Introduction to Oceanography
Chapter Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Introduction to Oceanography offers a comprehensive overview of the physical, chemical, geological, and biological processes that govern the worlds oceans. Students will explore topics such as ocean currents, waves, and tides; the chemical composition and physical properties of seawater; marine ecosystems; and the dynamic interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere. The course emphasizes the importance of the oceans in Earths climate system, global biogeochemical cycles, and human society. Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities, students will gain insight into the tools and techniques used by oceanographers to study the marine environment, as well as the key challenges facing ocean conservation and management today.
Recommended Textbook Essentials of Oceanography 10th Edition by Alan P. Trujillo
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Planet Earth
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Q1) Organisms that break down organic molecules and release energy are called:
A) autotrophic organisms.
B) bacteria.
C) biotic organisms.
D) fungi.
E) heterotrophic organisms.
Answer: E
Q2) When the Earth cooled, the layers of the earth separated based on density differences.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) The correct arrangement of astronomical bodies from<b> oldest </b>to <b>youngest</b> is:
A) galaxy, solar system, planet.
B) planet, galaxy, solar system.
C) planet, solar system, galaxy.
D) solar system, galaxy, planet.
E) solar system, planet, galaxy.
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: Plate Tectonics and the Ocean Floor
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Q1) Oceans become deeper moving away from ridges due to:
A) decreasing thickness of the lithosphere.
B) increasing density of oceanic basalts.
C) increases in sediment accumulations.
D) polar wandering.
E) thermal contraction of hot asthenosphere.
Answer: E
Q2) How is the age of the ocean sediments related to the distance from a mid-ocean ridge?
Answer: Since mid-ocean ridges are constructive plate boundaries where new crust is formed as the plates diverge, the newest crust is at the spreading center in the mid-ocean ridge and as you move away from the ridge axis toward the continent, the age of the ocean sediments increases.
Q3) Moving from oceanic ridge to oceanic trench, the thickness of the lithosphere:
A) decreases in proportion to the distance.
B) is unrelated to the distance from the ridge.
C) increases in proportion to the distance.
D) randomly varies.
E) remains the same.
Answer: C
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Chapter 3: Marine Provinces
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Q1) New lithosphere is produced in association with:
A) deep-sea trenches.
B) fracture zones.
C) hydrothermal vents.
D) mid-ocean ridges.
E) transform faults.
Answer: D
Q2) Tablemounts are the features labeled:
A) 1.
B) 2.
C) 3.
D) 4.
Answer: A
Q3) Seamounts are the feature labeled:
A) 1.
B) 2.
C) 3.
D) 4.
Answer: C
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Marine Sediments
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following contains silica (SiO )?
A) coccolithophores
B) corals
C) foraminiferans
D) phosphorites
E) radiolarians
Q2) Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern.
A)abyssal clay
B)calcareous ooze
C)coarse lithogenic sediment
D)manganese nodule
E)siliceous ooze
Q3) Calcium carbonate, phosphates, and manganese may precipitate out of solution to form deposits on the ocean floor.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Phosphate nodules are found on the continental shelf.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Discuss the sources of biogenous sediments.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Water and Seawater
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Sample Questions
Q1) The surface tension of water:
A) increases as density decreases.
B) is related to salinity.
C) is relatively high.
D) is relatively low.
E) is very similar to similar liquids.
Q2) Processes that decrease seawater salinity include evaporation and sea ice formation.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The voyage of the HMS Challenger was the first systematic sampling of biological specimens and chemical and physical properties of the ocean.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern.
A)atmosphere
B)biomass
C)glaciers
D)oceans
E)soil moisture
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Chapter 6: Air-Sea Interface
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Sample Questions
Q1) Low pressure systems in the northern hemisphere rotate:
A) at a 45º angle from the prevailing wind direction.
B) clockwise.
C) counterclockwise.
D) to the left.
E) to the right.
Q2) The westerlies wind belt is the area corresponding to:
A) 1.
B) 2.
C) 3.
D) 4.
E) 5.
Q3) A hurricane contains more energy than has been generated in the U.S. over the last twenty years.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are the differences between <b>hurricanes, typhoons,</b> and <b>tropical cyclones</b>?
Q5) Distinguish between<b> weather</b> and <b>climate</b>.
Q6) Discuss the formation of land breezes and sea breezes.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Ocean Circulation
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Q1) Surface waters are pushed away from land and replaced by nutrient-rich bottom water through:
A) convergence.
B) downwelling.
C) land breezes.
D) sea breezes.
E) upwelling.
Q2) Distinguish between <b>upwelling</b> and <b>downwelling</b>.
Q3) Geostrophic circulation is within a gyre driven by:
A) density.
B) gravity.
C) temperature.
D) the Coriolis effect.
E) wind.
Q4) The worldwide effect of El Niño include all of the following except:
A) coral reef deaths in the Pacific Ocean.
B) crop failure in the Philippines.
C) drought in the U.S. Gulf coastal states.
D) increased Pacific cyclone activity.
E) water shortages in Sri Lanka.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Waves and Water Dynamics
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Q1) Storm surges are generated by intense:
A) earthquakes.
B) high-pressure systems.
C) landslides.
D) low-pressure systems.
E) thunderstorms.
Q2) Constructive interference results in larger waves while destructive interference produces:
A) capillary waves.
B) rouge waves.
C) smaller waves.
D) swells.
E) tsunamis.
Q3) Describe what happens to a deep-water wave when it enters shallow water and eventually breaks.
Q4) The R/V Sea Serpent is in the Gulf of Mexico sampling gag grouper populations when it encounters the feeder bands from a tropical storm. Assuming that the R/V Sea Serpent is in deep water, calculate the wave speed and the wavelength of the storm-generated waves. The wave period (T) is 2.5 seconds.
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Chapter 9: Tides
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Q1) The side of the Earth that faces the moon experiences a high tide, the side of the Earth that is opposite from the moon will have a(n):
A) high tide.
B) low tide.
C) neap tide.
D) proxigean tide.
E) spring tide.
Q2) The angular distance of the orbital plane of the Sun or Moon above or below the Earth's equatorial plane is called the:
A) apogee.
B) declination.
C) ecliptic.
D) perihelion.
E) syzygy.
Q3) Discuss the relationship between the Earth's rotation and the location of tidal bulges.
Q4) A spring tide occurs once per month.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 10: The Coast: Beaches and Shoreline Processes
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Q1) Which of the following will decrease the velocity of the longshore current?
A) increased beach slope
B) increased wave frequency
C) increased wave period
D) larger waves
E) faster wind speed
Q2) Eustatic changes in sea level refer to changes in the volume of seawater or changes in the volume of the ocean basin.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Eroded material along coastlines is carried from high wave energy areas to:
A) active offshore bars.
B) low wave energy areas.
C) the backshore.
D) the foreshore.
E) the nearshore zone.
Q4) Describe the features associated with erosional coasts and discuss their formation.
Q5) Compare and contrast<b> erosional coasts </b>and <b>depositional coasts</b>.
Q6) Distinguish between an <b>emergent coast </b>and a<b>submerged coast</b>.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: The Coastal Oceans
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Q1) An estuary produced by faulting or folding of rocks that creates a dropped-down section into which a river flows is called a:
A) bar-built estuary.
B) coastal plain estuary.
C) fjord.
D) salt wedge estuary.
E) tectonic estuary.
Q2) Salt marshes serve as nurseries for over half of the commercially important fish in the southeastern United States.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Minamata disease is associated with:
A) dinoflagellates in tropical reef ecosystems.
B) eutrophication.
C) harmful algal blooms.
D) illegal fishing in tropical areas.
E) ingestion of methyl mercury-contaminated fish and shellfish
Q4) List the types of marine pollutants.
Q5) List and describe the four types of estuaries and give an example of each.
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Chapter 12: Marine Life and the Marine Environment
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Q1) Discuss osmotic balance in freshwater and saltwater fishes.
Q2) A small size is advantageous for marine organisms because it:
A) increases the ability to absorb nutrients.
B) increases the ability of wastes to diffuse out of the organism.
C) increases the surface area to volume ratio that in turn decreases density.
D) All of the above statements are advantageous to marine organisms.
E) None of the above statements are advantageous to marine organisms.
Q3) Draw and label a cross-section of the marine environment and include the following biozones: the <b>neritic province</b> (supralittoral, littoral, sublittoral, bathyal, abyssal, and hadal zones) and the <b>oceanic province </b>(epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, and abyssopelagic zones).
Q4) Cold, high viscosity water benefits floating organisms.
A)True
B)False
Q5) High latitude ocean water tends to support large planktonic communities because: A) fewer predators that feed on plankton.
B) longer summer day length.
C) of higher dissolved gas concentrations.
D) there is abundant light.
E) there are abundant nutrients.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Biological Productivity and Energy Transfer
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Q1) All of the following are effective means of regulating fisheries <b>except</b>:
A) limiting the length of the fishing season.
B) limiting the size of the boat.
C) restricting the location of a legal catch.
D) setting catch limits.
E) setting gear limits.
Q2) Diatoms are classified as members of the Division Chlorophyta.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Eutrophication is a type of pollution caused by increased: A) concentration of hydrocarbons.
B) inorganic nutrient input.
C) primary productivity.
D) salinity.
E) water temperature.
Q4) The amount of carbon dioxide concentrations and available nutrients affect the rate of primary production in an ecosystem.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Animals of the Pelagic Environment
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Q1) One adaptation for deep diving is an increase in heart rate during the dive.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Barrel-shaped animals with openings at each end for current flow are called:
A) cephalopods.
B) cnidarians.
C) crustaceans.
D) ctenophores.
E) salps.
Q3) Many cetaceans can extract 90% of the oxygen from each breath.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The caudal fin of fast-cruising fish such as tuna is: A) forked.
B) heterocercal.
C) lunate.
D) rounded.
E) truncate.
Q5) Distinguish between <b>poikilotherms</b> and <b>homeotherms </b>and give an example of each.
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Chapter 15: Animals of the Benthic Environment
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Q1) Discuss the conditions that limit the distribution of corals worldwide.
Q2) One characteristic of hydrothermal vent communities is unusually large organisms such as tubeworms and clams.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Hydrocarbon seeps have been discovered :
A) along the Galapagos Ridge.
B) along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
C) in the Gulf of California.
D) in the Gulf of Mexico.
E) in the Indian Ocean.
Q4) Fiddler crabs are commonly found inhabitants of tide pools.
A)True
B)False
Q5) List and describe the animal adaptations employed by animals living on a sandy beach (intertidal zone).
Q6) Coral reefs contain twenty-five percent of all marine species.
A)True
B)False
Q7) Discuss the role of sea urchins in kelp forest ecosystems.
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Chapter 16: The Oceans and Climate Change
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Q1) List the observed changes in the world's oceans as a function of increased mean atmospheric temperature.
Q2) The Earth's average surface temperature has increased 0.6 ºC over the past 30 years.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Since 1750, the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has increased by almost:
A) 10%.
B) 20%.
C) 30%.
D) 40%.
E) 50%.
Q4) The world's oceans play a role in reducing global warming by:
A) absorbing surplus heat.
B) increasing oceanic primary productivity.
C) moving carbon dioxide and nutrients from the deep ocean to the surface ocean.
D) removing CO and sequestering CO in ocean sediments.
E) trapping CO in sea ice.
Q5) Describe the role of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
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