Multiple-Choice Questions
Chapter 6: Ocean Chemistry and Composition
1.
The residence time of water in the oceans is approximately what?
w. 350 years
x. 1,000 years
y. 3,500 years
z. 10,000 years
2. A line of constant salinity is named by what term?
w. isohaline
x. halocline
y. salinopleth
z. lysocline
3. What principle says that we can measure chlorine levels in the ocean and then know the
concentration of sodium in that area?
w. Brahe’s law
x. Nansen’s law of constancy
y. Law of constant proportions
z. Isohalinity principle
4. Which of the following is not a method of desalination?
w. Reverse osmosis
x. Distillation
y. electrodialysis
z. electroporation
5. What is the name for the depth range at which salinity changes rapidly?
w. Pycnocline
x. Halocline
y. Lysocline
z. Thermocline
6. The top two dissolved constituents of sea water are?
w. Calcium and chlorine
x. Chlorine and sodium
y. Sodium and calcium
z. Calcium and sulfate
7. What is the saltiest major body of water in the world?
w. Dead Sea
x. Great Salt Lake
y. Red Sea
z. Weddell Sea
8. Which of the following is not a major source of salts in the ocean?
w. Atmospheric precipitation
x. Weathering of rocks
y. Volcanoes
z. Hydrothermal vents
9. Which of the following will increase the salinity of a particular area of water?
w. Thawing of ice
x. Precipitation
y. River input
z. Freezing of water
10. Brackish water has a salinity closest to which of the following values?
w. 35 ppt
x. 17 ppt
y. 3.5 ppt
z. 1.7 ppt
11. Of the following, where is the pycnocline most prominent?
w. 23.5° N and 23.5° S
x. equator
y. 58° N and 58° S
z. poles
12. Fertilizer runoff with which of the following nutrients is most likely to help a plant grow in the
ocean?
w. Carbonate
x. Nitrate
y. Silicate
z. Phosphate
13. Which of the following is an example of a non-conservative property?
w. Dissolved oxygen
x. Chlorinity
y. Salinity
z. Sodium levels
14. What is an isotherm?
w. Line of constant pressure
x. line of constant temperature
y. line of rapid change in pressure
z. line of rapid change in temperature
15. Of the following, in which environment is calcium carbonate most soluble?
w. Deep, acidic
x. Shallow, acidic
y. Deep, basic
z. Shallow, basic
16. Where is CCD found?
w. Between 30 and 45 meters
x. Between 300 and 450 meters
y. Between 800 and 1000 meters
z. Between 3000 and 4500 meters
17. Which of the following isn’t a source or sink for calcium carbonate?
w. Precipitation from water
x. Weathering of limestone and calcite
y. Terrogenous sediments
z. Coccolithophorids
18. What causes pancake ice?
w. Acid rain.
x. Wave and wind action.
y. Hungry polar bears
z. Aunt Jemima
19. What is the term for ice masses formed by pancake ice combining? Ice floes
20. What is the maximum thickness of pack ice? 2m
21. What kind of ice connects land to pack ice?
w. Pancake ice
x. Polar ice
y. Fast ice
z. Iceberg
22. What is the difference between a castle berg and a tabular berg?
w. Castle = tall & thin, tabular = large & flat
x. Castle = large & flat, tabular = tall & thin
y. Castle = tall & flat, tabular = large & thin
z. Castle = large & thin, tabular = tall & flat
23. What is the average pH of the Ocean?
w. 8.7
x. 8.2
y. 6.5
z. 7.6
24. Which chemical is most responsible for the ocean to be basic?
w. carbonate
x. Hydrogen Sulfide
y. Bicarbonate
z. Calcium Carbonate
25. Freshwater is slightly acidic due to what compound?
w. Hydroxide
x. Kainic Acid
y. Carbonic Acid
z. Bicarbonate
26. Which law states that more gases can be dissolved at high pressures?
w. Charles Law
x. Henry’s Law
y. Beauforts Law
z. Daltons Law of Partial Pressures
27. At which intervals does the Oxygen Minimum Layer Occur?
w. 200-600m
x. 3000-4000m
y. 500-2000m
z. 150-1500m
28. Why are oxygen concentrations greater below 1500m?
w. The greater the depth the more oxygen the water molecules will be able to take in
x. There are less producers here producing oxygen
y. There are less consumers at these depths
z. The hydrothermal vents create a circulation current that takes the Oxygen away
29. What kind of water has low amounts of Oxygen?
w. Anoxic
x. Non-oxidic
y. Peroxic
z. Hypoxic
30. What is the name given to the depth where there is enough Oxygen to support aerobic life?
w. Vitality Depth
x. Viva Depth
y. Critical Depth
z. Successive Depth
31. What kind of wavelengths go the deepest in the Ocean
w. Answer: Short Wavelength
32. At 150m what is the approximate percentage of light passing to this depth?
w. 10
x. 5
y. 1
z. 0
33. What word defines the decrease in light intensity due to the absorption and scattering of particles?
w. Attenuation
x. Proclivity
y. Phototrophication
z. Clarity
34. If the water has high productivity, then the water color will most likely be:
w. Brownish
x. Yellowish-greenish
y. Bluish-greenish
z. Dark blue
35. Approximately how much faster in water does sound travel compared to in air?
w. 5 x faster than in air
x. 10 x faster than in air
y. 12 x faster than in air
z. 16 x faster than in air
36. At what depth is the SOFAR channel found?
w. 2000 m
x. 1000 m
y. 500 m
z. 5000 m
37. Sound is primarily used by which order of animals to communicate?
w. Caudata
x. Antiodactyla
y. Chiroptera
z. Cetacea
38. What property of water is hugely responsible for mild coastal climates?
w. Heat Capacity
x. Latent Heat
y. Hydrogen Bonding
z. Cohesion
39. Capillarity consists of which two water properties:
w. Hydrogen Bonding and specific heat
x. Specific heat and Latent heat
y. Adhesion and Latent heat
z. Adhesion and Cohesion
40. What property of water is responsible for taking heat from low – latitude areas and putting it into
high latitude areas?
w. Latent heat
x. High specific heat
y. Adhesion
z. Hydrogen bonding
41. For approximately how many meters in depth does pressure in water rise one atmosphere?
w. 15 m
x. 5 m
y. 10 m
z. 20 m
42. A line of constant pressure is called a:
w. thermocline
x. isotherm
y. isobar
z. isocline
43. Density is NOT affected by which of the following?
w. Temperature
x. pH
y. pressure
z. salinity
44. Which of the following does NOT describe pycnocline?
w. Non existent at low latitudes
x. Depth where density changes rapidly
y. Prominent in tropics
z. Hard to move water at this depth
45. When is sea water most dense?
w. -2 °C
x. Right above -2 °C
y. 0 °C
z. Right above 0 °C
46. When is freshwater most dense?
w. 4 °C
x. Right above 4 °C
y. 0 °C
z. Right above 0 °C
47. What is in situ density?
w. Density of life forms at a certain depth
x. Density of chemicals at a certain depth
y. Density of water at 400 m
z. Density of water at a certain depth
48. Which of the following is NOT a way heat is transferred?
w. Conduction
x. Condensation
y. Radiation
z. Convection
49. Heat is…
w. conducted in water much slower than in air
x. conducted in water much faster than in air
y. radiated in water much slower than in air
z. radiated in water much faster than in air