The Water Planet Chapter 1 3rd Edition Exam Questions

Investigating Oceanography, 3e (Sverdrup)

Chapter 1 The Water Planet

1) Identify all of the planets that are rich in metals and rocky materials.

A) Saturn

B) Mercury

C) Venus

D) Uranus

E) Jupiter

F) Earth

G) Neptune

H) Mars

2) Identify all of the planets that are rich in ices of water, ammonia, and methane.

A) Saturn

B) Mercury

C) Venus

D) Uranus

E) Jupiter

F) Earth

G) Neptune

H) Mars

3) If the axial rotation of Earth slowed, the day-to-night temperature variation on Earth's surface would decrease.

4) Radiometric dating is based on the rate at which a radioactive isotope decays.

5) When viewed from above the South Pole, Earth rotates clockwise.

6) When crossing the international date line from east to west, the date increases by one day.

7) Determination of the latitude requires that the time be kept very accurately.

8) All latitude circles are great circles.

9) Earth turns westward as it rotates on its axis.

10) The residence time of water in the atmosphere is equal to the residence time of water in the oceans.

11) The hydrologic cycle requires an excess of evaporation over precipitation as averaged over the world's oceans.

12) The middle latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere have about equal areas devoted to both land and water.

13) The sidereal day is more constant and shorter than the solar day.

14) Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are smaller in size and closer to the Sun than Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune.

15) There is more land located in the Northern Hemisphere than in the Southern Hemisphere.

16) Water is moved through the hydrologic cycle at different rates and in different directions in each climate zone.

17) Our solar system is part of the Milky Way galaxy.

18) The Milky Way galaxy formed from an expanding nebula.

19) The Milky Way galaxy contains about 200 billion stars.

20) Earth rotates on its axis from west to east.

21) On average, water in a river will have a longer residence time than water in the oceans.

22) The magnetic field surrounding Jupiter's moons may be the result of salt water bodies.

23) If a sea exists on Jupiter's moon Europa, it is probably much smaller and shallower than the Earth's ocean.

24) There is no evidence of a past or present ocean on any planet but Earth.

25) Free oxygen was a common constituent of the Earth's early atmosphere.

26) On the autumnal equinox, every place on Earth experiences 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness.

27) Lines of latitude are known as meridians.

28) Planets exist outside of our solar system.

29) A cluster rarely contains more than 10 galaxies.

30) Earth's age is estimated at ________ years.

A) 4.6 × 106

B) 3.7 × 106

C) 4.6 × 109

D) 3.7 × 109

E) 4.6 × 1012

31) The mean radius of Earth is ________ meters.

A) 3.371 × 102

B) 6.371 × 104

C) 6.371 × 106

D) 12.742 × 106

E) 12.742 × 109

32) The mean surface temperature of Earth is about ________.

A) 5°C

B) 10°C

C) 16°C

D) 22°C

E) 26°C

33) The Big Bang occurred roughly ________ years ago.

A) 4.6 billion

B) 250 million

C) 13 billion

D) 10 billion

E) 750 million

34) The Tropic of Capricorn is at ________ latitude.

A) 23½°N

B) 23½°S

C) 66½°N

D) 66½°S

E) 0°

35) Earth is the ________ planet from the Sun.

A) first

B) second

C) third

D) fourth

E) fifth

36) The Arctic and Antarctic Circles are displaced ________ degrees from their respective poles.

A) 90

B) 66½

C) 45

D) 23½

E) 0

37) During the Northern Hemisphere's summer solstice, the Sun stands above ________.

A) 23½°N

B) 23½°S

C) 0°

D) 66½°N

E) 66½°S

38) The area north of 66½°N is in darkness when the Sun is directly ________.

A) over the Equator

B) over 23½°N

C) over 23½°S

D) at the Arctic Circle

E) at the Antarctic Circle

39) The Sun stands directly above the equator ________.

A) once each year

B) twice each year

C) once in midwinter (Northern Hemisphere)

D) once in midsummer (Northern Hemisphere)

E) None of these is correct.

40) Which circle of latitude or longitude has the smallest circumference?

A) the Equator

B) 30°N

C) the Prime Meridian

D) 45°W

E) 80°S

41) Longitude is given in degrees ________.

A) east and west of the Equator

B) north and south of the Equator

C) east and west of the Prime Meridian

D) north and south of the Prime Meridian

E) None of these is correct; longitude is not measured in degrees.

42) A great circle can be described as ________.

A) having its center at Earth's center

B) being the shortest path between two points on Earth's surface

C) always being a straight line on an equatorial cylindrical projection

D) having its center at Earth's center and being the shortest path between two points on Earth's surface

E) All of these are correct.

43) One degree of latitude is about equal to ________.

A) 1 nautical mile

B) 1 land mile

C) 60 nautical miles

D) 60 land miles

E) 600 nautical miles

44) Earth turns on its axis about ________.

A) 1 degree in 4 minutes

B) 4 degrees in 1 minute

C) 4 degrees in 1 hour

D) 15 degrees in 1 minute

E) 30 degrees in 1 hour

45) An error in time of 2 minutes in determining longitude from local time and Greenwich Mean Time will cause a ________ error in longitude.

A) 2 degree

B) 1 degree

C) 0.75 degree

D) 0.50 degree

E) 0.25 degree

46) If a clock is set to Greenwich Mean Time and the Sun is observed to reach its zenith at 10:00 A.M., what is the longitude?

A) 45°E

B) 45°W

C) 30°E

D) 30°W

E) 0°

47) A time zone is approximately ________ degrees wide.

A) 5

B) 15

C) 90

D) 180

E) 365

48) Water covers ________ percent of Earth's surface.

A) 17

B) 29

C) 50

D) 71

E) 78

49) The residence time for water in any of Earth's principal reservoirs can be calculated by dividing ________.

A) reservoir volume by rate of water supply

B) rate of water removal by reservoir volume

C) rate of water removal by water supply

D) None of these is correct.

E) reservoir volume by rate of water supply, rate of water removal by reservoir volume, and rate of water removal by water supply

50) The average depth of the ocean is about ________.

A) 3800 m

B) 3900 km

C) 3800 mi

D) 11,000 m

E) 11,000 mi

51) Relationships between oceanic depths or land elevations and Earth's area are shown on a ________.

A) Mercator projection

B) bathymetric chart

C) hypsographic curve

D) navigational chart

E) None of these is correct.

52) An area drawn on a hypsographic curve equates to a(n) ________.

A) area of the Earth

B) volume of land or water

C) mean elevation or depth

D) All of these are correct.

E) None of these is correct.

53) How many hours must be added to New York City's Eastern daylight time to obtain Greenwich Mean Time or Universal Time?

A) +5

B) –5

C) +4

D) –4

E) +3

54) If a clock set to Greenwich Mean Time or Universal Time is moved to a location where noon, according to the Sun, occurs at 4:30 P.M. clock time, what is the longitude of the clock?

A) 67.5°W

B) 67.5°E

C) 43.0°E

D) 43.0°W

E) 0.0° longitude

55) The U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS) is used to ________.

A) determine latitude and longitude

B) measure altitude

C) position storms, currents, and tides

D) determine latitude and longitude and measure altitude

E) determine latitude and longitude, measure altitude, and position storms, currents, and tides

56) At what latitude is the Sun directly overhead on the June Solstice?

A) Tropic of Cancer

B) Tropic of Capricorn

C) Equator

D) Arctic Circle

E) Antarctic Circle

57) Which ocean basin is located primarily in the Southern Hemisphere?

A) Pacific

B) Atlantic

C) Indian

D) Arctic

E) None of these is correct.

58) Which ocean basin is the deepest on average?

A) Pacific

B) Atlantic

C) Indian

D) Arctic

E) None of these is correct.

59) Which ocean basin is the largest?

A) Pacific

B) Atlantic

C) Indian

D) Arctic

E) None of these is correct.

60) Which of the following factor(s) enable(s) the existence of liquid water on the Earth's surface?

A) Earth's solar orbit

B) Rotation of the Earth on its axis

C) The Earth's atmospheric gases

D) Earth's solar orbit and the Earth's atmospheric gases

E) All of these are correct.

61) Approximately what percentage of water on Earth is contained within the oceans?

A) 12%

B) 31%

C) 52%

D) 85%

E) 97%

62) How long does it take for the Earth to make one rotation on its axis?

A) 60 seconds

B) 1 hour

C) 24 hours

D) 30 days

E) 365 days

63) How long does it take for Earth to make one revolution around the Sun?

A) 60 seconds

B) 1 hour

C) 24 hours

D) 30 days

E) 365 days

64) What type of material is thought to explain the larger size of the outer planets relative to the inner planets?

A) rock

B) ice

C) metals

D) liquid water

E) None of these is correct.

65) Approximately what percentage of gas emitted by volcanoes is water vapor?

A) 1%

B) 10%

C) 25%

D) 45%

E) 70%

66) The South Pole is tilted toward the Sun on what day?

A) March Equinox

B) June Solstice

C) September Equinox

D) December Solstice

E) All of these are correct.

67) Why are meteorites used to establish an age for the Earth?

A) They are believed to be the same material from which Earth formed.

B) They are not radiogenic so they do not decay over time.

C) Rocks on Earth have been recycled since the Earth was formed and are not believed to be as old as the Earth itself.

D) They are believed to be the same material from which Earth formed and rocks on Earth have been recycled since the Earth was formed and are not believed to be as old as the Earth itself.

E) All of these are correct.

68) Roughly what percentage of matter in the universe is identical to the type of matter that comprises the planets and stars?

A) 65%

B) 50%

C) 25%

D) 5%

E) 1%

69) Arrange the following life forms in their order of appearance on Earth from first to appear to last to appear.

A) reptiles, dinosaurs, fishes, birds, flowering plants

B) fishes, reptiles, dinosaurs, birds, flowering plants

C) flowering plants, reptiles, fishes, dinosaurs, birds

D) birds, flowering plants, reptiles, dinosaurs, fishes

E) dinosaurs, reptiles, flowering plants, fishes, birds

70) What percent of a parent radioactive element would remain after three half-lives of decay to its daughter isotope?

A) 75

B) 50

C) 25

D) 12.5

E) 6.25

71) The greatest mass extinction of all time, resulting in the disappearance of 96% of all species, occurred roughly ________ million years ago.

A) 252

B) 201

C) 66

D) 45

E) 12

72) The International Hydrographic Organization defined the northern boundary of the Southern Ocean to be ________.

A) 80°S

B) 45°S

C) 70°S

D) 30°S

E) 60°S

73) Earth's surface is protected from extreme temperature change and water loss by ________.

A) its orbital distance from the Sun

B) its atmosphere

C) its period of rotation

D) All of these are correct.

E) None of these is correct.

74) Earth formed shortly after the Big Bang.

75) More fresh water is stored in ice caps and glaciers than in freshwater lakes.

76) Most of the water evaporated from the oceans returns directly to the oceans in precipitation.

77) Earth maintains a constant distance from the Sun as it moves in its orbit.

78) The location of the Prime Meridian is an arbitrary choice.

79) The shortest distance between two points on Earth's surface is always along the meridian passing through them.

80) The parallel with the largest circumference is the Equator.

81) The age of planet Mars is ________.

A) 4 billion years

B) 4.6 billion years

C) 4.6 million years

D) 65 million years

E) 4 million years

82) The lunar month is defined by a period of ________ days.

A) 7.25 days

B) 27.25 days

C) 29.5 days

D) 30.5 days

E) 365.25 days

83) The Earth is closest to the Sun on what day?

A) June Solstice

B) June Equinox

C) March Equinox

D) September Equinox

E) December Solstice

84) The Earth's axis is at an angle of ________ relative to the vertical of the plane of rotation about the Sun.

A) 0°

B) 13.5°

C) 23.5°

D) 45°

E) 66.5°

85) During a calendar year, the Sun appears to move and stand directly above the Earth's surface between latitudes ________.

A) 9°N and S

B) 23.5°N and S

C) 45°N and S

D) 66.5°N and S

E) 90°N and S

86) The ground at which of the following latitudes experiences the greatest speed around the Earth's axis of rotation?

A) 9°N

B) 45°S

C) 23.5°N

D) 16°S

E) 66.5°S

87) The ground at the Earth's Equator moves about the Earth's axis of at ________.

A) 0.1 km/h

B) 16.7 km/h

C) 1670 km/h

D) 3340 km/h

E) 3.34 × 106 km/h

88) Given an approximate ocean water volume of 1.4 × 109 km3 and a rate of input/output of 320 × 103 km3/y, the residence time of water in the ocean is ________.

A) 2 hours

B) 2 months

C) 2286 years

D) 4375 years

E) 2 × 106 years

89) Given an approximate ocean surface area of 362 × 106 km2, how much water must melt from the glaciers and ice caps to result in a 3-meter sea-level rise?

A) 1.09 × 103 km3

B) 3.62 × 103 km3

C) 1.09 × 106 km3

D) 3.62 × 106 km3

E) 1.09 × 109 km3

90) Which marine water body connects directly the Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean?

A) Pacific Ocean

B) Atlantic Ocean

C) Indian Ocean

D) Mediterranean Sea

E) Sea of Azov