Introduction to Oceanography Exam
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Course Introduction
Introduction to Oceanography provides a comprehensive overview of the physical, chemical, geological, and biological processes that shape the worlds oceans. Students will explore topics such as ocean circulation, marine ecosystems, wave dynamics, plate tectonics, and the oceans role in climate regulation. Through lectures, hands-on activities, and case studies, the course examines how the oceans interact with the atmosphere, influence global weather patterns, and support diverse forms of life. Emphasis is placed on current challenges facing the worlds oceans, including pollution, overfishing, and climate change, equipping students with foundational knowledge for more advanced studies in marine science.
Recommended Textbook Essentials of Oceanography 6th Edition by Tom S. Garrison
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Chapter 1: The Origin of the Ocean
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Q1) The inner core of the Earth is primarily made of__________.
A) magnesium
B) water
C) iron
D) silicates
Answer: C
Q2) The primary physical property that sorts the Earth, ocean, and atmosphere is ____.
A) density stratification
B) radioactive decay
C) gravity
D) mass
Answer: A
Q3) Volcanic venting of substances including water vapor is called ____.
A) outgassing
B) fissure
C) fusion
D) condensation
Answer: A
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Page 3
Chapter 2: A History of Marine Science
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Q1) The future of oceanographic research appears to lie:
A) with single, isolated individuals working alone.
B) with epic voyages.
C) with the cooperative efforts of the great private, institutional, and national oceanographic institutions.
D) with the military agencies of the world.
Answer: C
Q2) Edward Forbes was an Edinburgh professor who thought that:
A) life was plentiful in the deep sea.
B) there was an easy route to the orient from Europe.
C) no life existed in the deep sea because of high pressure and no light.
D) the Pacific Ocean was much smaller than it truly is.
Answer: C
Q3) The invention of the compass is attributed to the:
A) Americans
B) Chinese
C) Spanish
D) British
Answer: B
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Earth Structure and Plate Tectonics
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Q1) The magnetic striping of the seafloor is considered evidence of seafloor spreading and:
A) subduction down the rift valleys.
B) spreading centers in the trenches.
C) changes in the Earth's axis of rotation.
D) periodic reversals in the polarity of the Earth's magnetic field.
Answer: D
Q2) A "mystery" in our understanding of plate tectonics has been, until recently, the nature of the power source capable of moving the plates and the continents embedded within them. Recent evidence indicates the power source to be:
A) the readjustment of the surface to continual shrinking of the whole Earth.
B) convection currents within the Earth's mantle is moving the plates.
C) the action of ocean currents is dragging along the seafloor, causing the seafloor and the continents to move.
D) the continual vibration from earthquakes and volcanoes slowly moves the continents equatorward under the influence of centrifugal force.
Answer: B
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Ocean Basins
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Q1) The transition between the shelf and the deep seafloor is:
A) the littoral zone.
B) the continental slope and rise.
C) the abyssal plain.
D) the mid-ocean ridge.
Q2) Hydrothermal vents such as black smokers are found at spreading centers.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Submarine canyons:
A) always run parallel to coasts.
B) have gradual slopes and are very wide.
C) can never cut into rock.
D) cut into the shelf and may extend almost to the shore.
Q4) Active continental margins are located:
A) along the east coast of the United States.
B) along the east coast of South America.
C) on the west coasts of both North and South America.
D) all around Africa.
Q5) What methods do scientists use to determine the bathymetry of the ocean floor?
Page 6
Q6) Distinguish between active and passive continental margins.
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Chapter 5: Ocean Sediments
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Q1) What is the origin of manganese nodules?
Q2) One area in the ocean that has an extreme abundance of sediment deposition is:
A) the shallow waters around Alaska.
B) the waters around the tip of Africa.
C) the deep ocean floor in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
D) the waters near the Gulf Coast of North America.
Q3) Large volumes of bottom sediments may be transported long distances by:
A) storm waves.
B) icebergs.
C) tidal action.
D) turbidity currents.
Q4) Scientists can derive all of the following types of information from observing deep ocean cores EXCEPT:
A) how much light penetrates the ocean
B) the presence or absence of mineral resources
C) historical water temperatures
D) ancient current patterns.
Q5) Describe neritic sediments and explain what you would expect the composition of a typical neritic sample to be.
Page 7
Q6) What are the main sources of terrigenous sediments?
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Chapter 6: Water
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Sample Questions
Q1) The components of ocean water whose quantities are less than 1 part per million (ppm) are considered:
A) excess volatiles.
B) Zwitterions.
C) major constituents.
D) trace elements.
Q2) The salinity of seawater is a measure of the amount of sodium and chloride in a water sample.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Scientists believe the global change in greenhouse gases is making the surface ocean fresher in high latitudes.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Oxygen enters seawater:
A) through the respiration of animals.
B) as a byproduct of photosynthesis and diffusion from the surface.
C) as a result of decomposition of plant and animal remains.
D) through the oxidation of metal ions in seawater.
Q5) What is meant by the mixing time of the ocean?
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Chapter 7: Atmospheric Circulation
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Sample Questions
Q1) How many atmospheric circulation cells exist in EACH hemisphere?
A) 6
B) 3
C) 4
D) 1
Q2) One of the driving forces of atmospheric circulation is:
A) convection.
B) conduction.
C) evaporation.
D) transpiration.
Q3) Air is a fluid that is never completely dry.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Conditions that contributed to the destructive nature of Hurricane Katrina included all of the following EXCEPT:
A) a huge storm surge.
B) very strong winds, up to 125 miles per hour.
C) very high levels of rainfall, up to 10 inches per hour.
D) an exceptionally cold pocket of water over the Gulf of Mexico.
Q5) Explain the Coriolis Effect.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Ocean Circulation
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Q1) One example of horizontal water movement is called downwelling.
A)True
B)False
Q2) One source of dissolved gases and nutrients to deep waters is:
A) downwelling.
B) upwelling.
C) conduction.
D) Langmuir Circulation.
Q3) Which of the following is NOT an eastern boundary current?
A) Canary Current
B) Benguela Current
C) Gulf Stream
D) West Australian Current
Q4) Transverse currents can flow eastward or westward.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The Kuroshio Current is an example of an eastern boundary current.
A)True
B)False
Q6) How do scientists study currents?
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Waves
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Q1) When waves approach the shore, a series of changes takes place. One change is that the:
A) wave crest forms a steep peak.
B) wavelength increases.
C) wave height decreases.
D) wave velocity increases.
Q2) In shallow water, the motion of water particles:
A) ceases completely.
B) forms large circular orbits.
C) becomes a back-and-forth motion near the bottom.
D) becomes an up-and-down motion near the bottom.
Q3) A seiche is a short wave found in areas of the ocean farthest away from the continents.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Tsunami or seismic sea waves are generated by:
A) storms at sea.
B) tidal currents in the open sea.
C) breaking internal waves.
D) coastal or submarine earthquakes.
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Tides
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Sample Questions
Q1) Tractive forces:
A) are never responsible for the tides.
B) cause water to flow away from some ocean areas.
C) are the primary causes of tidal surges.
D) influence the atmosphere only.
Q2) The type of tide associated with the full and new moons are:
A) neap tides.
B) spring tides.
C) diurnal tides.
D) tidal currents.
Q3) The rise and fall in sea level as a tide crest approaches and passes will cause a(n):
A) tidal bore.
B) tidal wave.
C) ebb current.
D) tidal current.
Q4) Tides are long waves that are generated by gravity and inertia.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What are the amphidromic points of the world ocean and how are they determined?
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Chapter 11: Coasts
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Q1) A long-term effect of wave refraction is:
A) to smooth and straighten a coast.
B) to build out points of land.
C) to erode and deepen bays.
D) to remove sand from the beach.
Q2) Which of the following statements is FALSE concerning estuaries?
A) Many organisms live in estuaries.
B) Estuaries are very vulnerable to pollution.
C) The salinity in estuaries varies because of mixing.
D) An estuary is a type of delta.
Q3) The present shorelines of the world are considered to be:
A) geologically stable zones separating land and sea.
B) features of great geological antiquity.
C) a dynamic environment affected by both long-term and short-term cycles.
D) that part of the marine environment most resistant to change.
Q4) The function of a breakwater is to:
A) divert sand away from a swimming area.
B) interrupt the progress of waves to the beach.
C) allow freshwater to flow readily into the ocean.
D) fill in a bay or an inlet.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Life in the Ocean
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Sample Questions
Q1) Though it is difficult to generalize for the ocean as a whole, the bottom of the euphotic zone is about ____ meters (feet) in mid-latitudes.
A) 20 meters (66 feet)
B) 40 meters (130 feet)
C) 70 meters (230 feet)
D) 80 meters (265 feet)
Q2) An example of a nutrient that is important for primary productivity is:
A) calcium.
B) silica.
C) oxygen.
D) nitrogen.
Q3) Scientists can observe primary productivity in the ocean from space by measuring the ____.
A) temperature of the surface water.
B) depth of the euphotic zone.
C) amount of chlorophyll in surface waters.
D) salinity of surface waters.
Q4) What is natural selection and how can it explain the diversity of life on Earth?
Q5) Describe how energy enters biological ecosystems in the ocean.
Q6) Why is evolution important in the study of the ocean?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Pelagic Communities
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Q1) Where, through a year, is the greatest total oceanic primary productivity?
A) in the tropics
B) in the temperate zones
C) in the polar regions
D) productivity is about equal at all latitudes
Q2) Animals that generate and regulate metabolic heat and maintain an internal body temperature generally higher than that of their surroundings are called:
A) ectotherms.
B) mesotherms.
C) paratherms.
D) endotherms.
Q3) Baleen whales are:
A) in the suborder Odontoceti.
B) in the suborder Mysticeti.
C) in the class Osteichthyes.
D) are in the order Teleostei.
Q4) Sharks have skeletons made of cartilage, not bone.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain why phytoplankton is critical to all of life on Earth.
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Chapter 14: Benthic Communities
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Q1) All of the following represent benthic communities EXCEPT:
A) phytoplankton.
B) kelp forest.
C) coral reef.
D) hydrothermal vent communities.
Q2) Life in productive tropical reefs is characterized by:
A) extreme competition for food, territory, and reproductive opportunities.
B) very few species, but large numbers of each species.
C) large adults in each species that reproduce late in life.
D) organisms with extremely long lifespans.
Q3) Primary productivity in estuaries is high because:
A) light is seasonal and dim.
B) nutrients are abundant.
C) symbiotic autotrophs live within the tissues of estuary animals.
D) nutrients are abundant and light is dim.
Q4) Species diversity is generally higher on the seafloor than in that part of the water column immediately above it.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What is an atoll? Describe the steps that occur in the formation of an atoll.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Uses and Abuses of the Ocean
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Q1) The number of people who can inhabit a given area is in part determined by the:
A) ease at which food can be extracted from the environment.
B) amount of potable water available.
C) ability of the people to build housing.
D) amount of evaporation in the area.
Q2) With current climate change trends, is there any evidence that the ocean environment is changing as a result of increased greenhouse gases? Explain why or why not.
Q3) Fishing is a growth industry, but the fishing consortia are, for the most part, careful to conserve this resource and not to exceed the maximum sustainable yield.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In terms of the volume of oil spilled and subsequent environmental damage, the wreck of the tanker Exxon Valdez was the worst tanker accident in history.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Many of today's fisheries are not sustainable. Explain some of the factors that must be considered in maintaining healthy fisheries.
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