Marine Science I
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1
Earth & Space Science
Earth Structures
SC.912.E.6.3
Analyze the scientific theory of plate tectonics and identify related major
processes and features as a result of moving plates.
SC.912.N.2.4
Multiple Choice, Short Answer
Students will analyze the scientific theory of plate tectonics. Students will
identify related major processess and features as a result of moving plates.
Students will explain that scientific knowledge is both durable and robust and
open to change.
Items may include plate boundaries, the process of seafloor spreading, the hot
spot theory, and the ring of fire. Items may include features such as volcanoes,
mountain ranges, trenches, and canyons. Items may include the process of
earthquakes and volcanic activity. Items may include the theory of continental
drift, the theory of seafloor spreading, and the theory of plate tectonics.
Illustrations or diagrams may be used.
None specified.
Which type of plate boundary is associated with earthquake activity?
A)
B)
*C)
D)
Convergent boundary
Divergent boundary
Transform boundary
Subduction zone
Short Answer: Explain how the Hawaiian Islands are formed.
Answer - The Hawaiian Islands are formed by the Hot Spot Theory. Hot spots
are small melting areas within the mantle that causes magma to push up and
break through the crust. As the plate moves over the mantle the hot spot does
not. So the volcanic areas change on the plate resulting in a line or row of
volcanic formations. Volcanic island chains result from the plate moving over
a hot spot.
Marine Science I
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2
Earth & Space Science
Earth Structures
SC.912.E.6.5
Describe the geologic development of the present day oceans and identify
commonly found features.
SC.912.N.2.5
Multiple Choice
Students will describe the geologic development of the present day oceans.
Students will identify commonly found features in the oceans. Students will
describe instances in which scientists' varied backgrounds, talents, interests, and
goals influence the inferences and thus the explanations that they make about
observations of natural phenomena. Students will describe that competing
interpretations of scientists are a strength of science as they are a source of new,
testable ideas that have the potential to add new evidence to support one or
another of the explanations.
Items may include the movement of continents from Pangaea to present day
continents, as well as the development of the present day oceans from
Panthalassa.
Items may include ocean floor features, such as trenches, mid-ocean ridges, rift
valley, seamounts, abyssal plain, and continental shelf.
Illustrations or diagrams may be used.
None specified.
Which ocean floor feature is an underwater mountain range with a rift valley
running through the center of it?
A) Trench
* B) Mid-ocean Ridge
C) Seamount
D) Continental Rise
How do mid ocean ridges support the development of modern day oceans from
tectonic plate movement?
A) Mid ocean ridges support the development of modern day oceans by
destroying old seafloor.
B) Mid ocean ridges support the development of modern day oceans by creating
trenches.
*C) Mid ocean ridges support the development of modern day oceans by
creating new seafloor.
D) Mid ocean ridges support the development of modern day oceans by causing
tectonic plates to collide.
Marine Science I
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Earth & Space Science
Earth Systems & Patterns
SC.912.E.7.4
Summarize the conditions that contribute to the climate of a geographic area,
including the relationships to lakes and oceans.
Multiple Choice
Students will summarize the conditions that contribute to the climate of a
geographic area, including the relationships to lakes and oceans.
Items may assess the concept of heat capacity.
Items will not assess how to measure heat capacity.
Items will not assess the heat capacity of other substances besides water.
Items may assess the hydrological cycle.
Items may assess how currents affect the climate of a geographic area.
Items may assess how El Nino Southern Oscillation affect worldwide climate.
Items will not assess how to study ocean currents.
Illustrations or diagrams may be used.
None specified.
How does heat capacity affect the climate of an area located next to a large lake?
A) The water releases heat and warms the area
*B) The water absorbs heat and cools the area
C) The sun reflects the sun off the water and makes it cooler
D) The water evaporates and causes it to rain
3
Marine Science I
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Earth & Space Science
Earth Systems & Patterns
SC.912.E.7.6
Relate the formation of severe weather to the various physical factors.
Multiple Choice
Students will relate the formation of severe weather to the various physical
factors.
Items may assess how monsoons and cyclones are formed.
Items may assess wind patterns and the Coriolis effect.
Items may assess the formation of tsunamis.
Illustrations or diagrams may be used.
None specified.
What factors contribute to the growth and intensity of hurricanes?
A) Mountain ranges
B) Cool air mass
*C) Warm, tropical water
D) Increase in air pressure
4
Marine Science I
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Earth & Space Science
Earth Systems & Patterns
SC.912.E.7.9
Cite evidence that the ocean has had a significant influence on climate change by
absorbing, storing, and moving heat, carbon, and water.
LA.910.4.2.2
Multiple Choice
Items may assess the hydrological cycle and the carbon cycle.
Items may assess surface currents, deep ocean circulation, and the ocean
conveyor belt.
Items will not assess how climate change is measured.
Items will not assess the effects of climate change.
None specified.
None specified.
What is the importance of the ocean conveyor belt to global climate?
*A) It moderates the world climate by redistributing heat from the tropics
B) It moderates the world climate by moving water through ocean currents
C) It helps to cool temperatures in the tropics
D) It keeps surface water cool
5
Marine Science I
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6
Classification/Heredity/Evolution
Diversity & Evolution of Living Organisms
SC.912.L.15.13
Describe the conditions required for natural selection, including: overproduction
of offspring, inherited variation, and the struggle to survive which results in
differential reproductive success.
Multiple Choice
Items may assess the concept of natural selection.
Items may assess adaptations, mutations, overproduction, competition, genetic
variation, and speciation.
Items will not include invasive species.
Items will not include the fossil record.
Items will not include extinct or endangered species.
Items may include the different types of reproductive strategies.
None specified.
None specified.
Which of the following is an essential component of the Theory of Natural
Selection?
A) antibiotic resistance
*B) inherited variation
C) transitional species
D) genetic mutation
Marine Science I
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7
Organisms/Populations/Ecosystems
Interdependence
SC.912.L.17.1
Discuss the characteristics of populations, such as number of individuals, age
structure, density, and pattern of distribution.
Multiple Choice
Items may assess the concept of carrying capacity.
Items may assess how population dynamics affect the population and pattern of
distribution of marine life.
Items may assess the types of population density, such as uniform, clumped, or
random distribution.
Items will not assess endangered species.
Illustrations or diagrams may be used.
None specified.
Which of the following does NOT affect the carrying capacity of a species?
A) food supply
B) water supply
*C) predation
D) available space
Marine Science I
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8
Organisms/Populations/Ecosystems
Interdependence
SC.912.L.17.2
Explain the general distribution of life in aquatic systems as a function of
chemistry, geography, light, depth, salinity, and temperature.
SC.912.L.17.1
Multiple Choice
Students will discuss the characteristics of populations, such as number of
individuals, age, structure, density, and pattern of distribution.
Items may assess how the chemistry of water, light availability, depth, salinity,
temperature, and geography affect the distribution of marine life.
Items will not assess how to calculate salinity.
Items may assess the ocean life zones, such as photic zone, benthic zone, aphotic
zone, oceanic zone, and neritic zone.
Items may assess the marine lifestyles, such as neuston, plankton, nekton, and
benthos.
Items will not assess harmful algal blooms.
Items will not assess compensation depth.
Items will not assess the Principle of Constant Proportions, dissolved solids in
seawater, acidity, or why the seas are salty.
Illustrations or diagrams may be used.
None specified.
In which ocean zone would you expect to find phytoplankton?
A) aphotic zone
*B) photic zone
C) benthic zone
D) transition zone
The Florida Manatee is a gentle giant that thrives in warm water. Cold stress is a
major problem for the Florida Manatee and during the winter months they migrate
toward warmer water. Which area would the Florida Manatee MOST LIKELY
migrate to during the winter months?
*A) natural springs
B) rivers
C) coasts along northwest Florida
D) coasts along the Atlantic ocean
Marine Science I
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9
Organisms/Populations/Ecosystems
Interdependence
SC.912.L.17.3
Discuss how various oceanic and freshwater processes, such as currents, tides,
and waves, affect the abundance of aquatic organisms.
SC.912.N.1.6; SC.912.N.4.2
Multiple Choice
Students will describe how scientific inferences are drawn from scientific
observations and provide examples from the content being studied.
Students will weigh the merits of alternative strategies for solving a specific
societal problem by comparing a number of different costs and benefits, such as
human, economic, and environmental.
Items may assess erosion from waves and the zonation patterns along a beach.
Items may assess the intertidal zones.
Items may assess how sea surface temperature and ocean currents affect marine
life.
Items will not assess tsunamis. Items will assess how tides affect marine life.
Items will not assess the causes of currents, tides, and waves.
Illustrations or diagrams may be used.
None specified.
What types of aquatic organisms would you expect to find in the intertidal zone?
A) You would find all types of organisms
B) You would not find any organisms
*C) You would find organisms that could survive the harsh environment
D) You would find organisms during high tide but not during low tide
Marine Science I
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10
Organisms/Populations/Ecosystems
Interdependence
SC.912.L.17.6
Compare and contrast the relationships among organisms, including predation,
parasitism, competition, commensalism, and mutualism.
LA.910.2.2.3
Multiple Choice, Short Answer
Students will organize information to show understanding or relationships among
facts, ideas, and events.
Items will assess the relationships among organisms, which include predation,
parasitism, competition, commensalism, and mutualism.
Items will not assess interspecific and intraspecific relationships.
Items will not assess the food web.
Items will not assess coevolution.
Illustrations or diagrams may be used.
None specified.
Which type of relationship do clownfish and sea anemone have?
A) commensalism
B) parasitism
C) predator-prey
*D) mutualism
Short Answer: Describe the differences among commensalism, mutualism, and
parasitism.
Answer - In commensalism, one organism benefits and the other organism is not
affected. In mutualism, both organisms benefit from each other. In parasitism, one
organism benefits and the other organism is harmed.
Marine Science I
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11
Organisms/Populations/Ecosystems
Interdependence
SC.912.L.17.7
Characterize the biotic and abiotic components that define freshwater systems,
marine systems and terrestrial systems.
Multiple Choice
Items will not address freshwater or terrestrial systems.
Items referring to abiotic factors are limited to temperature, salinity, pH,
amount of sunlight, ocean currents, wave action, and sediments.
None specified.
None specified.
Which of the following is an abiotic factor that might influence the health of a
coastal ecosystem?
A) a change in the bacteria in the water
*B) a change in the salinity of the water
C) an increase in the fish population
D) a decrease in the phytoplankton population
Marine Science I
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12
Organisms/Populations/Ecosystems
Interdependence
SC.912.L.17.8
Recognize the consequences of the losses of biodiversity due to catastrophic
events, climate changes, human activity, and the introduction of invasive or nonnative species.
SC.912.L.17.4
Multiple Choice
Students will describe changes in ecosystems resulting from seasonal variations,
climate change and succession.
Items may include examples of catastrophic events, climate changes, human
activity, or the introduction of invasive species, but will focus on their effect on
biodiversity, not assessing specific knowledge of these.
None specified.
None specified.
Caulerpa is green marine algae that are native to the Caribbean and Indian Ocean.
It has grown rapidly in areas where it has been introduced, such as the
Mediterranean. Which of the following describes the most likely impact of
Caulerpa on an ecosystem?
*A) The native algae loses habitat due to the growth of the nonnative algae
B) The native algae becomes stronger and out-competes the nonnative algae
C) The nonnative algae increases the biodiversity of the area due to the
increased biomass
D) The nonnative algae increases the population of consumers that depended
on the native algae
Marine Science I
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13
Organisms/Populations/Ecosystems
Interdependence
SC.912.L.17.9
Use a food web to identify and distinguish producers, consumers, and
decomposers. Explain the pathway of energy transfer through trophic levels and
the reduction of available energy at successive trophic levels.
Multiple Choice
Students will use a marine food web to identify and distinguish producers,
consumers, and decomposers.
Students will describe the energy pathways through the different trophic levels of
a marine food web or energy pyramid.
Items will not require knowledge of specific organisms or their feeding habits.
Illustrations or diagrams may be used.
None specified.
In a marine ecosystem phytoplankton, zooplankton, small fish, and shark make up
a food chain, in which the shark eats the fish, the fish eats the zooplankton, and
the zooplankton eats the phytoplankton. If disease reduced the population of
small fish, how would this affect the flow of energy in the system?
A) The flow of energy would decrease between the phytoplankton and the sun.
B) The flow of energy would increase between the phytoplankton and the
small fish.
*C) The flow of energy will decrease between the small fish and the shark.
D) The flow of energy will increase between the phytoplankton and the shark.
Marine Science I
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14
Organisms/Populations/Ecosystems
Interdependence
SC.912.L.17.10
Diagram and explain the biogeochemical cycles of an ecosystem, including
water, carbon, and nitrogen cycle.
SC.912.E. 7.1
Multiple Choice
Students will analyze the movement of matter through biogeochemical
cycles.
Items assessing biogeochemical cycles are limited to the water cycle or
carbon cycle.
Items will be limited to the role of the marine ecosystem in the
biogeochemical cycle.
Illustrations or diagrams may be used.
None specified.
Which of the following describes a significant role that the oceans play in the
movement of carbon through the ecosystem?
A) Carbon dioxide is released by the shells of marine animals.
*B) Carbon dioxide is used by phytoplankton during photosynthesis.
C) Carbon dioxide is taken in by marine bacteria during decomposition.
D) Carbon dioxide is absorbed by deep sea sediments.
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15
Organisms/Populations/Ecosystems
Interdependence
SC.912.L.17.11
Evaluate the costs and benefits of renewable and nonrenewable resources, such as
water, energy, fossil fuels, wildlife, and forests.
Also Assesses SC.912.N.1.5
Item Types
Multiple Choice
Benchmark
Students will describe and provide examples of how similar investigations
Clarification
conducted in many parts of the world result in the same outcome.
Content Limits Items assessing renewable and nonrenewable resources will be limited to
resources from the oceans or those that directly impact the marine environment.
Stimulus
None specified.
Attributes
Response
None specified.
Attributes
Sample Item
What are the benefits of using tidal or wave power instead of fossil fuels?
*A) Tidal and wave power are renewable.
B) Tidal and wave power produce toxic waste.
C) Tidal and wave power can be harnessed anywhere in the ocean.
D) Tidal and wave power initial costs are very low.
Marine Science I
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16
Organisms/Populations/Ecosystems
Interdependence
SC.912.L.17.16
Discuss the large-scale environmental impacts resulting from human activity,
including waste spills, oil spills, runoff, greenhouse gases, ozone depletion, and
surface and groundwater pollution.
SC.912.N.1.3
Multiple Choice; Short answer
Students will discuss or recognize large-scale environmental impacts resulting
from human activity, including waste spills, oil spills, run off, greenhouse gases,
ozone depletion, and surface and ground water pollution
Environmental impacts will pertain to the marine environment. Item
specification will concentrate on waste spills, oil spills and greenhouse gases.
None specified.
None specified.
Greenhouse gases have environmental impacts on marine ecosystems. Which of
the following environmental impact is NOT a result of greenhouse gases?
A) Global warming
B) Coral bleaching
*C) Cooling of arctic waters
D) Sea level rise due to glacial melting
Sample Item #2: What are the effects of oil spills on the marine environment?
Answer: Oil spills harm the marine environment in a number of ways. Oil is toxic
to marine species that ingest the oil directly or through their food. Oil can clog
the feeding mechanisms of benthic and planktonic animals, which may result in
the death of these organisms. Oil can kill birds and mammals such as sea otters by
damaging their means of insulation, which results in death of the organism by
exposure. Oil can cover coastlines making them uninhabitable to marine
organisms and reducing species diversity.
Marine Science I
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17
Physical Science
Matter & Energy Transformations
SC.912.L.18.12
Discuss the special properties of water that contribute to Earth's suitability as an
environment for life: cohesive behavior, ability to moderate temperature,
expansion upon freezing, and versatility as a solvent.
Multiple Choice
The student is able to identify that water is a unique molecule and necessary for
life because of it specific and unique properties.
The student is able to relate how the cohesive behavior of water gives it unique
and special properties that contribute to its usefulness in plant life and animal life.
The student can relate how the density change in freezing is essential to life on
this planet.
The student is able to explain how water is able to dissolve many substances
making it an essential molecule for life.
Students understand the polar nature of a water molecule and how it relates to its
special properties.
The item will not assess hydrogen bonding, the freezing point of water, or other
specific conceptual or numerical values of water.
Illustrations or diagrams may be used
None Specified
What would happen to earth's climate if frozen water did not float?
A) The climate would be the same
B) The climate would be too hot to sustain any life
*C) The climate would be substantially colder
D) It would cause water to evaporate more quickly and increase precipitation
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18
Nature of Science
Practice of Science
SC.912.N.1.1
Define a problem based on a specific body of knowledge, for example: biology,
chemistry, physics, and earth/space science, and do the following: 1. pose
questions about the natural world, 2. conduct systematic observations, 3. examine
books and other sources of information to see what is already known, 4. review
what is known in light of empirical evidence, 5. plan investigations, 6. use tools to
gather, analyze, and interpret data (this includes the use of measurement in metric
and other systems, and also the generation and interpretation of graphical
representations of data, including data tables and graphs), 7. pose answers,
explanations, or descriptions of events, 8. generate explanations that explicate or
describe natural phenomena (inferences), 9. use appropriate evidence and
reasoning to justify these explanations to others, 10. communicate results of
scientific investigations, and 11. evaluate the merits of the explanations produced
by others.
Multiple Choice with diagrams
Item specification will address density of ocean. Focus will be on interpretation
of graphical representations of data and to determine results of scientific
investigations.
None specified
Diagrams as answer choice selections.
Marine Science I
Sample
Item
19
The NEXT TWO questions relate to the following experiment.
Sydney's science teacher slowly poured three different water solutions into a glass
aquarium tank:
(1) Warm fresh water colored red
(2) Clear, room temperature fresh water
(3) Cold fresh water colored blue.
1. Which diagram illustrates the most likely outcome of this experiment?
A) Red water solution on top of the water column, blue water solution in the
middle of water column, clear water solution at the bottom of the water column
*B) Red water on top of the water column, clear water solution in the middle of
the water column, blue water solution at the bottom of the water column
C) Blue water solution on top of the water column, clear water solution at the
middle of the water column, red water solution at the bottom of the water column
D) Clear water solution at the top of the water column, red water solution at the
middle of the water column, blue water solution at the bottom of the water column.
2. The best explanation of this demonstration is that:
A) Warm water is more dense than cold water
* B) Cold water is more dense than warm water
C) Blue water is more dense than red water
D) Red water is more dense than blue water
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Sample Item
20
Nature of Science
Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge
SC.912.N.2.1
Identify what is science, what clearly is not science, and what superficially
resembles science (but fails to meet the criteria for science).
Multiple Choice
Specification item will not have students defining science but will have students
determining the most useful scientific evidence for good science.
None specified
None specified
Old stories tell of gigantic cartilaginous fish, possibly ancient sharks called
Megalodon. To prove that Megalodon still exist, the most useful scientific
evidence would be which of the following?
A) Good photographs of the creature
B) Reliable eye witness accounts of seeing them
C) Unexplained bite marks on fish
*D) A fresh carcass of the ancient shark
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21
Physical Science
Energy
SC.912.P.10.2
Explore the Law of Conservation of Energy by differentiating among open,
closed, and isolated systems and explain that the total energy in an isolated
system is a conserved quantity.
Multiple Choice
Students will identify and/or relate the differences between an open, closed, and
isolated system.
The student will be able to explain that the total energy in an isolated system is
conserved and its amount never changes.
Items will not assess energy efficiency.
Items will not assess the different types of energy.
Illustrations or diagrams may be used.
None specified.
With regard to how energy moves through marine systems, what type of system is
the ocean?
*A) Open system
B) Closed system
C) Isolated system
D) Inefficient system
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22
Physical Science
Energy
SC.912.P.10.20
Describe the measurable properties of waves and explain the relationships
among them and how these properties change when the wave moves from one
medium to another.
Multiple Choice
Students will describe how these properties change when the wave moves from
one medium to another.
Items will not assess the causes of waves.
Items will not assess the types of waves.
Items will not assess calculation of velocity or wavelength.
Items will not assess destructive waves.
Illustrations or diagrams may be used.
None specified.
What is the highest point of a wave above the average water level?
A) Trough
*B) Crest
C) Height
D) Wavelength