Marine Science Benchmark

Which of these statements about Mars is most nearly correct?

A. Mars has an extensive ocean covered with a layer of ice.

B. Mars may have had an ocean a few billion years ago, but its water has dispersed.

C. Mars has never had liquid water running

D. Mars has an ocean, but it's beneath the surface in vast underground pools.

E. Mars has an ocean. We can't see it because it's on the side of Mars turned permanently away from the earth.

Which of the following statements about pH is not true?

A. As a whole, the pH of the ocean is mildly acidic.

B. pH relates to acid-base balance.

C. pH will tend to rise in areas of rapid plant growth.

D. Buffers prevent large swings in pH.

E. a pH of 10 is alkaline, a pH of 3 is acid.

At the present time, oceanographic research is primarily the province of:

A. Private individuals, funded through national or local grants.

B. Private corporations, privately funded

C. private individuals, privately funded.

D. Academic institutions or governmental agencies, publicly funded.

E. Private corporations, publicly funded.

About what percentage of the water on or near Earth's surface is contained in the ocean?

A. 55%

B. is a temporary phenomenon of Earth.

C. 85%

D. 97%

E. 75%

The most pronounced thermocline exists in:

A. anywhere - it depends on water clarity.

B. the tropics.

C. the polar regions

D. anywhere - it depends on water salinity.

E. the temperate zones.

When a substance is resting in buoyant equilibrium, moving neither up nor down..

A. it displaces a volume of water which weighs slightly less than its own weight.

B. it displaces a volume of water equal in weight to its own weight.

C. it weighs less than the water surrounding it.

D. it displaces a volume of water which weighs slightly more than its own weight.

E. it weighs more than the water surrounding it.

The depth to which light can penetrate the ocean depends on...

A. The amount of suspended material in the water

B. the dust, cloud cover, and gases in the atmosphere.

C. The angle of the sun above the horizon.

D. The smoothness or roughness of the sea surface.

E. All of these statements apply.

Land-based evidence for plate tectonics can be seen in:

A. the alignment of mountain ranges.

B. the distribution of Glossopteris flora and fauna.

C. The correlation of rocks in now widely separated continents.

D. Evidence of ancient glaciations.

E. all of these.

This man was the first to publish a reasonably accurate chart of an ocean current.

A. Edward Forbes

B. John Harrison.

C. Ben Franklin

D. Captain James Cook

E. Eratosthenes of Cyrene

The principles of constant proportions states:

A. that the salinity of the ocean is a constant.

B. that the total amount of dissolved solids in the ocean is a constant.

C. that the ratio of major salts in samples of seawater from various places is a constant.

D. that the excess volatile ratio of the ocean is a constant

The core of Earth is composed primarily of:

A. metallic hydrogen

B. iron

C. nickel

D. lead

E. uranium

The speed of sound in water is ____ the speed of sound in air.

A. about the same as

B. greater than

C. lower than

D. sometimes lower, sometimes higher - it depends on the temperature of the air and water.

About what percent of ocean water is contained in the "deep zone" beneath the pycnocline?

A. 30%

B. 60%

C. 40%

D. 80%

E. 99%

The average salinity of the world ocean is closest to which of the following:

A. 21.5%

B. 34%

C. 3.4%

D. 96.5%

E. 52%

The condensation theory proposes that our solar system formed from a:

A. larger planet that split into fragments

B. larger star that split into sections.

C. set of individual, separate discs.

D. single accreting disc (flat cloud) of debris, dust and gas

The transition between the shelf and the deep seafloor is

A. the littoral zone

B. the continental slope and rise

C. the submarine canyon

D. the mid-ocean ridge.

E. the abyssal plain

a solution is made of two components, what are they:

A. negative ion, positive ion

B. atom, molecule

C. solute, solvent

D. Bond, atom

E. Ion, atom

Submarine canyons occur:

A. at the part of an ocean basin nearest the poles.

B. at the part of an ocean basin nearest the equator.

C. at the center of an ocean basin, at the edges of the mid-ocean ridge.

D. near the edge of ocean basins associated with continental shelves and slopes.

E. on the edge of trenches.

As you know, Earth is layered inside. the layers have different sizes and densities. How do geologists know this?

A. from observing the characteristics of lava and gas issuing from volcanic vents.

B. from observing the transit times through Earth of waves generated by large earthquakes

C. from comparisons with drill cores taken by robot spacecraft on mars and venus.

D. from drilling and digging down into the various layers.

E. none of these.

The hydrogen and oxygen atoms in a water molecule are held together by:

A. hydrogen bonds

B. the two negative ionss

C. electron sharing

D. the two positive ions

E. surface tension.

the densest sweater is the

A. coldest

B. coldest and saltiest

C. warmest

D. saltiest

E. freshest

TOPEX/Poseidon is

A. a federal program to find oceanographic research.

B. a joint French - us satellite (and associated consortia ) devoted to ocean research.

C. an agency within NOAA

D. the code name for the us Navy's ocean research program.

E. the name of a greek ocean god

Our position within the galaxy is

A. at a vast distance from the galaxy itself

B. above the polar axis

C. at the center

D. we're not in a galaxy

E. in a spiral arm, surrounded by dust and gas

The ocean is stratified with respect to

A. temperature

B. salinity

C. density

D. all of the above

residence time is

A. a measure of tenure for a professor of oceanography

B. a function of Forschhammer's principle

C. the same as mixing time

D. the same for all elements spends in the ocean

E. the average length of time an element spends in the ocean.

the major source of carbon dioxide in seawater is

a. from rain falling into the ocean

b. from seafloor sediments

c. from photosynthesis by marine plants

d. from the respiration of marine animals and other organisms.

the average height of the continents above sea level is greater than the average depth of the ocean.

a. true

b. false

Why is the inner core a solid?

A. because of a chemical reaction with the outer core

b. because it is so hot

c. it is not a solid

d. because it is under tremendous pressure.

e. because it is composed mainly of iron and nickel.

the main carrier of heat between the warm tropic and the cold polar regions is

A. deep ocean currents

b. ocean surface currents

c. the atmosphere

d. oil and natural gas tankers

evidence suggests the universe began about 15 billion years ago in a

a. very large galaxy

b. slow accretions of atoms

c. cataclysmic explosion of energy and matter

d. protostar

e. supernova

which is greater, the height of the world's tallest mountain or the depth of the world's greatest trench?

a. the depth of the trench

b. the height of the mountain

polynesion navigators depended on ___ for accurate navigation.

a. wave direction and shape

b. the appearance and taste of seawater

c. luck

d. stars, clouds, and the flight direction of birds.

e. all of these things and more

if we had to make a selection, which of these people would probably be given the title of the first ocean scientist?

a. columbus

b. wyville thompson

c. ben franklin

d. cook

e. matthew maury

john Harrison's invention of the chronometer was important because:

a. the devices were very valuable and were considered works of art

b. it allowed the calculation of latitude after weeks at sea

c. it was used to calibrate navigational tools

d. it allowed the calculation of longitude after weeks at sea

e. it enabled sailors to calculate local time