Name: ___________________________________________ Date: ________________ Period: _______________
Study Guide – Oceans
TEST ON FRIDAY, APRIL 3RD – Parent signature: __________________________________
Directions: Use your notes, activities, and labs to answer the following questions. Please use complete
sentences.
PART 1: Using notecards, make flash cards for the terms below. Write the word(s) on the front of the
card and the definition/explanation on the back of the card.
1. Precipitation – When water falls down from the clouds as rain, snow, etc.
2. Infiltration – When water soaks into the soil/ground
3. Condensation – When water vapor (gas) turns into a liquid
4. Evaporation – When liquid water turns into a gas
5. Transpiration – When a plant takes up and uses water and then releases it as a gas (water vapor)
6. Saturated – When something is full and cannot hold any more water
7. Salinity – The amount of salt in ocean water
8. Mass – The amount of matter an object has
9. Volume – The amount of space an object takes up
10. Density – The amount of matter in a certain space
11. Waves – Surface water movement that is caused by wind
12. Spring tides – Tides that are more extreme because the Earth, moon, and Sun are in a line, and their
gravity is stronger because they’re pulling on the water together.
13. Neap tides - Tides that are less extreme due to the Earth, moon, and Sun NOT being in a line
14. Currents – Caused by changes in the density of the ocean water - temperature and salinity affect the
water’s density/currents
PART 2: Label the following maps/diagrams:
Label the 7 continents and 5 major oceans on the map provided.
Arctic Ocean
North
America
Pacific Ocean
Europe
Atlantic
Ocean
Asia
Pacific Ocean
Africa
Indian Ocean
South
America
Australia
Southern Ocean
Antarctica
Complete the following diagram of the water cycle by writing the correct words in the blanks
CLOUD
Condensation
Precipitation
Transpiration
Evaporation
Infiltration
PART 3: Answer the following questions; use complete sentences for questions 1-5 and restate the
question in your answer.
1. Which type of tides are more extreme, neap or spring? Explain why. Spring tides are
more extreme because the Earth, moon, and Sun are in a line which means their
gravitational pull is stronger because they’re pulling together.
2. Which two things affect the density of ocean water? Explain how they affect the
density. The two things that affect water’s density are the salinity of the water and its
temperature.
 Salinity: More salt = more dense; less salt = less dense
 Temperature: Colder = more dense; Warmer = less dense
3. How does density affect the currents in the ocean? In the ocean, currents are created
because more dense water sinks and less dense water rises to the top.
4. Identify a location where the ocean has higher salinity and explain why the salinity is
higher than in other locations. One location where the ocean has higher salinity is near
the equator because the heat makes more water evaporate, leaving the salt behind.
5. Identify a location where the ocean has lower salinity and explain why the salinity is
lower than in other locations. One location where the ocean has lower salinity is where
rivers enter the ocean, dumping in fresh water. Another location with lower salinity is
near the North Pole/Arctic Ocean because the ice there is made of fresh water, and it is
melting into the ocean.
6. What tool do scientists use to measure the mass of an object? Triple beam balance
7. What units are used to measure the mass of an object? Grams (g).
8. What is the formula for finding the volume of a rectangular prism? Volume = Length x Width x Height
(V = L x W x H).
9. What units are used to measure the volume of a rectangular prism? cm3 (centimeters cubed).
10. What is the formula for finding the density of an object? Density = Mass/Volume (D = M/V).
11. What units are used for density? g/cm3 (grams/centimeters cubed)