Deck 2: A History of Marine Science

Question 1

Contributions by early Chinese scientists and philosophers include all of these EXCEPT:

A) developing seagoing methods that allowed them to stay at sea for nearly four months.
B) retrofitting their ships with multi-masts to sail more efficiently with changing winds.
C) development of the chronometer.
D) designing and developing rudders and watertight compartments.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following voyages would qualify as the first 100 percent pure scientific oceanographic expedition?

A) Columbus' 1496 trip
B) the Challenger expedition
C) Benjamin Franklin's first voyage across the Atlantic to take up his post as American Ambassador to France
D) Captain Cook's voyage to Tahiti in the ship Endeavour

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The word "oceanography" was first coined in association with:

A) Cook's third voyage.
B) the Challenger expedition.
C) Columbus' fourth and final voyage.
D) Captain James Cook's first voyage.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The importance of Matthew Maury's work included:

A) the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands.
B) the formulation of a working hypothesis for the formation of coral reefs.
C) the invention of a chronometer for the determination of longitude.
D) the charting of ocean currents that sailors used to significantly shorten their travel time.

Question 5

Captain James Cook accomplished all of these tasks EXCEPT:

A) first European to contact the Hawaiian Islands
B) first to circumnavigate the world near Antarctica
C) first European to explore the South Pacific
D) mapped the coasts of Australia and New Zealand

Question 6

Why did the Chinese abandon ocean exploration in 1433?

A) They were too slow in developing ships that would allow them to stay at sea for long periods of time.
B) They were distracted by the Dark Ages.
C) They were not interested in showing the wealth or power of the Ming Dynasty to other peoples of the world.
D) Political winds changed, and the cost of the exercise was deemed too great.

Question 7

Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding latitude and longitude?

A) Longitude lines are drawn parallel to the equator while latitude lines are drawn from pole to pole.
B) Latitude and longitude is a system of imaginary lines dividing the Earth's surface into a grid.
C) The distance between the lines of longitude varies with latitude while the lines of latitude are always equidistant.
D) Zero latitude is the equator and zero longitude is Greenwich, England, or the prime meridian.

Question 8

The first person to develop a picture of the large-scale wind and current systems of the Earth was:

A) Ben Franklin.
B) Matthew Maury.
C) Eratosthenes of Cyrene.
D) Wyville Thomson.

Question 9

Which of the following statements is true about Christopher Columbus and his explorations?

A) His goal was to discover new lands.
B) Like many early explorers, Columbus thought the Earth was flat.
C) One of Columbus' biggest mistakes is that he estimated the Earth to be only about half of its true size.
D) He was the first explorer to see the mainland of North America.

Question 10

Which of the following people would probably be given the title of "first ocean scientist"?

A) Matthew Maury
B) Captain James Cook
C) Christopher Columbus
D) Wyville Thompson (of the Challenger expedition)

Question 11

The first scientific expedition to use an echo sounder was:

A) the Challenger expedition.
B) the Meteor expedition.
C) the United States Exploring expedition.
D) the voyage of Trieste.

Question 12

The navigator in the early 1500s who was influential in charting and opening a trade route from Europe to the Orient was:

A) Ferdinand Magellan.
B) Captain James Cook.
C) Christopher Columbus.
D) Prince Henry the Navigator.

Question 13

The Challenger expedition (1872-1876) was a unique and historic voyage. Which of the following statements about the expedition is NOT true?

A) it is the single longest continuous oceanographic expedition ever.
B) the Challenger scientists developed the first reliable navigational charts to indicate current and wind patterns.
C) it led to the development of two new fields of science - marine biology and oceanography.
D) the data collected on the expedition was published in an astonishing 50 volume set that is still used today.

Question 14

The future of oceanographic research appears to lie:

A) with single, isolated individuals working alone.
B) with epic voyages.
C) with the cooperative efforts of the great private, institutional, and national oceanographic institutions.
D) with the military agencies of the world.

Question 15

Longitude can be determined with the use of a(n) ______________.

A) pendulum clock
B) echo sounders
C) chronometer
D) remote operated vehicle

Question 16

Polynesian navigators depended on all of the following unique strategies for accurate navigation EXCEPT:

A) the direction and characteristics of waves
B) navigational charts made with bamboo and shells
C) the positions of stars
D) the chronometer

Question 17

Which of the following men was the first to publish a reasonably accurate chart of an ocean current, specifically the Gulf Stream?

A) Edward Forbes
B) John Harrison
C) Benjamin Franklin
D) Captain James Cook

Question 18

Glomar Challenger is known mainly for:

A) being the first modern scientific survey ship to circumnavigate the globe.
B) being the first nuclear powered scientific research vessel.
C) being owned and operated simultaneously by four governmental agencies.
D) taking the first complete cores of deep-sea sediments.

Question 19

Which of the following technologies available to modern oceanographers in the last few decades has revolutionized our ability to study the ocean?

A) remote sensing via ROV's and satellites
B) shipboard SONAR
C) leadline soundings
D) the compass and chronometer

Question 20

A(n) ____ is a graphic representation that depicts information about the ocean and ocean features including depth.

A) map
B) echo sounder
C) chart
D) atlas

Question 21

The Navy Officer who first compiled information about winds and currents was:

A) Edward Forbes.
B) Charles Darwin.
C) Matthew Maury.
D) Tim Folger

Question 22

A compass is a navigational tool that points to magnetic north.

Question 23

Captain Cook was the first scientist to drift in the ice pack of the Arctic.

Question 24

The first technology to replace weighted lines for making detailed measurements of the contours of the ocean floor was:

A) echo sounders
B) satellites
C) bathyscaphes
D) submersibles

Question 25

A chronometer is a timepiece that can be used to determine longitude.

Question 26

The Library of Alexandria was an important gathering place for intellectuals, stored the works of scholars, and contained current information about discoveries in trade and navigation.

Question 27

Polar oceanography began with:

A) Forbes.
B) Wilkes.
C) Thompson.
D) Nansen.

Question 28

The Portuguese explorer who first attempted to circumnavigate the world in the early 1500's was:

A) Magellan.
B) Forbes.
C) Thompson.
D) Cook.

Question 29

The Hawaiian Islands were one of the last of the Pacific Islands to be colonized by the Polynesians because it is the farthest away, some 2,000 miles from other islands.

Question 30

Current technologies used in modern marine science include all of the following Except:

A) remotely operated vehicles.
B) chronometers.
C) echo sounders.
D) oceanographic satellites.

Question 31

Edward Forbes was an Edinburgh professor who thought that:

A) life was plentiful in the deep sea.
B) there was an easy route to the orient from Europe.
C) no life existed in the deep sea because of high pressure and no light.
D) the Pacific Ocean was much smaller than it truly is.

Question 32

Scientific contributions made by the Challenger expedition that influenced our understanding of marine science include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) the discovery of new species and life in the deep sea.
B) the discovery of the Hawaiian Islands.
C) detailed analysis of seawater samples from all over the world.
D) new information on ocean currents and the distribution of sediments.

Question 33

Latitude is a measurement that uses the prime meridian (Greenwich, England) as a reference point for determining the exact location of a specific point on Earth.

Question 34

A cartographer makes charts and maps.

Question 35

The scientist who charted the Gulf Stream in 1769 was:

A) Darwin
B) Forbes
C) Magellan
D) Benjamin Franklin.

Question 36

The invention of the compass is attributed to the:

A) Americans
B) Chinese
C) Spanish
D) British

Question 37

The first awareness of the spherical shape of the Earth developed in Europe around 1450 with the work of Henry the Navigator. During the European Age of Discovery, Henry the Navigator was the first to recognize that Earth was spherical.

Question 38

Humanity did not spread to all the inhabitable areas of Earth until after the European voyages of discovery in the late 1400s and early 1500s.

Question 39

Eratosthenes was a scientist who was interested in the size of Earth and used methods of geometry to determine the circumference of our planet.

Question 40

Information about the ocean that satellites can provide to scientists include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) sea surface height.
B) sea surface temperature.
C) wave height.
D) sea floor sedimentation rate.

Question 41

How are clocks used to determine longitude and why does a pendulum clock fail to produce accurate estimates of longitude at sea? Why was the invention of the chronometer so important for explorers?

Question 42

Describe the contributions of a famous ocean explorer or early marine scientist (such as Benjamin Franklin) to our understanding of ocean science.

Question 43

How do echo sounders work and what kind of information can they provide about the ocean floor?

Question 44

Modern technologies enable scientists to acquire information about the ocean relatively rapidly. How have satellites changed the way we perceive, navigate, and study the ocean?

Question 45

Using specific examples, describe how advances in navigation and voyaging relate to the advent of marine science.