Physical Oceanography
Mock Exam
Course Introduction
Physical Oceanography explores the fundamental physical processes and properties of the worlds oceans, including the study of ocean currents, waves, tides, and the interactions between the ocean and the atmosphere. The course examines the distribution of temperature and salinity, the drivers of ocean circulation, and the impact of physical dynamics on marine environments. Students will gain an understanding of observational and analytical methods used to study ocean phenomena, and will learn how these processes influence global climate, weather patterns, and marine ecosystems.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Oceanography 6th Edition by Tom S. Garrison
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15 Chapters
675 Verified Questions
675 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Origin of the Ocean
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Sample Questions
Q1) To recreate an environment for biosynthesis, scientists included all of the following EXCEPT:
A) unstable chemical conditions.
B) oxygen.
C) sparks.
D) dissolved compounds and gases thought to be present in the early atmosphere.
Answer: B
Q2) Deep-sea fossils suggest that life evolved within the last million years.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) The death of a star is characterized by a massive release of energy called a ____.
A) nebula
B) protostar
C) supernova
D) comet
Answer: C
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Page 3
Chapter 2: A History of Marine Science
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Sample Questions
Q1) The importance of Matthew Maury's work included:
A) the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands.
B) the formulation of a working hypothesis for the formation of coral reefs.
C) the invention of a chronometer for the determination of longitude.
D) the charting of ocean currents that sailors used to significantly shorten their travel time.
Answer: D
Q2) The Challenger expedition (1872-1876) was a unique and historic voyage. Which of the following statements about the expedition is NOT true?
A) it is the single longest continuous oceanographic expedition ever.
B) the Challenger scientists developed the first reliable navigational charts to indicate current and wind patterns.
C) it led to the development of two new fields of science - marine biology and oceanography.
D) the data collected on the expedition was published in an astonishing 50 volume set that is still used today.
Answer: B
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4
Chapter 3: Earth Structure and Plate Tectonics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Evidence for plate tectonics can be seen in:
A) the distribution of marine microbes.
B) ancient glaciers.
C) the distribution of dissolved compounds in isolated regions of the ocean.
D) modern snail species.
Answer: B
Q2) The Emperor Seamounts were formed:
A) as islands formed over a hot spot.
B) as an island arc that formed along a trench.
C) as islands formed over a spreading center
D) islands formed at a convergent zone.
Answer: A
Q3) As early as the 1700s, scientists and explorers notice a remarkable coincidence of shape of the Atlantic coasts of Africa and which continent?
A) North America
B) Australia
C) Asia
D) South America
Answer: D
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Ocean Basins
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Sample Questions
Q1) The continental shelf:
A) is a narrow strip on the East Coast of the United States.
B) is a steep zone dropping off to the deep seafloor like a cliff.
C) is a featureless plain unlike the neighboring continent.
D) is a gently sloping platform with a variable landscape.
Q2) What is a submarine canyon and how are they formed?
Q3) Passive continental margins line coasts that are far from tectonically active areas.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A seamount is a volcanic projection that does not rise above the surface.
A)True
B)False
Q5) The discovery and study of ocean floor contours is called:
A) bathymetry.
B) abyssomethry.
C) stratigraphy.
D) paleoceanography.
Q6) Distinguish between active and passive continental margins.
Q7) What methods do scientists use to determine the bathymetry of the ocean floor?
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Ocean Sediments
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which statement characterizes sediments of the North Pacific?
A) The sediments of the North Pacific are primarily composed of radiolarian deposits.
B) The sediments of the North Pacific are thicker than the sediments of the Atlantic.
C) The sediments of the deep North Pacific are mainly pelagic clays.
D) The sediments of the North Pacific are mostly calcareous oozes.
Q2) Clays are the coarsest and most easily transported of the terrigenous sediments.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Over millions of years, natural gas and oil can be formed from:
A) erosion.
B) volcanic ash.
C) biogenous sediments.
D) terrigenous sediments.
Q4) Carbonate sediments are rare in deep sea sediments because:
A) the organisms providing shells do not live in the deep sea.
B) the abundance of muds and clays cover the carbonate shells.
C) the carbonate shells are dissolved in deep water.
D) the organisms do not live beyond the edge of the continental shelf.
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Water
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Sample Questions
Q1) Frozen water is more dense than liquid water.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The hydrogen bonds of water molecules account for which of the following?
A) Water is the universal solvent.
B) Water has a low surface tension.
C) Water has a low boiling point.
D) Water has a low heat capacity.
Q3) Scientists believe the global change in greenhouse gases is making the surface ocean fresher in high latitudes.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The term "salinity" refers to:
A) the total amount of dissolved solids in the ocean.
B) the total amount of sodium chloride dissolved in the ocean.
C) the total amount of chlorine in one kilogram of water.
D) the total amount of chloride ion in the water.
Q5) Describe the distribution of oxygen in the ocean from the surface to the deep sea.
Q6) Describe how carbon dioxide acts as a buffer in seawater.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Atmospheric Circulation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Warm air ____ and cool air ____.
A) expands and sinks; expands and rises
B) contracts and rises; expands and sinks
C) expands and rises; contracts and sinks
D) expands and rises; expands and sinks
Q2) What are some of the variables that are important when developing a heat budget for Earth?
Q3) Tropical cyclones are also called:
A) willi-willis.
B) typhoons.
C) hurricanes.
D) all of these
Q4) A ________________ is a pattern of wind circulation that changes with the seasons.
A) monsoon
B) typhoon
C) hurricane
D) cyclone
Q5) Describe atmospheric convection.
Q6) What is a hurricane and how are they formed?
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Chapter 8: Ocean Circulation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of these is generally not an El Niño effect?
A) A decline in the exotic species of fish and other forms of marine life in the affected waters.
B) An increase in ocean surface temperature in the eastern Pacific.
C) An increase in rainfall in west coastal countries or states of the American continents.
D) An often catastrophic decrease in the commercial fisheries of the affected countries.
Q2) Surface water extends to a depth of about _________.
A) 600 meters
B) 1,000 meters
C) 50 meters
D) 200 meters
Q3) San Francisco's characteristic cold and foggy weather is caused by a:
A) cold eastern boundary current.
B) warm eastern boundary current.
C) cold western boundary current.
D) warm western boundary current.
Q4) What is upwelling and why is it important for biological productivity?
Q5) What is ENSO?
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Chapter 9: Waves
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Sample Questions
Q1) As wind waves move out of a storm area:
A) the short waves move out first and form "chop."
B) the short-period waves overtake the long-period waves.
C) the waves are sorted by velocity and form the swell.
D) the sea becomes flat outside the storm area.
Q2) Describe how a tsunami is formed and how it can travel great distances at great speeds.
Q3) 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.
Q4) Waves tend to be parallel to the shore when they break due to the process of: A) diffraction.
B) reflection.
C) refraction.
D) reaction.
Q5) What is fetch and how does it influence wind wave development?
Q6) What is the relationship between the wave crest, trough, height and wavelength?
Q7) 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) The only marine energy source being successfully exploited on a large scale is:
A) tidal power.
B) storm waves.
C) salinity differences.
D) thermal gradient.
Q2) Most of the energy from the daily rise and fall of the tides comes from:
A) the rotation of the Earth.
B) winds.
C) heat.
D) the movement of plates.
Q3) The primary force(s) that cause(s) tides in the sea is (are):
A) coastal earthquakes and landslides.
B) wind and storms at sea.
C) the gravitational attraction of the moon and the sun.
D) the gravitational attraction of Mars and Venus.
Q4) A tidal or lunar day is every 24 hours.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain the relative influence of the sun and the moon on tides.
Q6) How can tidal energy be used by humans?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Coasts
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Q1) If a beach is wide, gently sloping with fine sands, we would expect to see:
A) very heavy wave action.
B) a beach facing into Arctic storms.
C) generally small waves winter and summer.
D) high-energy waves all year around.
Q2) Define the term coast and describe the factors that shape coastlines.
Q3) Eustatic changes are variations in sea level that can be measured all over the world ocean.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What is a beach? Define the term and describe features and processes that may bound the limits of a beach.
Q5) Over time, the amount of water in the world ocean has remained constant.
A)True
B)False
Q6) One mechanism by which sediments are transported in the surf zone is via longshore currents.
A)True
B)False
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Q7) How have human activities influenced coastal processes? Give a specific example.
Chapter 12: Life in the Ocean
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Sample Questions
Q1) An important part of Darwinian natural selection is that traits must be inheritable.
A)True
B)False
Q2) The aphotic zone is the upper layer of the ocean where there is enough light for photosynthesis and vision.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What is a limiting factor and how do they affect the distribution of primary producers?
Q4) The main inorganic nutrients required in primary productivity include:
A) carbon dioxide and carbohydrates.
B) glucose and oxygen.
C) nitrates and phosphates.
D) nitrates and carbohydrates.
Q5) Primary productivity measures the grams of carbon bound into organic material per square meter of ocean surface area per year.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Pelagic Communities
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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.
Q2) 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
Q3) Which of the following is NOT an Order of marine mammals?
A) Cetacea
B) Pinnipedia
C) Sirenia
D) Ecinodermata
Q4) Pelagic organisms live in the open ocean.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain why phytoplankton is critical to all of life on Earth.
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Benthic Communities
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Sample Questions
Q1) Estuaries are nutrient rich environments that foster very high biodiversity.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Kelp forests are most common in tropical latitudes.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Physical conditions that contribute to the transparent waters of the tropics are:
A) low salinity and warm water.
B) no thermocline and abundant nutrients.
C) permanent thermocline and abundant nutrients.
D) an abrupt deep thermocline and lack of nutrients.
Q4) According to Darwin, the last stage in the cycle of reef formation is:
A) the fringing reef.
B) the atoll.
C) the algal rim.
D) the barrier reef.
Q5) Is the distribution of benthic organisms random? Explain why or why not.
Q6) Are the physical and chemical conditions stable in intertidal environments? Explain why or why not and provide examples to support your claims.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Uses and Abuses of the Ocean
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Sample Questions
Q1) 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.
Q2) The most dangerous threat to the marine environment, overall, is probably:
A) human overpopulation.
B) refined oil spills.
C) solid waste and synthetic pesticides.
D) excessive greenhouse heating.
Q3) Though desalination is a theoretically attractive method for obtaining fresh water from seawater, no large commercial facilities for desalination exist.
A)True
B)False
Q4) 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.
Q5) Define "Bycatch" and explain how it is damaging to marine populations.
Q6) Describe the four main categories of marine resources and provide examples of each.
Page 17
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