Waves, Currents, & Salinity Review
1. The top of a wave is called the __Crest__.
2. The size of waves is dependent upon _______wind speed_______, ____length of
time wind blows____, ___distance over which wind blows_.
3. Water particles in a wave tend to move in a ___circle__.
4. A surfboard floating in the ocean rises and falls 60 times in 30 seconds. What
is the frequency of waves?__2 Hz_.
5. Tsunamis are caused by __landslides__, _earthquakes__, ___volcanoes____.
6. An unstable wave that is breaking on shore or over a reef or other object is
called a _breaker_.
7. In 120 seconds, 30 wave crests pass an anchored sailboat. What is the period
of these waves? _4_.
8. The lowest part of the wave is called the _trough___.
9. The distance between the crest and the trough is called _wave length___.
10. Waves produced by high winds have _shorter_________ wavelengths.
11. If a wave has a height of 22 ft and a length of 45 ft, what is the diameter of the
wave. 22 ft.
12. The desired salinity is for our classroom aquarium is __1.0231.027______(range).
13. The instrument used to check salinity in the aquariums is called a(n)
_hydrometer___.
14. When we check the salinity in the classroom aquariums, we are actually
checking _specific gravity________.
15. The element in greatest abundance in seawater is chloride__.
16. In 50,000 years we can expect the salinity level of the oceans to be _the
same____.
17. Two things that increase salinity are ________evaporation________ and
___freezing_________.
18. Two things that decrease salinity are ______precipitation________ and
___freshwater runoff_____.
19. Two things that affect the density of water are temperature and salinity.
20. Vertical movement in the ocean can be explained in terms of what two forces:
buoyancy and gravity.
21. Movements caused by interaction between the two forces in the above
question are rising, sinking, floating.
22. Total movement of water in the ocean is called ocean circulation.
23. The principle driving forces behind currents are wind, temperature, and
density .
24. Movement of water caused by differences in temperature and salinity is
thermohaline circulation.
25. Salt water is more dense than fresh water.
26. Cold water is more dense than warm water.
27. If an object has a greater buoyant force than gravitational force then it rises.
28. Winds that blow from the northeast that were used to help ships get their
goods from Europe to North America are called trade winds.
29. A circular current formed by a combination of the prevailing winds the
rotation of the earth, and land masses that interfere with the movement of
the water currents is a gyre.
30. Horse latitudes got their name when sailing ships could not make headway
and horses penned up in the hold died
31. Distinguish between interference, reflection, refraction, and diffraction.
32. Salinity refers to the saltiness of the seawater.
33. The salinity of an estuary is influenced by the amount of freshwater that
flows to it from rivers and streams.
34. The layering effect that occurs between freshwater and seawater.
35. If the concentration of H+ is greater than the OH- concentration, the solution
is acidic.
36. If the concentration of OH- is greater than the H+ concentration, the solution
is basic/alkaline.
37. Is human blood more acidic or basic?
38. The pH range for our saltwater tanks should be about 8.0 – 8.4.
39. The movement of water into and out of living cells is called osmosis.
40. Draw and label all parts of a wave.