Marine Science Practice Exam
Course Introduction
Marine Science is an interdisciplinary field that explores the biological, chemical, physical, and geological processes of the worlds oceans and coastal environments. This course examines the diversity of marine life, ecosystems, and the intricate relationships between organisms and their habitats. Students will study ocean circulation, marine chemistry, the impacts of human activities on marine environments, and conservation strategies. Through a combination of theoretical learning and practical investigations, the course aims to develop an understanding of the oceans critical role in global systems and their significance for environmental sustainability.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Oceanography 6th Edition by Tom S. Garrison
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15 Chapters
675 Verified Questions
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Origin of the Ocean
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Sample Questions
Q1) Gravity was important in the formation of our planet because it pulled dense metals such as iron and nickel inward, forming the Earth's core.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) About ____ percent of Earth's water is found in the Ocean.
A)97.5
B) 71
C)67.4
D)30.1
Answer: A
Q3) The average depth of the ocean is about ____.
A) 760 meters (2,500 feet)
B) 3,700 meters (12,000 feet)
C) 200 meters (650 feet)
D) 1,200 meters (4,000 feet)
Answer: B
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Chapter 2: A History of Marine Science
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Library of Alexandria was an important gathering place for intellectuals, stored the works of scholars, and contained current information about discoveries in trade and navigation.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Captain Cook was the first scientist to drift in the ice pack of the Arctic.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) The Navy Officer who first compiled information about winds and currents was:
A) Edward Forbes.
B) Charles Darwin.
C) Matthew Maury.
D) Tim Folger
Answer: C
Q4) A cartographer makes charts and maps.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Earth Structure and Plate Tectonics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Alfred Wegener was a polar explorer who suggested that at one time, Earth's landmasses were joined into a supercontinent called Pangaea.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) New crust is being generated:
A) in the deep trenches.
B) in submarine canyons.
C) in the rift valleys of the mid-ocean ridges.
D) at the centers of large continents.
Answer: C
Q3) Buoyancy is the ability of an object to float in a fluid by:
A) weighing less than the water surrounding it.
B) displacing a volume of water equal in weight to its own weight.
C) displacing a volume of water which weighs slightly more than its own weight.
D) displacing a volume of water which weighs slightly less than its own weight.
Answer: B
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Chapter 4: Ocean Basins
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Q1) Which of the following statements most accurately describes how the continental rise is formed?
A) From the convergence of oceanic plates at passive continental margins.
B) From volcanic activity at active continental margins.
C) From accumulated sediments at the base of the continental slope.
D) from sedimentation surrounding spreading centers.
Q2) The characteristics of deep trenches indicate:
A) they are submerged erosional features.
B) they are elongated depressions in the oceanic crust.
C) they are glacial troughs dating back to the Ice Age.
D) they are erosional canyons cut by turbidity currents.
Q3) 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.
Q4) Trenches and island arcs are found at spreading centers.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Distinguish between active and passive continental margins.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Ocean Sediments
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is sediment and what are the 4 classifications of marine sediments based on their origin?
Q2) The oozes on the seafloor mostly consist of:
A) boulders and cobbles from glaciers oozing off the land.
B) bones and teeth of bottom-dwelling fishes.
C) fine muds washed down the continental slope to the seafloor.
D) microscopic hard parts of single-celled living organisms.
Q3) The analysis of layered sedimentary deposits in the ocean is:
A) stratigraphy.
B) oceanography.
C) marine biology.
D) ecology.
Q4) Describe neritic sediments and explain what you would expect the composition of a typical neritic sample to be.
Q5) Which of the following is of organic origin; i.e., made by organisms?
A) terrigenous sediments
B) biogenous sediments
C) hydrogenous (or authigenic) sediments
D) cosmogenous sediments.
Q6) What is the origin of manganese nodules?
Page 7
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Chapter 6: Water
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Sample Questions
Q1) All of the following influence the depth to which light can penetrate the ocean EXCEPT:
A) the dust, cloud cover, and gases in the atmosphere.
B) the depth of the water.
C) the smoothness or roughness of the sea surface.
D) the amount of suspended material in the water.
Q2) 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.
Q3) The hydrogen atoms in a water molecule tend to bond to:
A) each other.
B) oxygen atoms of another water molecule.
C) hydrogen atoms of another water molecule.
D) all positively charged ions.
Q4) Describe the factors that affect the distance and the rate at which sound travels in the ocean. Would you expect sound to travel faster through warm or cold water? Shallow or deep? Why?
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Chapter 7: Atmospheric Circulation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Near the poles (both in the north and south) the jet stream flows west to east.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Tropical cyclones are also called:
A) willi-willis.
B) typhoons.
C) hurricanes.
D) all of these
Q3) What is a hurricane and how are they formed?
Q4) Air is a fluid that is never completely dry.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Calm equatorial areas of low pressure are referred to as the:
A) doldrums.
B) horse latitudes.
C) trade winds.
D) westerlies.
Q6) Describe atmospheric convection.
Q7) What are some of the variables that are important when developing a heat budget for Earth?
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Chapter 8: Ocean Circulation
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Sample Questions
Q1) The largest of the western boundary currents is the:
A) Gulf Stream.
B) California Current.
C) East Pacific Gyre.
D) Canary Current.
Q2) The Canary Current is an example of a(n):
A) shallow, cold water current.
B) deep, cold water current.
C) warm, southerly current.
D) mesopelagic current.
Q3) The North Atlantic gyre is composed of the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic Current, the Canary Current and the North Equatorial Current.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The main force driving thermohaline circulation is:
A) wind.
B) Coriolis effect.
C) density.
D) electromagnetic attraction.
Q5) How do scientists study currents?
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Waves
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Sample Questions
Q1) The uninterrupted distance over which the wind blows without change in direction is the:
A) fetch.
B) wavelength.
C) wind length.
D) wind cell.
Q2) Water particles in a deep-water wave:
A) move rapidly toward the shore.
B) move in circular orbits.
C) do not move; only the wave form moves.
D) move in flat elliptical circles.
Q3) The greatest disturbing force creating waves is:
A) convection.
B) wind.
C) gravity.
D) heat.
Q4) Describe how a tsunami is formed and how it can travel great distances at great speeds.
Q5) What is the relationship between the wave crest, trough, height and wavelength?
Q6) What is a storm surge and how does it differ from a breaking wind wave?
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Chapter 10: Tides
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following bodies is the largest?
A) Earth.
B) Sun.
C) Moon.
D) Mars
Q2) Which of the following statements best characterizes neap tides?
A) Neap tides occur when the moon, Earth and sun form a right angle.
B) Neap tides represent extreme tidal ranges.
C) Neap tides occur at the new and full moons every month.
D) Neap tides correspond with the timing of spring tides.
Q3) 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.
Q4) A tidal or lunar day is every 24 hours.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What are the amphidromic points of the world ocean and how are they determined?
Page 12
Q6) Tides are shallow-water waves. Explain this statement.
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Chapter 11: Coasts
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Sample Questions
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 bests describes the berm of a beach?
A) It is the accumulation of sediment that runs parallel to shore.
B) It is highest part of a beach.
C) It is the part of the beach that has windblown dunes and grasses.
D) It is the accumulation of sediment due to turbidity currents.
Q3) Deltas form at the mouths of sediment-laden rivers and where continental shelves are broad.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A problem facing many beaches along the U.S. east and west coasts is:
A) excess sand being deposited around seaside installations.
B) the rapid growth of deltas at the mouths of rivers.
C) the development of barrier beaches across harbors.
D) the loss of sand and the erosion of beaches.
Q5) How have human activities influenced coastal processes? Give a specific example.
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Life in the Ocean
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Sample Questions
Q1) Carolus Linnaeus was one of the first persons to classify organisms into natural categories. Which system of taxonomy did he develop?
A) domains
B) kingdoms
C) natural selection
D) food webs
Q2) Which of the following functions to maintain a balanced pH in the ocean?
A) oxygen
B) carbon dioxide
C) nitrogen
D) phosphate
Q3) The aphotic zone is the upper layer of the ocean where there is enough light for photosynthesis and vision.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What is natural selection and how can it explain the diversity of life on Earth?
Q5) Describe how energy is distributed through ecosystems and define the different trophic levels into which marine organism can be classified.
Q6) Describe how energy enters biological ecosystems in the ocean.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Pelagic Communities
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Q1) Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding the global distribution of phytoplankton?
A) In the poles, phytoplankton populations decrease during the summer months.
B) There is a constant amount of phytoplankton year-round in the tropics.
C) Phytoplankton are most abundant when there are ample nutrients and light.
D) Phytoplankton populations vary with latitude and season.
Q2) An example of an oceanic bird that can forage across the open ocean for months is the:
A) sea gull.
B) albatross.
C) pelican.
D) sandpiper.
Q3) Only part of this organism's life cycle is spent as a member of the plankton community:
A) plankton
B) meroplankton
C) holoplankton
D) phytoplankton
Q4) Explain why phytoplankton is critical to all of life on Earth.
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Chapter 14: Benthic Communities
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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.
Q2) Perhaps the most difficult oceanic environments for small organisms to inhabit are:
A) low-energy abyssal plains.
B) high-energy sand and cobble beaches.
C) low-productivity salt marshes.
D) high-productivity rocky intertidal communities.
Q3) Which of these benthic habitats is NOT characterized by both high productivity and high biodiversity?
A) The hydrothermal vents in the deep sea.
B) Salt marshes associated with estuaries.
C) Rocky intertidal communities of the US west coast.
D) Sandy beaches of tropical shores.
Q4) Compare and contrast the stability of habitats found in the deep-sea.
Q5) Is the distribution of benthic organisms random? Explain why or why not.
Q6) 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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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following statements is FALSE concerning bycatch?
A) Bycatch are targeted species.
B) Bycatch sometimes greatly exceeds the target catch.
C) Bottom trawling is one of the methods that results in a lot of bycatch.
D) Sea turtles are an example of bycatch.
Q2) The per capita world fish catch has changed in what way?
A) It has been climbing steadily since the 1950s.
B) It has declined drastically since the 1950s.
C) It has stayed at the level of the 1960s.
D) It has declined significantly since the 1970s.
Q3) A major source of anthropogenic greenhouse gases results from:
A) the release of gases from volcanic and geothermal processes.
B) the combustion products of petroleum, coal and natural gas.
C) the production of byproducts from photosynthesis.
D) the transfer of gases from the ocean into the atmosphere.
Q4) One major concern about climate change is that:
A) crop production will increase.
B) solubility of oxygen will increase as ocean temperatures rise.
C) phytoplankton productivity will decrease.
D) the ocean will freeze.
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