MAR105 Telecourse
REVIEW for the Final Exam
Lesson 9: Going to Extremes
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Lesson 1: The Water Planet
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Know the definition of oceanography and be able
to name and briefly describe at least five
branches of this science.
Describe why earth is unique in our solar system.
Explain why water was important for the
formation of life.
Lesson 10: Something in the Air
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Lesson 3: Making the Pieces Fit
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know the name of the layers of the earth when
the classification is based on chemical
composition AND when it is based on physical
properties.
Define and describe each of these terms
continental drift, seafloor spreading, subduction
and plate tectonics.
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describe the features and boundaries
characterizing the continental shelf, shelf break,
continental slope, continental rise and abyssal
plain.
know the difference between passive and active
margins and where they are found
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Describe the major types of sea-floor sediment
(terrigenous, hydrogenous, biogenous), how they
form and where they are found.
Lesson 7: It’s in the Water
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Know that water moves in orbits as a wind wave
passes through it.
Define each of the following terms used in
describing wind waves and their effects—wave
length, wave height, crest-and-trough, period and
frequency.
Describe the chronological sequence of events
that occur from the time a deep-water wave
begins to approach a shore until it breaks as surf.
Lesson 14: Look Out Below
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know that what is a polar molecule and what this
means
Describe the factors that regulate the density of
seawater
Understand the principle of constant proportions.
Describe the three types of immense waves—
storm surge, seiche, and tsunami—and the
disturbing forces that cause them.
Lesson 15: Ebb and Flow
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Lesson 8: Beneath the Surface
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Identify and characterize the three basic layers in
the ocean (surface or mixed zone, pycnocline
(thermocline or halocline) and deep zone).
Know how temperature and salinity affect the
density of sea water
Explain the basic thermohaline circulation patterns and mechanisms, including what happens
when different water masses encounter each
other.
Lesson 13: Surf’s Up
Lesson 6: The Ocean’s Memory
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List and briefly discuss the physical factors that
cause surface currents.
List and be able to locate on a map the six great
currents of the world ocean.
Lesson 12: Deep Connections
Describe the three major types of plate
boundaries (convergent, divergent and
transform) and discuss specific examples of
each.
Explain how the patterns of paleomagnetism,
seafloor age, and sediment thickness contribute
to an understanding of tectonic theory.
Lesson 5: Over the Edge
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Understand how temperature and the amount of
water vapor or humidity influence air’s density.
Understand the Coriolis effect: what causes it
and the affect it has on moving objects,
especially wind and currents
Lesson 11: Going with the Flow
Lesson 4: World in Motion
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Define primary production and compare and
explain the patterns of production in polar and
tropical oceans.
Describe the general density stratification of the
oceans and explain why it exists and how it
differs in tropical, temperate, and polar oceans.
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Explain how gravitational attraction and inertia
or centrifugal force lead to the formation of tidal
bulges (the formation of the crest/trough
configuration of the tidal “wave,”), and how this
explains the daily high-tide/low-tide fluctuations.
Define the terms neap tide and spring tide, and
know what causes them
MAR105 Telecourse
REVIEW for the Final Exam
Lesson 23: Living Together
Lesson 16: On the Coast
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Describe the major points of controversy and
discussion relating to human interaction with
beaches (such as building groins, seawalls, jetties
and importing sand) and some of the possible
management solutions and strategies.
NEW LESSONS:
Lesson 24: Treasure Trove
Lesson 17: Due West
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There will be no questions about this lesson
Lesson 18: Building Blocks
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Give some possible definitions of life
Outline the theory of evolution by natural
selection
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Lesson 19: Water World
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Define osmosis and discuss its importance to life
in the sea.
Discuss the relationships between viscosity and
movement. Explain some adaptations organisms
have to deal with this problem.
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Lesson 20: Food for Thought
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Define the term primary production and describe
its importance to marine ecosystems.
Compare how light and nutrients interact to
produce the general seasonal patterns of primary
production in tropical, temperate, and polar
oceans.
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Describe Earth’s earliest life forms, and how
they got their energy.
Define the term invertebrate as it is used to
describe groups of animals, both living and
fossil.
Describe the rocky intertidal zone of the marine
environment—what physical conditions prevail
there, and how the organisms that live there
survive.
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Lesson 22: Life Goes On
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Be able to define and distinguish among marine
physical, biological, energy, and nonextractive
resources and give several examples of each.
know how to define maximum sustainable yield
and how this is used to try to manage fisheries
Know how we define overfishing and examples,
like the orange roughy, that have been fished to
near extinction and know what countries take the
most fish
Know what bykill or bycatch is and what type of
gear leads to large amounts of it (drift nets
become ghost nets, trawling, purse seining)
Know what marine sanctuaries are and how they
are a relatively new method to protect fish
populations.
Be able to define and compare aquaculture,
mariculture, and marine ranching and know
examples of species that are grown in each way.
Know some of the problems associated with
mariculture
Lesson 25: Dirty Water
Lesson 21: Survivors
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Define ecology and ecological community and
relate the terms niche, habitat, and biodiversity to
the study of communities.
Describe the three features of the chordate body
plan
Describe the three classes of fishes.
Discuss the general characteristics of the class
Mammalia and discuss four features shared by
marine mammals.
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know examples of sources of oil pollution and
which source does most oil pollution come from
know what habitats and organisms are
particularly affected by oil pollution and why.
Know some methods that are used to prevent and
clean up oil spills
Define and explain eutrophication, including the
substances involved, their sources, and how
organisms and habitats are affected.
Be able to explain the concept of biological
amplification or biomagnification using organic
pollutants (such as DDT or PCBs) as an
example.
Know what ozone is and what chemicals caused
its depletion, where the hole was the largest, and
what the impact of ozone depletion is on
organisms
Be able to explain the greenhouse effect and
how this leads to global warming
Know what gases are greenhouse gases and
where the gases come from
Be able to describe why global warming leads to
sea level rise and the impacts this will have on
marine ecosystems.
MAR105 Telecourse
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REVIEW for the Final Exam
Be able to name ways to reduce the amount of
CO2 in the atmosphere
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