Ocean 115 - Introduction to Oceanography » Summer 2019 » Exam # 1

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Question #1
Unlike today's atmosphere, Earth's early atmosphere lacked free oxygen.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #2
The total amount of fresh water on Earth makes up only about 2.5% of all the water near the surface of the planet.​
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #3
Seismic waves provide evidence of Earth's interior layers.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #4
Magma typically rises to the surface at divergent plate boundaries.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #5
Oceanic crust is both thinner and denser than continental lithosphere.
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #6
The western coast of South America is an example of a passive margin.
A.   FALSE
B.   TRUE
Question #7
Biological sediments are the most abundant sediments in total volume in the ocean due to the high productivity of organisms along the continental shelf.​
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #8
Manganese nodules can grow to exceed 1 meter in diameter within about 100 years.​
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #9
Longitudinal coordinates must always specify a position north or south of the equator.
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #10
Longitude can be found using a protractor and the north polar star.
A.   TRUE
B.   FALSE
Question #11
If there is a three hour difference between "clock" noon and "shaft" noon, how many degrees west are you from your point of origin? 
A.   90°
B.   45°
C.   15°
D.   30°
E.   180°
Question #12
If someone tells you that they are at 90° latitude, then you know they must be:
A.   there is not enough information to tell for sure
B.   in the Arctic Ocean
C.   at one of the poles
D.   at the International Date Line
E.   opposite the Prime Meridian
Question #13
Which particle size has the fastest settling velocity in still water?
A.   fine sand
B.   coarse silt
C.   silt
D.   clay
E.   coarse sand
Question #14
What occurs below the calcium carbonate compensation depth?
A.   Calcareous oozes start to form
B.   Seawater becomes less acidic.
C.   Calcium carbonate begins to dissolve.
D.   Calcium carbonate begins to precipitate into a solid.
E.   The rate of calcareous sediment accumulation is greater than the rate of dissolution.
Question #15
A sound pulse released from an echo sounder returns to the ship in 6.8 seconds. Assuming the speed of sound in ocean water is 4800 ft/sec, how many feet deep is the ocean at this location?
A.   There is not enough information to tell
B.   706
C.   32,640
D.   16,320
E.   353
Question #16
How is the surface water above a deep trench in the ocean floor distorted as a result of the trench?
A.   Upward distortion
B.   No distortion
C.   Sideways distortion
D.   ​Downward distortion
Question #17
Which concept describes early Earth as separated into layers by gravity, with each deeper layer denser than the layer above?​
A.   Continental drift
B.   Centrifugal force
C.   Density stratification
D.   Seismic theory
E.   Tectonic theory
Question #18
Secondary waves (S-waves) are able to pass through which layer of Earth?​
A.   Mantle, liquid outer core, and solid inner core
B.   Crust and mantle
C.   Mantle and liquid outer core
D.   Liquid outer core and solid inner core
E.   Crust only
Question #19
Deep earthquakes typically occur at _____________.
A.   mid-ocean ridges
B.   fracture zones
C.   subduction zones
D.   spreading centers
E.   transform plate boundaries
Question #20
​As mountains erode, how will isostatic forces cause Earth's crust beneath the mountain to behave?
A.   Sink
B.   Rise
C.   Subduct
D.   Spread out
E.   Stay the same
Question #21
The water for Earth’s ocean originated from ____.​
A.   other planets
B.   volcanic activity and comets
C.   the sun
D.   volcanic activity and other planets
E.   solar wind
Question #22
Which condition of early Earth would be necessary to allow the process of biosynthesis?
A.   ozone in the upper atmosphere
B.   oxygen-depleted atmosphere
C.   oxygen in the atmosphere
D.   aerobic conditions
E.   extreme high temperatures
Question #23
Which of the following is NOT evidence of the oxygen revolution?
A.   Fossil stromatolites
B.   Banded iron formation
C.   Reduction in UV radiation reaching Earth's surface
D.   Evolution of respiring organisms
E.   Composition of volcanic gases
Question #24
Within Earth's mantle, convection cells move lithospheric plates toward ____ and away from ____.​
A.   subduction zones; continental crust
B.   subduction zones; spreading centers
C.   spreading centers; subduction zones
D.   spreading centers; hot spots
E.   hot spots; spreading centers
Question #25
The compressional movement of plate boundaries, such as observed at the Juan De Fuca plate, is representative of which type of boundary?​
A.   Divergent
B.   Subduction
C.   Transform
D.   Convergent
E.   Spreading center
Question #26
Which geological processes explains why the ocean floors are so young?
A.   rift formation
B.   subduction
C.   erosion
D.   mountain formation
E.   transform faulting
Question #27
What is the most likely rock to be found in a drill core of a continental margin?
A.   Granite
B.   Basalt
C.   Carbonate
D.   Shell
E.   Alluvial rock
Question #28
You collect a sediment core from a continental rise that shows successive graded beds deposited one on top of another. Each graded bed has coarse material deposited below finer material. This is evidence of:
A.   There is not enough information to tell.
B.   turbidity current deposits
C.   sea level change
D.   seasonal production of biogenous ooze
E.   subduction
Question #29
Hydrothermal vents typically form chimneys of _____.
A.   sediments
B.   mineral deposits
C.   granitic rock
D.   carbonate
E.   basaltic rock
Question #30
What type of geologic feature is formed at the intersection of two converging continental plates?​
A.   Volcanoes
B.   Mountains
C.   Subduction zones
D.   ​Spreading centers
E.   Rifts
Question #31
What is a typical characteristic of passive continental margins?
A.   broad continental shelf
B.   narrow continental shelf
C.   trenches
D.   coincides with plate boundary
E.   volcanic activity
Question #32
What marks the true division between the continental margin and deep ocean basin?
A.   abyssal fan
B.   trenches
C.   shelf break
D.   granite-to-basalt transition
E.   coastline

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