Course Introduction
Physical Oceanography Test Preparation
Physical Oceanography explores the physical properties and dynamic processes of the ocean, including the study of ocean currents, waves, tides, and the interactions between the ocean, atmosphere, and climate. The course examines the role of temperature, salinity, and density in ocean circulation, the structure of the ocean basins, and how physical processes influence marine ecosystems and global climate patterns. Students will gain an understanding of observational techniques, data analysis, and modeling approaches used to investigate ocean phenomena, providing a foundation for further study in marine science and environmental research.
Recommended Textbook Essentials of Oceanography 10th Edition by Alan P. Trujillo
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16 Chapters
1029 Verified Questions
1029 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Planet Earth
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Sample Questions
Q1) crust
A)gaseous and dusty space cloud
B)rich in ferromagnesian minerals, between crust and core
C)composed of iron and nickel, liquid outer
D)Big Bang
E)outermost portion of the Earth, basalt and granite
F)Milky Way
G)solar winds
Answer: E
Q2) 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
Q3) Early Polynesians only traveled within sight of land.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 2: Plate Tectonics and the Ocean Floor
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59 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) The magnetic field of the Earth reverses itself each time that magma erupts at a mid-ocean ridge.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern.
A)hydrothermal vents
B)island arc
C)mountains
D)oceanic trench
E)volcanoes
Answer: A
Q3) Deep focus earthquakes are often associated with deep-sea trenches.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) The oldest rocks are located at mid-ocean ridges.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Page 4
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Chapter 3: Marine Provinces
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53 Verified Questions
53 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Warm-water hydrothermal vents form:
A) abyssal hills.
B) black smokers.
C) cold seeps.
D) turbidity currents.
E) white smokers.
Answer: E
Q2) Underwater avalanches of muddy water mixed with rocks and debris are:
A) deep sea fans.
B) graded bedding.
C) turbidity currents.
D) turbidite deposits.
E) white smokers.
Answer: C
Q3) Black smokers are hydrothermal vents that discharge superheated water with high concentrations of metal sulfides.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Marine Sediments
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is not an important control on oceanic sediment accumulation?
A) degree of preservation
B) dilution
C) input from other sediment types
D) rate of deposition
E) All of the above factors are important.
Q2) List and describe the four types of marine sediments.
Q3) A glacial deposit is well-sorted.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The type of marine sediment that forms the thickest deposits world-wide is:
A) abyssal clay deposits.
B) manganese nodule deposits.
C) neritic coarse lithogenous sediment deposits.
D) neritic siliceous sediment deposits.
E) pelagic biogenous calcareous deposits.
Q5) A well-sorted sand deposit with rounded particles might be called immature.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Water and Seawater
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Sample Questions
Q1) Salinity refers to all of the solid materials in seawater including dissolved and suspended substances.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Discuss how climatological processes affect seawater salinity.
Q3) Which property of water causes coastal communities to have only moderate differences in daily highs and lows when compared to inland communities?
A) high heat capacity
B) high salinity
C) high viscosity
D) low heat capacity
E) low viscosity
Q4) Many of the unique properties of water are attributed to the fact that water:
A) contains hydrogen bonds.
B) exists in three phases at the earth's surface.
C) is a polar molecule.
D) is a universal solvent.
E) requires heat to condense.
Q5) What is the origin of the salt ions in seawater?
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Chapter 6: Air-Sea Interface
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Sample Questions
Q1) Hurricanes are an efficient way to:
A) decrease salinity in affected estuaries.
B) eradicate rainfall deficits.
C) raise local sea level due to storm surge.
D) redistribute heat from one area to another.
E) remove old-growth coastal forests.
Q2) The Tropic of Capricorn is located at:
A) 0° longitude.
B) 23.5°N latitude.
C) 23.5°S latitude.
D) 30°N latitude.
E) 60°S latitude.
Q3) Sound travels more slowly in the SOFAR channel than in the areas of the ocean immediately above and below it.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The best climate models indicate that Earth's average surface temperature has risen by 5°C in the last 100 years.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 7: Ocean Circulation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the El Niño Southern Oscillation. What global environmental effects characterize an El Niño event? What global environmental effects characterize a La Niña event?
Q2) The largest current by volume in the oceans is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Dynamic topography can be used to compute current direction and velocity.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The source of some deep ocean water masses can be identified by the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water mass.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Thermohaline circulation is wind-driven.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Deep ocean currents often move cold, dense water away from the poles. A)True
B)False
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Chapter 8: Waves and Water Dynamics
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Sample Questions
Q1) The diameter of a wave orbital at the surface is equal to:
A) wave height.
B) wave height/wavelength.
C) wavelength.
D) wavelength/wave period.
E) wave period.
Q2) Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern
A)plunging breaker
B)spilling breaker
C)surf
D)surging breaker
E)swell
Q3) The lowest part of the wave corresponds to the number:
A) 1.
B) 2.
C) 3.
D) 4.
E) 5.
Q4) Compare shallow water and deep water waves.
Q5) Distinguish between wave <b>reflection, refraction,</b> and <b>diffraction</b>.
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Chapter 9: Tides
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Sample Questions
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 sun and the moon have relatively equal tide-generating forces on earth.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The center of an open ocean tidal system is called a(n):
A) amphidromic center.
B) cotidal center.
C) rotary center.
D) seiche.
E) tidal flux.
Q4) The barycenter follows a smooth orbit around the Sun.
A)True
B)False
Q5) How do centripetal forces and gravitation forces interact to produce tides?
Page 11
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Chapter 10: The Coast: Beaches and Shoreline Processes
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Sample Questions
Q1) The section of the coast that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide is called the:
A) backshore.
B) foreshore.
C) nearshore.
D) offshore.
E) shoreline.
Q2) Coastal areas in the Gulf coast states are:
A) generally protected from erosion because they have low energy coasts with small tidal ranges.
B) high energy coasts characterized by the presence of headlands and wave cut plateaus.
C) protected from storm erosion by broad expanses of salt marsh which absorb storm surge.
D) subject to greater erosion during tropical storms and hurricanes because they have small tidal ranges compared to areas on the Atlantic coast.
E) vulnerable to coastal flooding because they have barrier islands protecting the mainland preventing storm surge from dissipating.
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Page 12
Chapter 11: The Coastal Oceans
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Sample Questions
Q1) Natural processes which help to remove oil spills from the ocean include all of the following <b>except</b>:
A) evaporation from the ocean surface.
B) digestion of significant amount by fish populations.
C) dispersal due to wave and wind action.
D) sinking due to aggregation into tarry lumps.
E) sinking of coated particles.
Q2) Nitrates and hydrocarbons are examples of persistent organic pollutants in marine ecosystems.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The deep water dumping site for sewage sludge off the U.S. East Coast initially seemed to be a good choice because:
A) a well-developed pycnocline should isolate the sewage.
B) internal waves would decrease water mixing.
C) it had been a well-studies method of sewage disposal.
D) thermal mixing occurred between the surface and deep water.
E) tsunamis are uncommon in this area.
Q4) List and describe the four types of estuaries and give an example of each.
Q5) What is the Eastern Pacific Garbage Patch and why did it form?
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Chapter 12: Marine Life and the Marine Environment
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Sample Questions
Q1) Compare and contrast warm and cold water marine species in terms of life span, body size, and relative abundance.
Q2) Phytoplankton are small in size as a result of predation pressure.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The majority of marine invertebrates are:
A) adapted to life in the pelagic zone.
B) estuarine.
C) found only in benthic environments.
D) hypertonic with respect to their environment.
E) isotonic with respect to their environment.
Q4) One reason that polar climates support a high biomass is that cold water can hold more dissolved oxygen.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Osmosis occurs when salt ions diffuse through a membrane with a lower ion concentration.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Distinguish between plankton, nekton, and benthos and give an example of each.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Biological Productivity and Energy Transfer
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Sample Questions
Q1) Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern.
A)autotrophic
B)carnivorous feeding
C)deposit feeding
D)filter feeding
E)suspension feeding
Q2) Marine algae that grow close to the limits of light penetration have accessory photosynthetic pigments that absorb high energy, short-wavelength light in the blue region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Bacteria that make their own carbohydrates by obtaining energy from chemical compounds and not directly from the sun are:
A) chemoautotrophs.
B) cyanobacteria.
C) heterotrophs.
D) phytoplankton.
E) protists.
Q4) Why are upwelling zones more productive than coastal oceans?
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Chapter 14: Animals of the Pelagic Environment
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Sample Questions
Q1) Distinguish between <b>poikilotherms</b> and <b>homeotherms </b>and give an example of each.
Q2) One adaptation for deep diving is an increase in heart rate during the dive.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Choose the one option that does not fit the pattern.
A)blubber
B)collapsible ribs
C)gas bladder
D)spines
E)swim bladder
Q4) Muscles segments used in locomotion and found along the sides of fish are called myomeres.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Strategies for staying afloat in pelagic environments include air bladder, increased body fat, and increased density.
A)True
B)False
Q6) Discuss why schooling behavior is adaptive to fishes.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Animals of the Benthic Environment
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is coral bleaching? List the environmental conditions that contribute to the development of coral bleaching.
Q2) The Crown of Thorns sea star is becoming increasingly more common because its predators are fish species belonging to populations that have dramatically decreased due to overfishing.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Most of the hydrothermal vents and cool-water seeps on the seafloor were discovered during which decade?
A) 1960s
B) 1970s
C) 1980s
D) 1990s
E) since 2000
Q4) Coral reefs contain twenty-five percent of all marine species.
A)True
B)False
Q5) List and describe the animal adaptations employed by animals living on a sandy beach (intertidal zone).
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Chapter 16: The Oceans and Climate Change
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Sample Questions
Q1) A reduction in the strength of the North Atlantic Current and a decrease in North Atlantic bottom water formation would most likely result in:
A) a cooling of the climate in northern Europe.
B) a decrease in precipitation over France, Spain, and Portugal.
C) an increase in North Sea storm intensity.
D) longer and hotter summers in southern Europe.
E) shorter and warmer winters in central Europe.
Q2) List and define the components of the Earth's climate system.
Q3) Feedback loops are the interactions among the Earth's five spheres that either reinforce or negate changes in climate.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Worldwide, the SOFAR channel is located at an approximate ocean depth of:
A) 100 meters.
B) 250 meters.
C) 500 meters.
D) 1000 meters.
E) 4000 meters.
Q5) Describe the role of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
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