Chapter 1 Practice Questions

The oceans are believed to have formed about _____________.

4 billion years ago

The ocean located in the Northern Hemisphere polar region; the smallest ocean in the world.

Arctic Ocean

A process by which bacteria or archaea synthesize organic molecules from inorganic nutrients using chemical energy released from the bonds of a chemical compound (such as hydrogen sulfide) by oxidation.

Chemosynthesis

(1) The deep, central layer of Earth, composed primarily of iron and nickel. It is subdivided into a liquid outer core 2270 kilometers (1410 miles) thick and a solid inner core with a radius of 1216 kilometers (756 miles). (2) A cylinder of sediment and/or rock material usually obtained by drilling.

Core

Which of the following statements concerning density stratification is false?

Density stratification has caused Earth to be homogeneous throughout.

The ocean located between Africa, India, and Australia; it exists mostly in the Southern Hemisphere and is the third largest ocean in the world.

Indian Ocean

1) The zone between the core and crust of Earth; rich in ferromagnesian minerals. (2) In pelecypods, the portion of the body that secretes shell material.

Mantle

The middle region of Earth below the asthenosphere and above the core.

Mesosphere

The process in nature by which only the organisms best adapted to their environment tend to survive and transmit their genetic characters in increasing numbers to succeeding generations while those less adapted tend to be eliminated.

Natural selection

A model that describes the formation of the solar system by contraction of a nebula.

Nebular hypothesis

The entire body of saltwater that covers 70.8% of Earth's surface.

Ocean

The scientific study of the floor of the ocean, the water itself, physical processes such as waves, currents, and tides, and the organisms contained within the ocean. Also known as oceanology.

Oceanography

Approximately what percentage of the surface of Earth is covered by oceans?

Oceans cover a total of 70.8% (almost 71%) of Earth's surface area.

The process by which gases are removed from within Earth's interior.

Outgassing

Which ocean is the deepest on Earth?

Pacific Ocean

Any planet that is in its early stages of development.

Protoplanet

All the continents could fit into the space occupied by the Pacific Ocean.

True

The deepest spot in the ocean is deeper than Mount Everest is high.

True

The early oceans and atmosphere are thought to have come from inside Earth and were formed by a process called outgassing.

True

The naturalist Charles Darwin, who is credited with developing the theory of evolution by natural selection, suggested that the changes organisms display through time are the result of _____________.

adaptations to different environmental conditions

Based on the scientific method, science supports the explanation of the natural world that _____________.

best explains all available observations

What physical property determines the order of Earth's layers?

density

The vertical movement of crust to accommodate additional weight or removal of weight is called _____________.

isostatic adjustment

The GPS system is a tool used for determining surface __________________.

location

The cosmological model for the formation of the Sun and the rest of our solar system is called the ___________________.

nebular hypothesis

Which of the following gases was absent from Earth's early atmosphere?

oxygen

Of the following, which best describes the physical property of the asthenosphere?

plastic

The most accurate scientific estimation of Earth's age is based on _____________.

radiometric methods of determining the age of meteorites and moon rocks

The Age of Discovery was the time period in ocean exploration history when _____________.

the Western European world realized the vastness of Earth's water-covered surface

The subdivisions of the geologic time scale _____________.

were initially based on fossil evidence, extinctions, and boundaries of sedimentary rock units