NAME___________________________________
A diagram of a wave – wave moves to the right
A
B
C
1. Wave energy will converge (focus) around a coastal headland and diverge (spread) within a cove or bay.
a. True
b. False
2. The wavelength of a surface ocean wave can be measured from _______________.
a. crest to crest
b. trough to crest c. the wind that produces the wave d. the depth of the ocean
3. The period of a wave is (points A and B are arbitrary locations!)
a. the number of wave crests passing a point A or a point B each second
b. the orbital path of individual water molecules at the water surface
c. time required for wave crest at point A to reach point B (see diagram of front page)
4. Tides are produced through a combination of gravitational forces of the moon and sun and the motion of earth.
a. True
b. False
5. Wave refraction in shallow water refers to along crest variations in speed which results in changes in wave direction
a. True
b. False
6. The equilibrium theory of tides predicts exactly the behavior of the tides in the ocean.
a. True
b. False
7. ENSO, El Nino Southern Oscillation is primarily associated with what wind belt
a. NE Trades
b. SE Trades
c. Westerlies
d. Polar Easterlies
8. The orbits of water particles below a shallow water wave are
a. elliptic and flatten with depth
c. circular and extend halfway to the seafloor
b. elliptic and enlarge with depth
d. circular at the surface and elliptical at the sea floor
9. According to the temperature-salinity (T-S) graph provided above, two different masses of water can have the same density with
a. different values of temperature but the same values of salinity
b. different combinations of temperature and salinity
c. different values of salinity but the same value of temperature
d. two different water masses cannot have the same density
10. Due to the Moon’s orbit around the Earth the time of high tide advances 1.5 hrs each day.
a. True
b. False
11. Even though the sun is much larger than the moon, the moon has a greater influence on the observed tides because it is closer to
the earth.
a. True
b. False
12. New York experiences a semi-diurnal tide.
a. True
b. False
13. Wave energy in the ocean is related to the wave period. Most wave energy is typically concentrated in wind waves.
a. True
b. False
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14. In general, tidal range decreases as continental shelf width increases.
a. True
b. False
15. To navigate swift tidal currents safely, small boats need to wait for
a. high water
b. ebb tide
c. slack water
d. flood tide
16. The greatest tidal range occurs during
a. full moon
b. first quarter moon
c. third quarter moon
d. blue moon
17. A water wave reaches an unstable breaking point when the steepness ratio (ratio of wave height to wavelength) reaches
a. 1:10
b. 1:8
c. 1:7
d. 1:5
e. 1:2
18. The typical velocity of a tsunami is approximately _______________ per hour.
a. 160 kilometers (100 miles)
b. 80 kilometers (50 miles)
c. 750 kilometers (470 miles)
19. The height of wind waves in deep water is controlled by
a. wind speed and depth of water b. wind duration and atmospheric pressure
c. wind speed, fetch and wind duration
d. fetch only
20. Describing the tides by assuming that Earth is completely water covered, the water is infinitely deep and there is no friction
anywhere is called
a. dynamical tide theory b. equilibrium tide theory c. tidal bore
d. bogus theory
21. In general, the _____________ the wavelength, the ____________ the wave energy will move through the water.
a. longer, slower b. longer, faster
c. Shorter, faster d. wavelength and energy are unrelated
22. A tsunami, or seismic sea wave, travels at a speed determined by the size of the earthquake that forms it.
a. True
b. False
23. In shallow water the speed at which a wave propagates is controlled by the
a. wavelength
b. wave period
c. wave height
d. water depth
24. Wave dispersion refers to the
a. constructive interference between two waves
c. separating of waves into groups according to how fast they move
b. oscillation of waves in an enclosed basin
d. destructive interference between two waves
25. A progressive wind wave with a wavelength of 60 meters would be called a deep-water wave if
a. it is deflected to the right of the wind in the Northern Hemisphere
b. it occurs in waters that are at less than 20 meter deep
c. its period is changing as it propagates
d. it occurs in waters that are more than 30 meter deep
26. Water particle motion (in relation to the direction of wave motion) beneath a deep water wave is
a. Vertical, in a straight line from top of water surface to bottom of ocean
b. Circular, with circular orbits decreasing with depth
c. Random, particles move in any direction and no pattern
d. water particles do not move at all with the passage of a wave
27. A 300 meter-wavelength wave is propagating in a channel that is 10 meters deep. This wave can be characterized as a
a. Tsunami
b. lunatic wave
c. deep-water wave
d. shallow-water wave
28. Dynamic tidal analysis (theory)
a. assumes the earth is covered with water
c. does not account for Coriolis effect
b. assumes the ocean basins are infinitely deep
d. includes the effect of continents on tide wave propagation
29. Three basic categories of breaking waves include:
a. Surging, plunging and spilling
b. plunging, spilling and refracting
c. spilling, refracting and surging
d. refracting, surging and plunging
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30. Surface Currents are wind-driven movements of water at or near the ocean’s surface but thermohaline currents/ MOC meridional
overturning circulation are slow, deep, density-driven currents that affect the vast bulk of seawater beneath the pycnocline.
a. True
b. False
31. All of the following processes could generate tsunamis except
a. submarine landslides
b. collapsing volcanoes
c underwaterearthquakes d. breaking capillary waves
32. The speed of a deep water wave is proportional to
a. water depth
b. wave period
c. wind speed
33. As a wave begins to feel bottom near a shoreline, its
a. wave height increases and wavelength decreases
c. wave height increases, wavelength does not change
d. wave height
b. it is not affected at all
d. wave height decreases, wavelength increases
34. Tsunamis have the longest wavelength
a. True
b. False
35. The lowest point on a wave is called the
a. Height
b. Trough
c. Amplitude
d. Crest
36. A tidal pattern of two high tides and two low tides each day is known as a semi-diurnal tidal pattern
a. True
b. False
37. Waves that propagate while still under the influence of the forces that generated them are called
a. forced waves
b. dispersive waves
c. free waves
d. meteorological tides
38. Tsunamis travel across the ocean as
a. deep water waves
b. forced waves
c. refracted waves
39. The period of a wave
a. decreases as the wave enters shallow waters
c. does not change
b. increases as the wave enters shallow waters
d. increases up to breaking then decreases
d. shallow water waves
40. A breaking wave will be classified as a plunging breaker if
a. the shore where it breaks is very wide and it has a flat bottom
b. the wavelength of the wave is small
c. the shore where it breaks has a very steep bottom
d. plunging is not a type of breaker
41. Spring tides occur
a. once each month
b. twice each month
c. three times each month d. once each week
42. Neap tides result from destructive interference between the solar and lunar tides.
a. True
b. False
43. The speed at which the tide wave propagates across an ocean basin is proportional to its period.
a. True
b. False
44. The restoring force of a capillary wave is gravity
a. True
b. False
45. The number of wave crests passing point A. (or B in the diagram provided above) each second is called
a. wave period
b. wavelength
c. wave steepness d. wave frequency
46. Tidal waves are called __________ because they are never free of the forces that cause them.
a. free waves
b. occupied waves
c. forced waves
d. fixed waves
47. During an El Nino year upwelling is enhanced along the west coast of South America.
a. True
b. False
48. The fetch refers to the distance
a. a dog will go to retrieve a stick
c. over which the wind blows in one direction
b. a wave will travel before dissipating
d. from the coast to the area where surfers chase swells
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