Deck 11: Oceania

Question 1

The largest landmass in Oceania is:

A) Borneo.
B) New Zealand.
C) Polynesia.
D) Australia.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The nation of Kiribati is made up of how many islands?

A) 10
B) 21
C) 33
D) 56

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Over the last several years, residents of Kiribati began noticing all of the following climate change related environmental issues EXCEPT:

A) their drinking water was getting salty.
B) fertile soils were saturated by salty rising tides.
C) shoreline villages had sunk below sea level.
D) an increase in volcanic activity destroyed several villages.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Kiribati is a nation of islands in which ocean?

A) Atlantic
B) Indian
C) Arctic
D) Pacific

Question 5

Which island was created when the drifting continent of Australia collided with the Eurasian Plate?

A) Palau
B) Gondwana
C) New Guinea
D) New Zealand

Question 6

What is the name of the government program that has funded education for Kiribati youth anticipating the need to one day migrate as a result of climate change?

A) USAID
B) AusAID
C) WHO
D) Peace Corps

Question 7

Kiribati president Anote Tong has developed several strategies for helping his people do what?

A) migrate with dignity
B) take a last stand
C) survive with honor
D) persevere with passion

Question 8

What do Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia all have in common?

A) They are all territories of the United States or Europe.
B) They are common names for island groupings in Oceania and are based on ancient cultural or ethnic links.
C) They are all dominated by agricultural production.
D) They are home to the world's most active volcanoes.

Question 9

The gulf found on Australia's northern coast is the:

A) Gulf of Carpentaria.
B) Great Australian Bight.
C) Melbourne Strait.
D) Gulf of Tonkin.

Question 10

People of this region face issues of freshwater scarcity.

Question 11

Which of the following statements best describes the role of the region's Pacific island nation's greenhouse gas emissions in contributing to climate change?

A) These islands are some of the greatest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.
B) These islands have contributed very little to greenhouse gas emissions mostly because of their low emission lifestyles.
C) These islands have contributed very little to greenhouse gas emissions mostly because of their small populations.
D) These islands have contributed greatly to greenhouse gas emissions but have also been at the forefront of reducing emissions.

Question 12

Fiji has agreed to provide Kiribati with much needed soil.

Question 13

What is the name of the government program that has funded education for Kiribati youth?

Question 14

The "ocean" in Oceania refers to which ocean?

A) the Atlantic
B) the Pacific
C) the Indian
D) the Arctic

Question 15

Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia are all political units.

Question 16

Shoreline villages in Kiribati have already been lost to rising sea level.

Question 17

The largest of the world's regions is:

A) North America
B) Russia and the Post-Soviet States
C) Oceania
D) East Asia

Question 18

Oceania is composed primarily of ocean.

Question 19

Which of the following has NOT been a role played by the Pacific Ocean in Oceania?

A) barrier
B) influence on temperature in the Pacific Rim
C) food source
D) instigator of war

Question 20

The residents of Kiribati may need to one day "migrate with dignity" because of environmental changes related to ______________.

Question 21

Which phrase best describes Australia's central interior?

A) frigid
B) warm and humid
C) arid and desertlike
D) unstable and dangerous

Question 22

In what part of Australia do most Australians live?

A) the northeast
B) the west
C) the interior
D) the southeast

Question 23

Aoteroa is another name for:

A) New Zealand.
B) Australia.
C) Tasmania.
D) Tuamotu.

Question 24

The movement of moist east-to-west flowing air is blocked in Australia by the:

A) Great Barrier Reef.
B) Macdonnell Ranges.
C) Great Dividing Range.
D) Nullarbor Plain.

Question 25

The Darling and the Murray are the principal rivers of which country?

A) India
B) New Zealand
C) Australia
D) the Mariana Islands

Question 26

The two major rivers of Australia are the:

A) Murray and Darling.
B) Queens and Kings.
C) Wellington and Dunedin.
D) Nuku'Alofa and Maori.

Question 27

Which of the following describes the basic physical landscape of Australia's large interior?

A) lowland desert
B) lowland rainforest
C) mountainous needle-leaf forest
D) highland tundra

Question 28

The Great Barrier Reef straddles what part of Australia?

A) Queensland
B) New South Wales
C) South Australia
D) Northern Territory

Question 29

The youngest volcanoes of Oceania are located on or near the islands known as:

A) New Zealand.
B) Hawaii.
C) Tonga.
D) Fiji.

Question 30

How many islands compose New Zealand?

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four

Question 31

Which phrase best describes the climate of most of Oceania?

A) frigid
B) warm and humid
C) arid and desertlike
D) unstable and dangerous

Question 32

Which of the following islands of Oceania was/were NOT a part of the Gondwana landmass?

A) New Guinea
B) New Caledonia
C) the main islands of Fiji
D) New Zealand

Question 33

Which of the following is NOT an example of a high island?

A) Borneo
B) Mo'orea
C) Easter Island
D) New Zealand

Question 34

Which of the following is a name for a coral island raised up so that it has cliffs?

A) hot spot
B) atoll
C) high island
D) makatea

Question 35

What feature lies off of Australia's northeastern coast and contributes to southeastern Australia's mild climate by directing warm west-flowing currents to the south?

A) Great Australian Bight
B) Easter Island
C) Great Barrier Reef
D) New Guinea

Question 36

Which of the following islands of Oceania was/were NOT created by tectonic forces?

A) New Zealand
B) the Mariana Islands
C) New Guinea
D) the Hawaiian islands

Question 37

Which is the best explanation of the Roaring Forties?

A) the period in the 1940s during which the islands of Oceania achieved independence from their colonizers
B) the temperature (in Fahrenheit) experienced by most of the islands of Oceania throughout the year
C) the high westerly winds that circle Earth around the 40th parallel south, unimpeded by large landmasses
D) the number of islands in most of the archipelagos of Oceania

Question 38

Which statement is NOT true of the Great Barrier Reef?

A) It is the world's largest coral reef.
B) It is located off the northeastern coast of Australia.
C) Its presence in the Pacific is a prime contributor to El Niño.
D) It influences Australia's climate by directing warm water southward.

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT a type of volcanic island?

A) makatea
B) atoll
C) archipelago
D) high island

Question 40

Which of the following describes the climate changes typically associated with an El Niño event in the western Pacific (Oceania)?

A) Ocean temperatures warm up, which results in more cloud cover and rain.
B) Ocean temperatures cool down, which results in less cloud cover and rain.
C) Ocean temperatures cool down, which results in more cloud cover and rain.
D) Ocean temperatures warm up, which results in less cloud cover and rain.

Question 41

Which statement is NOT generally true of Australia's flora and fauna?

A) The country is home to many of the world's endemic species.
B) The country's plant life is adapted to dry conditions.
C) The country's fauna include the marsupials and monotremes.
D) The country is home to many dense and lush forests.

Question 42

What term describes low-lying islands made up of coral reefs?

Question 43

Which of the following terms describes most of the animal life of present-day New Zealand?

A) endemic
B) extinct
C) native
D) introduced

Question 44

Which of the following explains the lack of indigenous land mammals in New Zealand and the Pacific islands?

A) The arid climates and poor soils could not support adequate floral habitats.
B) They were never connected via land to the Eurasian landmass.
C) Species introduced by Europeans drove native species to extinction.
D) For spiritual purposes, native islanders eliminated their presence.

Question 45

What is the species name of the pouch-bearing mammals that have, in isolation from mammals from other parts of the world, evolved over thousands of years to the special conditions of Australia's climate?

Question 46

What is the name of the longest coral reef in the world?

Question 47

Which statement is a likely explanation for the lack of indigenous land animals on New Zealand and other Pacific islands?

A) Diseases brought by European colonizers prevented land animals from gaining a foothold.
B) These islands had no natural sources of food and water to support wildlife.
C) The islands were never connected to Australia and New Guinea by a land bridge that would have allowed land animals to cross.
D) Tectonic activity would have exterminated any burgeoning forms of life.

Question 48

What term is used to describe plant and animal species that exist in a particular place and nowhere else, such as many of the flora and fauna in Oceania?

Question 49

What term is given to a location where particularly hot magma moving upward from Earth's core breaches the crust in tall plumes?

Question 50

The world's largest coral reef is the _____________.

Question 51

All of the following are marsupials (animals with pouches used to nurture their young) EXCEPT:

A) kangaroos.
B) platypus.
C) koalas.
D) bandicoots.

Question 52

What is the name of the winds that shape New Zealand's climate?

Question 53

Which of the following are examples of monotremes?

A) the duck-billed platypus and the spiny anteater
B) the kangaroo and the koala
C) the pelican and the penguin
D) the ostrich and the emu

Question 54

The huge indigenous bird that New Zealanders hunted to extinction was the:

A) ostrich.
B) moa.
C) kiwi.
D) emu.

Question 55

How does an El Niño event affect the ocean temperatures in Oceania?

Question 56

The two predominant plant genera of Australia are:

A) heuchera and angiospermum.
B) eucalyptus and acacia.
C) palm and artichoke/nettle.
D) rudbeckia and hosta.

Question 57

A low-lying island, or chain of islets, formed of coral reefs that have built up on the circular oval rim of a submerged volcano is called a(n) ___________.

Question 58

An endemic species of plant or animal life is:

A) extinct.
B) poisonous or harmful to humans.
C) found in only one place on Earth.
D) fossilized in volcanic ash.

Question 59

A raised or uplifted coral platform that is a volcanic island is known as a ___________.

Question 60

What does it mean that much of the plant and animal life in Oceania is endemic to the region, such as the wallaby to Australia?

A) Many species exist there and nowhere else on Earth.
B) Many species from the region are invading other parts of the world.
C) Many species in the region go through natural cycles where massive numbers of individuals periodically die off.
D) They are not well-adapted to the environmental conditions of the region.

Question 61

New Zealand, Tahiti, and the Hawaiian Islands are all examples of atolls.

Question 62

Oceania's low-lying islands tend to be the most well-watered landforms in the region.

Question 63

Australia and New Zealand have vastly different landforms and climates.

Question 64

The type of volcanic island built up around a submerged volcano is called an atoll.

Question 65

The Great Barrier Reef lies off the northeastern coast of New Zealand.

Question 66

Australia has very few large rivers.

Question 67

New Zealand is characterized by mountainous topography and a wet temperate climate.

Question 68

Animals that give birth to their young at a very immature stage and then nurture them in a pouch are called _________________.

Question 69

Name one of the egg-laying mammals or monotremes that are exclusive to Papua New Guinea and Australia.

Question 70

Egg-laying mammals, such as the platypus and the anteater, are known as _________________.

Question 71

All of the islands of Oceania were once part of the Gondwana landmass.

Question 72

Australia's landscape is characterized by high mountains separated by deep valleys carved by rivers, some of which rival the Amazon in terms of annual flow.

Question 73

Hot spots are places where the hot magma from Earth's core breaches the crust.

Question 74

Marsupials are endemic to what country in Oceania?

Question 75

Settlers to New Zealand from what world region are responsible for nearly all of the introduced species of mammals, fish, and fowl in that country?

Question 76

The Great Barrier Reef is the longest coral reef in the world.

Question 77

Name one of the two plant species that account for most of the forest and woodland plants in Australia.

Question 78

An atoll tends to have a limited supply of fresh water.

Question 79

Most of Oceania is situated within the tropical to subtropical latitudes of the Pacific Ocean.

Question 80

Despite their proximity to the "Pacific Ring of Fire," none of the islands in the region of Oceania is volcanic in origin.