Name____________________
Test Date____________
Parent Signature____________________________
Study Guide Unit 10 Oceanography
This unit addresses the movement of water through the crust, ocean, and atmosphere
#1 Students will recognize the significant role of water in earth processes.
Explain that a large portion of the Earth’s surface is water, consisting of oceans,
rivers, lakes, underground water, and ice.
Relate various atmospheric conditions to stages of the water cycle.
Describe the composition, location, and subsurface topography of the world’s oceans.
Explain the causes of waves, currents, and tides.
#2 Students will describe various sources of energy and with their uses and conservation.
Explain the role of the sun as the major source of energy and its relationship to wind and water energy.
Questions – students will be asked to answers these questions throughout the unit.
#1 How does the location of water on Earth's surface and the conditions of the atmosphere affect its
path through stages of the water cycle?
#2 How are the geological features that exist on land similar to the geological features on the ocean
floor?
THE OCEANS
1. Locate and name the five major oceans.
A) _________________________
B) _________________________
C) _________________________
D) _______________________
E) _______________________
2. The earth's oceans are _________________________
3. Almost ____________ of the earth's surface is covered by water.
4. The majority of Earth's surface is _________________________________________________
5. Underneath the ocean, the earth has _________________________, _________________________, and
_________________________ which are often _________________________ than those on dry land.
6. Draw and label the following ocean floor features: coast, continental shelf, continental slope, continental
rise, ocean.
7. Draw and label the following ocean floor features: Mid Ocean Ridge, Volcanic Island , Seamount, Abyssal
Plain, Trench
8. Salinity is the ___________________________________________ in a solution.
9. Name three things that can affect ocean salinity.
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
10. Where would the salinity of the ocean probably be the lowest? ___________________________
11. What happens to the temperature of ocean water as you go deeper? ___________________________
12. Since the _______________________ of Earth is covered in water, most ___________________________
falls on Earth’s ___________________________.
CURRENTS
13. Ocean currents can be caused by factors such as _______________________, ______________________,
______________________, _________________________, and ___________________________________.
14. Ocean currents flow in ___________________________________________________ around the earth.
15. Differences in ___________________________ and ___________________________ causes currents.
16. Surface currents are the currents on the ___________________________ of the water (within
___________________________ of surface)
17. Surface currents are formed by ___________________, _______________________________________ of
surface of Earth, and the ___________________________ (spinning) of the Earth.
18. List three factors that control surface current.
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
19. Surface currents alter an area’s __________________. The ____________________________________
transfers to the adjoining ____________________________________
20. Deep currents are water moving ____________________________________ of the surface.
21. Deep currents are formed by ________________________ in water __________________.
22. Deep Currents - An increase in __________________ increases __________________ and causes water to
__________________.
23. Deep Currents - Colder water at the poles increases ____________________________________ causing
water to __________________.
24. Deep Currents - Warmer water at the equator ____________________________________ and this creates
the ______________________________.
25. _________________________ is the movement of water from the surface to greater depths
26. _____________________ is the vertical movement of deep water up to the surface.
27. The Gulfstream is the ____________________________________ flowing from the Equator along the
__________________of the United States (__________________,__________________South Carolina, New
York) to England.
28. What is the Coriolis Effect? ______________________________________________________
29. How is the Coriolis Effect formed? ____________________________________
30. The Coriolis Effect deflects moving objects to the __________________________________________
______________________________ Hemisphere and to the ____________________________________
_____________________________ Hemisphere.
31. Coriolis Effect is important in the formation of ____________________________________ like hurricane
and cyclones.
32. Ocean water often _____________________________ when it meets a land mass. This is called
____________________________________
33. El Nino is __________________flowing from the ___________________________towards
________________________and then continental deflection forces the warm water to flow north along the
coast of Mexico and the __________________
34. El Nino causes ____________________________________ on the western coast of South and North
America.
TIDES
35. The _________________________________ and the __________________ (spinning) of the earth cause
ocean water to bulge, producing __________________.
36. List the three things that cause high and low tides to form.
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
37. Tides cycle as the Moon __________________________________ and as the position of the Sun changes.
Throughout the day the sea level is_________________ rising or falling.
38. The __________________________________ is the difference in sea level between _________________
and _____________________. The tidal range will vary in ______________________________ depending on
the location of the Sun and the Moon as well as the topography of the ______________________________.
39. Draw a diagram showing the following: tidal range, high tide, low tide
40. High tide is the point in the ___________________________ where the sea level is at its ____________.
41. Low tide is the point in the ___________________________ where the sea level is at its _____________.
42. A Spring Tide is an _____________________________ tide and _______________________________
tide formed when the sun, moon and Earth are lined in a __________________________________.
43. Spring Tides occur at the _______________________ and _______________________ phases of the
moon.
44. Draw TWO pictures of the sun, moon, and Earth during a spring tide.
45. A Neap Tide is _________________ high tide and low tide formed when the sun and moon form a
__________________________________ with the Earth.
46. Neap Tides occurs at the ___________________________ and ____________________________ phases
of the moon.
47. Neap tides have high tides that are __________________________________ and the low tides are
___________________________________________________
48. Spring Tides are _________________ high and low tides while Neap Tides are _________________ high
and low tides.
49. Draw TWO pictures of the sun, moon, and Earth during a neap tide.
SPECIAL WAVES
50. A wave is a long __________________________________ curling into an arched form and breaking on
the shore.
51. A Tsunami is a ________________________________ that is formed by _________________________.
52. A rip current is a _________________, narrow ___________________________________ flowing
outward from a shore that results from the return flow of waves and wind-driven water.
53. Draw a rip current
54. Undertow is the water ______________________to the ocean after a wave crashes at shore. Undertow
may be strong enough to _____________________________________________________________________
55. A long shore current is an ocean current that travels ___________________________________
56. Draw a long-shore current
57. A storm surge occurs when ___________________ pushes a large ________________________
___________ to shore during a hurricane.
Vocabulary
wave, current, tides, energy, salinity, density, down welling, upwelling, Gulfstream, Coriolis Effect, El Nino