Deck 6: Water

Question 1

The salinity of the ocean, at the present time, seems to be:

A) increasing due to evaporation as the Earth warms up.
B) decreasing due to several years of excessive rainfall.
C) increasing due to pollution.
D) in equilibrium, with dissolved components entering equal to dissolved components leaving.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The principle of constant proportions states:

A) that the total amount of dissolved solids in the ocean is a constant.
B) that the salinity of the ocean is a constant.
C) that the excess volatile ratio of the ocean is a constant.
D) that the ratio of major salts in samples of seawater from various places is a constant.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding sound in the ocean?

A) Sound is scattered as it bounces off suspended particles in the water.
B) Sound intensity increases as it moves through the ocean because of absorption.
C) The speed of sound in the ocean is ten times less than the speed of sound in air.
D) The speed of sound in the ocean decreases as temperature increases.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The average salinity of the world ocean is about ____.

A) 35%
B)21.5%
C)3.5%
D) 52%

Question 5

The property of water that accounts for the ability of liquid water to absorb heat and change only very little in temperature is called:

A) high heat capacity.
B) latent heat of evaporation.
C) latent heat of fusion.
D) freezing coefficient.

Question 6

The hydrogen atoms in a water molecule tend to bond to:

A) each other.
B) oxygen atoms of another water molecule.
C) hydrogen atoms of another water molecule.
D) all positively charged ions.

Question 7

The hydrogen bonds of water molecules account for which of the following?

A) Water is the universal solvent.
B) Water has a low surface tension.
C) Water has a low boiling point.
D) Water has a low heat capacity.

Question 8

The density of seawater will increase:

A) when the temperature increases.
B) when the salinity decreases.
C) when the salinity increases.
D) when dissolved gases increase.

Question 9

The two most abundant elements (ions) dissolved in seawater are:

A) fluorine and iodine.
B) gold and silver.
C) bromine and boron.
D) sodium and chloride.

Question 10

Oxygen enters seawater:

A) through the respiration of animals.
B) as a byproduct of photosynthesis and diffusion from the surface.
C) as a result of decomposition of plant and animal remains.
D) through the oxidation of metal ions in seawater.

Question 11

Which of the following statements about pH is not true?

A) The pH relates to acid-base balance.
B) A pH of 3 is alkaline, a pH of 10 is acid.
C) Buffers prevent large swings in pH.
D) As a whole, the pH of the ocean is mildly alkaline. .

Question 12

The components of ocean water whose quantities are less than 1 part per million (ppm) are considered:

A) excess volatiles.
B) Zwitterions.
C) major constituents.
D) trace elements.

Question 13

The deepest layers of the ocean originate from:

A) surface waters at low latitudes.
B) bottom waters at low latitudes.
C) waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
D) surface waters especially at high latitudes.

Question 14

If our planet were without its ocean, but otherwise the same as it is today, surface temperatures would be:

A) more extreme.
B) less extreme.
C) about the same as we know today.
D) impossible to tell without more information.

Question 15

The term "salinity" refers to:

A) the total amount of dissolved solids in the ocean.
B) the total amount of sodium chloride dissolved in the ocean.
C) the total amount of chlorine in one kilogram of water.
D) the total amount of chloride ion in the water.

Question 16

Residence time is:

A) the same for all elements in the ocean.
B) the average length of time an element spends in the ocean.
C) the length of time it takes an element to dissolve in the ocean.
D) the same as mixing time.

Question 17

As carbon dioxide enters the ocean it:

A) is used by animals for respiration.
B) bonds to water molecules to increase the salinity of the ocean.
C) forms carbonic acid.
D) becomes a product of photosynthesis.

Question 18

What is the approximate mixing time of the world ocean?

A) about 1,600 years
B) about 160,000 years
C) about 160,000,000 years
D) about 1 million years

Question 19

The amount of oxygen that seawater can hold in solution will be greater:

A) in colder water.
B) in warmer water.
C) in water with a higher salinity.
D) in water with less pressure and density.

Question 20

The ocean is stratified with respect to:

A) density
B) temperature
C) salinity
D) all of these

Question 21

The ocean's deep sound channel (sofar layer) is characterized as a zone by all of the following EXCEPT:

A) sound is horizontally concentrated rather than diffused as it moves through the water.
B) acoustical energy losses are relatively small.
C) sound waves travel great horizontal distances.
D) sound velocity is at a maximum.

Question 22

The type of bond that enables water molecules to stick together is a:

A) covalent bond.
B) molecular bond.
C) hydrogen bond.
D) atomic bond.

Question 23

All of the following influence the depth to which light can penetrate the ocean EXCEPT:

A) the dust, cloud cover, and gases in the atmosphere.
B) the depth of the water.
C) the smoothness or roughness of the sea surface.
D) the amount of suspended material in the water.

Question 24

A zone in which the ocean's salinity changes rapidly with increasing depth is called:

A) a halocline.
B) a thermocline.
C) a pycnocline.
D) a metacline.

Question 25

A permanent and deep thermocline can be found:

A) in temperate zones.
B) in Antarctica.
C) in the tropics.
D) anywhere depending on water salinity.

Question 26

Heat can be carried to the polar regions:

A) in ocean currents from the tropics.
B) in the circumpolar ocean current.
C) as water is transported away from the poles.
D) as water is transported towards lower latitudes.

Question 27

Scientists believe the global change in greenhouse gases is making the surface ocean fresher in high latitudes.

Question 28

Red light is able to penetrate the water deepest.

Question 29

The density of seawater is affected by both temperature and salinity.

Question 30

The geometry of the covalent bonds shared by the hydrogen atoms and oxygen atom in a water molecule account for its polarity.

Question 31

Heat and temperature both measure random vibrations of an atom or a molecule.

Question 32

The wavelength(s) of light that penetrate deepest into the ocean are:

A) red and violet.
B) red and yellow.
C) blue and red.
D) green and blue.

Question 33

Frozen water is more dense than liquid water.

Question 34

The salinity of seawater can be calculated if the amount of chloride is known because the ratio of dissolved solids is constant.

Question 35

The salinity of seawater is a measure of the amount of sodium and chloride in a water sample.

Question 36

As carbon dioxide dissolves at the surface of the ocean, it combines chemically to form a weak acid called carbonic acid.

Question 37

The components of ocean water whose proportions are NOT accounted for by the weathering of surface rocks are:

A) residue surface constituents.
B) trace elements.
C) conservative constituents.
D) excess volatiles.

Question 38

The pycnocline can occur at the same range of depths as a halocline.

Question 39

About what percentage of the incoming sunlight is absorbed by the Earth's land and water surface?

A) 20%
B) 35%
C) 50%
D) 65%

Question 40

80 calories of heat are required to change 1 gram of ice to liquid water. This represents water's:

A) latent heat of evaporation
B) latent heat of fusion
C) sensible heat
D) temperature

Question 41

What is meant by the mixing time of the ocean?

Question 42

Explain at least three processes that happen to light from the sun as it reaches the surface of the ocean.

Question 43

Describe the distribution of oxygen in the ocean from the surface to the deep sea.

Question 44

Describe the factors that affect the distance and the rate at which sound travels in the ocean. Would you expect sound to travel faster through warm or cold water? Shallow or deep? Why?

Question 45

Describe how carbon dioxide acts as a buffer in seawater.