - Picoplankton - Macroplankton - Holoplankton - Meroplankton

Nektoplankton

Which of Newton's laws states that an object at rest remains at rest, and a moving object continues to move in a straight line unless an external force changes its state of motion?

Newton's first law

Which U.S. coast is considered an emerging shoreline?

Pacific Coast

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - DDT - Mercury - Petroleum - Phytoplankton - Nitrates

Phytoplankton

Research studies of trash on Orange County, California beaches has identified pieces of which of the following types of debris as the most numerous?

Plastic nurdles

Based on the characteristics, what is the name of the wind belt being described as cold, dry winds generally from the east?

Polar easterlies

Which of the following resulted in mercury contamination and over 1780 deaths due to Minamata disease in Japan?

Producing acetaldehyde

Which of the following is not a hard stabilization option?

Relocation

Which of the following climatic regions exists at the following location: Latitude: 30°S Longitude: 80°E?

Subtropical

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Coral are usually found close to areas where major rivers drain into the sea BECAUSE they require low turbidity and salt water.

The assertion is incorrect, but the reason is correct.

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Hurricanes are no longer a threat to life and property around the globe BECAUSE improvements in technology have provided increasingly accurate forecasts and prompt evacuation.

The assertion is incorrect, but the reason is correct.

Which of the following statements about the movement of Earth's atmosphere is correct?

The movement of air within the atmospheric convection cells generates the wind belts.

Which of the following powers tropical cyclones?

The vast amounts of latent heat as water evaporates and condenses

Which of the following occurs when seafloor spreading rates increase?

There is a rise in sea level

Which of the following properties makes plastic an increasingly abundant component of oceanic flotsam and very damaging to the marine environment?

They are durable causing them to last almost indefinitely.

Which of the following characteristics is not found in cruising fishes such as tuna?

They rely on a swim bladder for neutral buoyancy.

What is a linear sea floor feature that is seismically active, occurs between offset mid-ocean ridge segments, and the relative movement between two points on either side of the feature is in the opposite direction?

Transform fault

Which tectonic process happens as a result of transform plate boundaries?

Transform faulting

Which of the following is characteristic of continental-continental convergent plate boundaries?

Uplifted mountain ranges

Which of the following ecosystems accounts for 20.9% of the world marine fishery?

Upwellings

The East Australian Current is an example of which of the following types of currents?

Western Boundary Current

The observation that one subtropical boundary current is faster, narrower, and deeper than its counterparts is an example of which of the following?

Western intensification

Which of the following statements about wetlands is incorrect?

Wetlands are inefficient at cleansing polluted water.

The Gulf of California is an example of ________ plate boundary.

a continental-continental divergent

Symbiotic archaea that live inside tubeworms can use two different methods to metabolize ________ and can switch back and forth to accommodate fast-changing environmental conditions.

carbon dioxide

Although Earth's oceans have existed since early in the formation of the planet, its ________ must have changed.

chemical composition

The upper half of the ________ zone is the only place in the ocean where there is sufficient light to support photosynthesis.

epipelagic

The zone that extends from the surface to a depth where enough light still exists to support photosynthesis is called the ________ zone.

euphotic

A grunion is a marine ________ that comes completely out of the water to spawn.

fish

At ________, the entire Moon's sunlit face is visible.

full moon

Which is NOT a type of symbiosis?

groupies

The collapse of Atlantic cod stocks resulted in fishers seeking the deep-water Greenland ________, which is now in danger of becoming overfished throughout the Atlantic.

halibut

A spring tide ________.

has very high high tides and very low low tides

The most serious threat to coral reefs is ________.

humans

White muscle tissue in fish supplies a much ________ amount of oxygen and supports a much ________ metabolic rate than red tissue.

lower; lower

The two most abundant components of dry air are ________.

nitrogen and oxygen

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - rifting - rift valley - divergent plate boundary - oceanic trench - seafloor spreading

oceanic trench

Most active swimming fish use vertical fins ________.

primarily as stabilizers

Modification of ________ have reduced dolphin mortality as bycatch.

purse seine nets

Abyssal clay is sometimes referred to as ________.

red clay

The correct order of seafloor features from the coast to the mid-ocean ridge is ________.

shelf, slope, rise, abyssal plain

Humans can free-dive to a maximum depth of 130 meters (428 feet) and hold their breath in rare instances for up to ________.

six minutes

Coastal upwelling along the coast of Chile is a result of winds from the ________ turning towards the ________ due to Ekman transport.

south; left

Water can pile up a short distance above a container's rim due to ________.

strong covalent bonds

Which of the following climatic regions exists at the following location: Latitude: 40°S Longitude: 20°W?

subtropical

One such relationship is ________, which occurs when two or more organisms associate in a way that benefits at least one of them.

symbiosis

An estuary produced by faulting or folding of rocks that creates a dropped-down section into which a river flows is called a ________.

tectonic estuary

Which of the following climatic regions exists at the following location: Latitude: 40°S Longitude: 80°W?

temperate

Which of the following has the greatest influence on seawater density?

temperature

A layer of rapidly changing temperature with depth is called a ________.

thermocline

As a result of the Coriolis effect in the northern hemisphere, winds always are deflected ________.

to the right of their original direction

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - Sea caves - tombolo - sea arches - marine terrace - wave-cut cliffs

tombolo

Equatorial currents are driven by the ________.

trade winds

A Secchi disk is used to measure water ________.

transparency

The oceanic climate region(s) where the majority of strong tropical cyclonic storms are produced is ________.

tropical

About what percent of the wind's energy is transferred to the ocean surface?

two

Surface waters are pushed away from land and replaced by nutrient-rich deep water through ________.

upwelling

Diverging surface waters are areas of ________ and ________ productivity.

upwelling; high

Neap tides occur ________.

when the Moon is in quadrature

Larger, high-energy waves scour sand from the berm and create a ________.

wintertime beach

Floating organisms are called ________.

zooplankton

Heterotrophic plankton are called ________.

zooplankton

A full lunar tidal cycle is ________.

24 hours and 50 minutes in duration

The Mesosaurus lived about ________ million years ago.

250

The major deserts of the world occur in which of the following regions?

30 degrees

The average albedo of Earth's surface is about ________.

30%

Nearly how many Argo floats are operating worldwide?

4,000

Archeological evidence suggests that boat technology was developed about ________ years ago.

40,000

A detailed analysis of all the variables that affect the tides at any particular coast reveals that nearly ________ factors are involved.

400

How many major extinctions has the Earth experienced?

5

About what percent of the world fishery is obtained beyond 320 kilometers (200 miles) of shore?

5%

The main current in Antarctic waters is the ________ Current.

Antarctic Circumpolar

Which of the following is not a location for a whirlpool?

Coast of California

What is the motion of a declining stage of the Wilson cycle?

Convergence (subduction)

Which of the following kinds of ocean pollution is an example of point source pollution?

Cooling water from a shoreline power plant

Which of the following compose the majority of the ocean's zooplankton biomass?

Copepods

Which of the following statements regarding the benefits coral reefs provide to people is correct?

Coral reef tourism provides some countries with over 50% of their gross national product.

Tektites are an example of which of the following sediment types?

Cosmogenous Sediment

The false-color map of sea surface temperatures shown below is an example of which of the following features?

El Niño conditions

Which circulation cells are between 30 and 60 degrees latitude?

Ferrell Cells

Which of the following estuaries forms as sea level rises and floods a glaciated valley?

Fjord

The trade winds blow in which of the following directions in the Northern Hemisphere?

From northeast to southwest

The prevailing westerly winds blow in which of the following directions in the Southern Hemisphere?

From southwest to northeast

The distinctive type of sedimentary layering that has largest particles on the bottom and smallest particles on the top, with intermediate sized particles in the middle, is called which of the following?

Graded Bedding

Which of the following is the most specific taxonomic grouping shared by common dolphins and bat stars?

Kingdom

Which of the following associations is correct?

Kingdom Animalia-sponges

Wind farms are currently being built in which sea?

North Sea

Compare and contrasts siliceous and calcareous oozes including information on how each is formed and preserved as seafloor sediment. Include a discussion of the marine environments that favor the deposition of siliceous and calcareous oozes.

Siliceous and calcareous ooze are both biougenous sediments, which are the solidified remains of dead organisms. However, Siliceous ooze is is created from diatom and radiolarian tests, and calcareous ooze is created from organisms that secrete carbonate. Calcareous ooze is preserved in Foraminifera, single-celled organisms. Unlike, calcareous ooze, siliceous ooze is lithified into diatomaceous earth, which is an extremely soft sedimentary rock. Furthermore, siliceous ooze more commonly found in cool water, while calcareous ooze is found in warm water.

Which part of Earth's cumulative hypsographic curve includes linear scars in the ocean floor, caused by the collision of two plates along convergent plate margins?

The steep deepest part below sea level

In which period did the dinosaurs dominate?

Triassic

An organism's response to environmental changes are called ________.

adaptations

The speed of sound in seawater varies with ________. - salinity - pressure - temperature - all answers

all of the answers

The distribution of benthic biomass closely matches the distribution of ________ in surface waters.

chlorophyll

In hydrothermal vent ecosystems, tubeworms and giant ________ depend entirely on sulfur-oxidizing archaea that live symbiotically within their tissues.

clams

Water rises from below to replace the water moving away from shore in a process called

coastal upwelling

A tropical cyclone with a wind speed of 150 km/hr. would be classified as Category ________ on the Saffir-Simpson Scale of hurricane intensity.

one

Some plastics accumulate poisons such as DDT and PCBs to levels as high as a ________ times their concentrations in seawater.

one million

According to the figure showing global wind belts and boundaries, the area of the globe (latitude) that is characterized by falling air masses and little precipitation is ________.

0° to 30° N latitude

What is the flow rate for one Sverdrup?

1 million cubic meters per second

Which of the following is the correct descending order for the world marine fisheries?

1) nontropical continental shelves 2) tropical continental shelves 3) upwelling areas 4) coastal and coral systems 5) open ocean

The barycenter is the balance point of the system, located about ________ beneath the Earth's surface.

1,050 miles

According to Annex V of the MARPOL treaty, it is legal to dump garbage (free of plastics and ground to less than 1 inch) _______ miles from shore.

12 to 25

Marine species represent only ________ of the total number of known species on Earth.

13%

Denmark generates ________ of its power by wind.

18%

An active hydrothermal vent field on the ocean floor was visited for the first time in ________, during a dive of the submersible Alvin.

1977

How long does the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) last?

20-30 years

The water pressure at the mid-ocean ridges exceeds ________ times greater than atmospheric pressure at sea level.

200

In which year was Argo floats deployed from vessels?

2000

When was the last El Niño event?

2015-2016

Of the 230,000 known species that inhabit the marine environment, about how many live in or on the ocean floor?

225,000

A boundary or belt characterized by variable winds and stormy, cloudy weather year round occurs in which of the following regions?

60 degrees

The 24-unit tidal power plant at the La Race River estuary in France can generate, at peak operating capacity, enough electricity to power about ________ average U.S. homes.

60,000

According to the figure showing global wind belts and boundaries, the polar front is located in/at ________.

60° latitude

Manganese nodules grow about ________ per million years.

7 millimeters

What is the pH of pure water?

7.0

What percent of volcanic activity takes place on the sea floor?

85%

What is the temperature range for a white smoker?

86 to 662 degrees Fahrenheit

What are the differences between a mid-ocean ridge and a hotspot? How is the age distribution pattern of the Hawaiian Islands-Emperor Seamount chain explained by the position of the Hawaiian hotspot? What could have caused the curious bend in the chain?

A mid-ocean ridge is the result of a a divergent plate boundary, which means it occurs when two tectonic plates move apart from one another, and create mountain ranges that follow throughout the ocean basins. A hotspot in the ocean is a convergent plate boundary where a plate slids on top of a hotter part of the Earth causing it to form a mantle plume, which then creates volcanoes. Both mid-ocean ridges and hotspots are very volcanic. As the Hawaiian Islands-Emperor Seamount chain follows northwest, the chain of volcanoes gets younger in origin, which creates the idea that the Pacific plate is moving northwest, forming new volcanoes. The curious bend in the chain could have been caused by a subduction zone, which commonly causes volcanic arcs.

What is bathymetry? How is it different from and similar to topography? What modern tools help us understand bathymetry of our oceans? Describe at least two specific examples.

Bathymetry is is a type of oceanic-floor mapping used to measure the depth of the ocean. However, typography is a type of mapping that deals with charting different elevations above sea level. Therefore, the two are similar in the way that they are both used to map and chart elevations, but their big difference is that bathymetry is for underwater and typography is used above water.Some modern tools used to help understand bathymetry are multi-beam echo sounders and side-scan sonar instruments. Both the echo sounder and sonar instrument are used to create very detailed ocean floor maps of small areas. The echo sounder emits sound below the charting ship, and depending on the sound that bounces back off from many different areas, bathymetrists can determind how deep the ocean is. While both echo sounders and sonar insturments use sound to map the sea floor, the main difference is that sonar instruments send out pluses of sounds on both sides of the charting ship to cover a wider area while charting.

Passive margins are usually produced over geologic time by which of the following?

Continental rifting and continued sea floor spreading

A boundary or belt characterized by light, variable winds, abundant cloudiness and much precipitation occurs of the following regions?

Equatorial (0 to 5 degrees)

The North Equatorial Current is an example of which of the following types of currents?

Equatorial Current

The South Equatorial Current is an example of which of the following types of currents?

Equatorial Current

How often does the absolute maximum spring tidal range occur?

Every 1600 years

Who was killed in the Philippines during his last sea voyage after a skirmish with local people?

Ferdinand Magellan

Which of the following fish waits patiently for prey and exerts themselves only in short bursts as they lunge?

Grouper

Which of the following statements regarding water density is correct?

Increasing the pressure decreases the temperature of maximum density for freshwater because the formation of bulky ice crystals is inhibited.

Human consumption of which of the following components of seawater helps prevent goiter?

Magnesium

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - Transform fault - San Andreas fault - Mariana Trench - Oceanic transform fault - North Anatolian Fault

Mariana Trench

Which of the following is a feature of an emerging shoreline?

Marine terraces

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words or phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - Mimicry - Withdrawl into shell - Inking - Regeneration - Stinging cells

Mimicry

The Sargasso Sea is the water that circulates around the rotation center of the ________ gyre.

North Atlantic

Polar high pressure occurs in which of the following regions?

Poles (90 degrees)

In which Order are Manatees and Dugong classified?

Sirenia

The West Wind Drift is an example of which of the following types of currents?

Southern Boundary Current

Which of the following is not a baleen whale?

Sperm whales

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Attempts to limit crown-of-thorns sea star damage to the Great Barrier Reef made the problem worse BECAUSE divers smashed the crown-of-thorns, which then regenerated new individuals from various body parts.

The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid.

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Beaches that were left alone after the Exxon Valdez disaster recovered more quickly and more completely than the cleaned beaches BECAUSE hot water removed the oil but also killed most shoreline organisms.

The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid.

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Coastal regions have experienced population increases and increased damage BECAUSE programs like the National Flood Insurance Program have encouraged construction in the unsafe locations they were designed to prevent.

The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid.

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Coral are not usually found close to areas where major rivers drain into the sea BECAUSE they require low turbidity and salt water.

The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid.

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Reef-building corals are able to survive in nutrient-poor tropical waters BECAUSE they receive most of their nutrition from symbiotic zooxanthellae algae.

The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid.

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: The temperatures across the Atlantic at different latitudes are much higher in Europe than in North America BECAUSE of the effects of heat transfer from the Gulf Stream.

The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid.

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Alternatives to hard stabilization have been sought BECAUSE hard stabilization has not been proven to have negative environmental consequences.

The assertion is correct, but the reason is incorrect.

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Clown fish are not stung by sea anemone BECAUSE clown fish release a chemical into seawater that makes the stinging tentacles retract.

The assertion is correct, but the reason is incorrect.

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: U.S. companies no longer produce DDT BECAUSE, the EPA has banned the use of DDT in the United States since 1972.

The assertion is incorrect but the reason is correct.

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: A tidal bulge is not created on the side of Earth directly facing the Moon BECAUSE the provided gravitational force is greater than the required centripetal force.

The assertion is incorrect, but the reason is correct.

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Coastal waters and upwelling areas are almost always blue in color BECAUSE they contain large amounts of microscopic marine algae and suspended particles.

The assertion is incorrect, but the reason is correct.

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: The barycenter is halfway between the Earth and the Moon BECAUSE Earth's mass is so much greater than that of the Moon.

The assertion is incorrect, but the reason is correct.

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - Dorsal - Caudal - Pelvic - Anal - Ventral

Ventral

Between the Moon's full and third-quarter phases, it is a ________.

Waning gibbous

The center of an open ocean tidal system is called a(n) ________.

amphidromic point

The Andes Mountains are an example of ________ plate boundary.

an oceanic-continental convergent

The Mariana Trench is an example of ________ plate boundary.

an oceanic-oceanic convergent

In the Northern Hemisphere, September 23 is known as ________.

autumnal equinox

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - longshore trough - longshore bar - berm - barrier flat - beach face

barrier flat

In middle latitude (temperate) oceans, primary productivity is limited by ________.

both available sunlight and nutrient supply

Which air mass is responsible for frigid winter temperatures in the U.S.?

cA

The toxicity of marine pollutants is evaluated through bioassays by ________.

calculating the concentration at which 50% of the test organisms die

All animals within order Carnivora-such as the familiar cat and dog families on land-have prominent ________.

canine teeth

The zooxanthellae that live within the coral's tissues is a type of ________.

dinoflagellate

Most high-speed fish use their caudal fins ________.

for swim propulsion

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - Oceanic-convergent convergence - transofrm plate boundary - Oceanic-oceanic convergence - Hot spot - Divergent plate boundary

hot spot

The transfer of water between the atmosphere, the oceans, and the continents is known as the ________.

hydrologic cycle

In coastal regions, sea breezes happen ________ and land breezes happen ________.

in the afternoon; at night

Minamata disease is associated with ________.

ingestion of methyl mercury-contaminated fish and shellfish

The particle size on a beach ________.

is related to whatever material is locally available

Fossils of ancient polar plants are currently found near the equator because the ________.

plants lived near the poles, but landmasses have drifted to current locations

A person experiences a popping feeling in their ears during the takeoff or landing of an airplane or while driving on steep mountain roads due to changes in the ________ of the atmosphere.

pressure

In general, the rate at which energy is stored by organisms through the formation of organic matter is called ________.

primary productivity

The difference between centripetal forces and gravitational forces is called the ________.

resultant force

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - Sea stack - delta - bay-mouth bar - tombolo - spit

sea stack

Examine the five words and/or phrases and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern. - Minimum central pressure - storm surge - storm diameter - sea surface salinity - maximum sustained winds

sea surface salinity

Volcanic peaks on the deep-ocean floor with conical tops are called ________.

seamounts

Which of the following is not an alternative to hard stabilization?

seawall

The extent of a continent's coastal waters depends on the size and relief of its continental ________.

shelf

Water pressure increases about 1 kilogram per square centimeter (1 atmosphere, or 14.7 pounds per square inch) with every ________ of water depth.

33 feet

Which of the following hydrologic cycle reservoirs is the smallest?

Atmospheric water vapor

Which of the following ecosystems accounts for 18.7% of the world marine fishery?

Coastal and coral systems

Which conditions in the ocean promote high productivity?

Cold water, rich nutrients

Based on the map of worldwide tidal patterns, Massachusetts experiences which of the following?

Semidiurnal Tidal Pattern

Which of the following existing or proposed tidal power plants would, upon completion, produce the most electricity?

Severn Estuary

Judge the following sentence according to the criteria given below: Invasive species can wreak ecological havoc by outcompeting and dominating native populations BECAUSE they lack predators or other natural controls in their new habitats.

The assertion and the reason are both correct, and the reason is valid.

Which part of Earth's cumulative hypsographic curve includes the mid-ocean ridges?

The shallowest slope below sea level

When a meander from the Gulf Stream pinches off and isolates a body of water within the North Atlantic gyre, the body of water is called a ________.

cold core ring

Bacteriovores, carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores are types of ________ organisms.

consumer

The Himalayan Mountains and Alps are geographic examples of which type of plate boundary?

convergent

The angular distance of the Sun or Moon above or below Earth's equatorial plane is called ________.

declination

Deep ocean currents are driven primarily by ________ and caused by ________.

density differences; differences in salinity and temperature

The study of how the ocean, atmosphere, and land have interacted in the past to produce changes in ocean chemistry, circulation, biology, and climate is called ________.

paleoceanography