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—Geology of the Ocean
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The solar system formed ____ billion years ago.
a. 4
b. 5
c. 6
d. 7
e. 8
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 43
2. Gaseous oxygen formed in the earth’s atmosphere as a result of:
a. outgassing from the interior of the planet.
b. respiration of bacteria.
c. input from outer space.
d. photosynthesis.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 44
3. It has been proposed that the first living organisms were:
a. heterotrophs.
b. autotrophs.
c. chemosynthetic.
d. photosynthetic.
e. multicellular.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 44
4. The first heterotrophs obtained their energy from
a. autotrophs.
b. chemosynthetic organisms.
c. organic material in the ocean.
d. photosynthetic organisms.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 44
5. The ocean is frequently referred to as:
a. circumpolar ocean.
b. seven seas.
c. world ocean.
d. Indo-Pacific Ocean.
e. the cradle of civilization.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 44
29 Chapter 3—Geology of the Ocean
6. A small area more or less landlocked is called:
a. the seven seas.
b. a world ocean.
c. an ocean.
d. a sea.
e. a marine province.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 45
7. The thickest of earth’s physical layers is the:
a. crust.
b. mantle.
c. inner core.
d. outer core.
e. asthenosphere.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 45
8. The region of the mantle below the crust is called:
a. the asthenosphere.
b. the mantle.
c. the lithosphere.
d. the outer core.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 45
9. The solid region of crust and upper mantle is called:
a. the asthenosphere.
b. the mantle.
c. the lithosphere.
d. the outer core.
e. the inner core.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 46
10. The continental crust is primarily comprised of all the following except:
a. granite-type rock.
b. basalt-type rock.
c. quarts-type rock.
d. silicon-type rock.
e. sedimentary rock.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Synthesis REF: 45–46
11. The forces of the mantle acting on the crust give way to:
a. ocean basins.
b. continental drift.
c. magma.
d. continental rise.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 46–48
30 Chapter 3—Geology of the Ocean
12. Pangea, the name given to the supercontinent that existed before continental drift, was coined by:
a. Sir Francis Bacon.
b. Alfred Wegener.
c. Harry Hess.
d. Edward Suess.
e. Sir Alistair Hardy.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 49
13. When Pangea first broke up it formed
a. North and South America.
b. Africa and South America.
c. Antarctic and Godwanaland.
d. East and West Hemisphere.
e. Laurasia and Godwanaland.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 49
14. The two continents that suggested continental drift are called:
a. North and South America.
b. North America and Europe.
c. South America and Africa.
d. Europe and Asia.
e. Australia and India.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 49
15. The first person to describe the mechanism of seafloor spreading by which continents drifted apart
from one another was:
a. Sir Francis Bacon.
b. Alfred Wegener.
c. Harry Hess.
d. Edward Suess.
e. Charles Darwin.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 46
16. Where oceanic crust is cracked and magma is emerging we find:
a. ridge systems.
b. atolls.
c. archipelagos.
d. trenches.
e. guyots.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 46
17. Seafloor spreading is the result of:
a. vertical movement along the lithosphere.
b. lateral movement of the crust.
c. growth of the midocean ridge.
d. subduction.
e. horizontal uplift of the continents.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 46–49
31 Chapter 3—Geology of the Ocean
18. A region where old oceanic crust is being destroyed is called:
a. a spreading center.
b. a midocean ridge.
c. a seamount.
d. a subduction zone.
e. an atoll.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 46
19. All of the following are evidence of continental drift except:
a. distribution of earthquakes.
b. age of rocks from the sea floor.
c. reefs.
d. analysis of core samples.
e. paleomagnetism.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Synthesis REF: 48–50
20. Lithosphere plates move in opposite directions past each other at regions known as:
a. divergent plate boundaries.
b. convergent plate boundaries.
c. escarpments.
d. transform faults.
e. hydrothermal vents.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 47
21. The special kind of fault along where different ocean plates are moving laterally away from each other
is called:
a. trench.
b. midocean.
c. transform.
d. arc.
e. convergent.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 47
22. Midocean ridges form:
a. anywhere in the middle of the ocean.
b. in subduction zones.
c. where oceanic crust is cracked and magma is emerging.
d. in deep ocean trenches.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 46–47
23. In 1977 Dr. Robert Ballard and J.F. Grassle discovered
a. underwater seamounts.
b. the midocean ridge.
c. the Titanic.
d. rift communities.
e. the Andrea Doria.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 51
32 Chapter 3—Geology of the Ocean
24. A core sample is taken 100 km west of and parallel to a ridge system. Magnetic readings of the rock
show a reversal of the Earth’s magnetic field. How many km east of the ridge system must scientists
travel to collect a core sample with the same magnetic properties?
a. 50
b. 100
c. 200
d. 0 km; collect the sample directly at the ridge
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Application REF: 50
25. The area directly below the neritic zone is called:
a. abyssal plain.
b. ocean basin.
c. trench.
d. continental margin.
e. hadal zone.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 51
26. The area beyond the neritic zone is called
a. abyssal plain.
b. ocean basin.
c. trench.
d. continental margin.
e. the hadal zone.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 51
27. The transition between the continental shelf and the deep floor is called
a. midocean.
b. continental slope.
c. shelf break.
d. continental margin.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 51
28. The continental rise is composed of sediments deposited from:
a. biological activity.
b. underwater landslides.
c. midocean ridges.
d. windblown sources.
e. cosmogenous sources.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 54
29. Island arcs are associated with:
a. midocean ridges.
b. continental shelves.
c. continental slopes.
d. deep sea trenches.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 55
33 Chapter 3—Geology of the Ocean
30. The deepest underwater trench in the world is:
a. Mariana Trench.
b. Peru-Chile Trench.
c. Java Trench.
d. South Sandwich Trench.
e. Aleutian Trench.
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 55
31. Drowned rivers help create:
a. shelf breaks.
b. continental margins.
c. submarine canyons.
d. turbidity currents.
e. continental trenches.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 54
32. As sand moves rapidly down the continental slope it can lead to:
a. convergence.
b. earthquakes.
c. turbidity currents.
d. shelf breaks.
e. midocean ridges.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 54
33. Turbidity currents are thought to have contributed to the formation of the:
a. Hudson River Canyon.
b. Chesapeake Bay.
c. Galveston Bay Canyon.
d. San Francisco Bay.
e. Scripps Submarine Canyon.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 54
34. The following are all main points of the article Animal Sculptors of the Seafloor except:
a. Gray whales feed in a way that preserves habitat of their prey
b. Biological activities can alter large expanses of seafloor.
c. The previous ideas about the feeding biology of large marine mammals were refined.
d. Feeding activities enhance the area’s productivity.
e. Walruses overgrazed clam beds, causing environmental collapse.
ANS: E PTS: 1 DIF: Synthesis REF: 58
35. At the base of a steep continental slope a gentle slope is called:
a. a bajada.
b. a delta.
c. an inverse plane.
d. the continental rise.
e. an abyssal hill.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 54
34 Chapter 3—Geology of the Ocean
36. All of the following are considered a main ocean basin except:
a. Pacific.
b. Atlantic.
c. Mediterranean.
d. Arctic.
e. Indian.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Synthesis REF: 55
37. A flat expanse of an ocean basin is called:
a. a seamount.
b. an abyssal plain.
c. an abyssal hills.
d. an abyssal prairie.
e. an underwater delta.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 55
38. Dotting the abyssal plain are abyssal hills that rise up to:
a. 100 meters.
b. 500 meters.
c. 1000 meters.
d. 1500 meters.
e. 4000 meters.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 55
39. Seamounts are formed from:
a. the rift zone.
b. underwater volcanoes.
c. uplifting of crust.
d. earthquakes.
e. underwater landslides.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 55
40. Sediments that are composed of the remains of once living organisms are called:
a. cosmogenous.
b. hydrogenous.
c. inorganic..
d. biogenous.
e. terrigenous.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 57
41. Sediments that are formed from seawater as a result of a variety of chemical processes are called:
a. cosmogenous.
b. hydrogenous.
c. organic..
d. biogenous.
e. terrigenous.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 57
35 Chapter 3—Geology of the Ocean
42. An example of a hydrogenous sediment is:
a. diatomaceous ooze.
b. siliceous ooze.
c. manganese nodules.
d. calcareous ooze.
e. coccolithophore ooze.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 57
43. You have a sediment sample taken from the Tropical Indo-Pacific shallows. When acid is added to the
sample, it bubbles and fizzes. What do you conclude?
a. bubbles are due to mangnesium nodules.
b. the sample is cosmogenous.
c. the sample is terrigenous.
d. the sample is biogenous.
ANS: A
Carbon dioxide bubbles are formed due to the reaction of acid with calcium carbonate materials
(formed by organisms).composing the sediments.
PTS: 1 DIF: Application REF: 57–58
44. An ooze is called an ooze if it is composed of ____% or more of biogenous sediments.
a. 10
b. 20
c. 30
d. 40
e. 50
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 58
45. The skeletons of radiolarians contribute to biogenous sediment that is called:
a. diatomaceous ooze.
b. calcareous ooze.
c. manganese ooze.
d. siliceous ooze.
e. hydrogenous ooze.
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 57–58
46. Mud is composed of:
a. dirt and water.
b. iron and diatoms.
c. clay and silt.
d. calcareous and siliceous ooze.
e. sand and clay.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 58
36 Chapter 3—Geology of the Ocean
47. The reference or primary line of longitude is:
a. the Tropic of Cancer.
b. the Tropic of Capricorn.
c. the Greenwich meridian.
d. the equator.
e. the International Date Line.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 61
48. A chronometer is used for:
a. measuring depth.
b. measuring speed.
c. measuring time.
d. measuring latitude.
e. measuring longitude.
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 62
49. You are planning to set sail on your catamaran from Los Angeles to Tahiti. What piece of navigating
equipment would you wish to use?
a. sextant.
b. GPS unit.
c. chronometer.
d. physiographic chart.
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Application REF: 62
TRUE/FALSE
50. The source of the water that formed the earth’s oceans was water vapor escaping from the interior of
the planet.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 43
51. The world ocean covers 70.8% of the earth’s surface.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 43
52. Continental crust is composed mostly of iron and magnesium.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 45–46
53. Continental crust is older than oceanic crust.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 46
54. Faults are regions where lithospheric plates are moving toward one another.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 46
55. Bathygraphic features are features associated with land.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 51
37 Chapter 3—Geology of the Ocean
56. Mountainous coastlines tend to be associated with narrow continental shelves.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 54
57. Seamounts are formed from underwater volcanoes.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 55
58. Seamounts and underwater volcanoes tend to be concentrated near midocean ridges and subduction
zones.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 55
59. The type and amount of sediment found on a continental shelf is not important to organisms that live
there.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 57
60. Radiolarian ooze is produced by multi-cellular organisms.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 57
61. Diatomaceous ooze is material leaking out of diatom cells.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 57–58
62. One nautical mile equals one degree of latitude.
ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: 61
63. Latitude lines are referred to as parallels because they parallel one another.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 61
64. Bathymetric charts represent the contour of the ocean bottom with contour lines that connect similar
depths.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: 60
MATCHING
Match the water body term with its most closely associated description.
a. small ocean body more or less landlocked
b. all the oceans
c. small body of water cut off by land formations
65. World Ocean
66. Gulf
67. Sea
65. ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 44–45
66. ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 44–45
67. ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 44–45
38 Chapter 3—Geology of the Ocean
Match the characteristic with the most closely associated earth layer.
a. dense, hot, rich in iron and nickel
b. granite or basalt
c. magnesium – iron silicates
68. Inner Core
69. Mantle
70. Crust
68. ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 45–46
69. ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 45–46
70. ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 45–46
Match the layer with its most closely associated description.
a. liquid mantle
b. upper mantle and crust
c. floats on the mantle
71. Crust
72. Lithosphere
73. Asthenosphere
71. ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 45–46
72. ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 45–46
73. ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 45–46
Match the description with its most closely associated term.
a. these are lines that extend from the North Pole to the South Pole
b. these form progressively smaller circles from the equator to the poles
c. also known as Greenwich
74. Latitude
75. Longitude
76. Primary meridian
74. ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 60–61
75. ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 60–61
76. ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 60–61
Match the words with the most closely associated descriptions.
a. where new ocean bottom is formed
b. where most earthquakes occur
c. where ocean plate goes below terrestrial plate
77. Fracture zone
78. Subduction zone
79. Seafloor spreading
77. ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 46
78. ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 46
79. ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 46
39 Chapter 3—Geology of the Ocean
Match the words with the most closely associated term.
a. layer between crust and mantle
b. where plates move toward each other
c. where plates move apart
d. where plates move laterally beside each other
80. Divergent plate boundary
81. Convergent plate boundary
82. Crust lithosphere
83. Transform boundary
80. ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 46–47
81. ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 46–47
82. ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 46–47
83. ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 46–47
Match the words with those the most closely associated term.
a. landscape change between components of the continental margin
b. transition to the deep ocean floor
c. shallow extensions of the continents
d. gentle slope beyond the shelf break
84. Continental shelves
85. Continental slope
86. Shelf break
87. Continental rise
84. ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 51 | 54
85. ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 51 | 54
86. ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 51 | 54
87. ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 51 | 54
Match the words with the most closely associated term.
a. rise up from abyssal plain
b. once above the seasurface
c. flat expanse
88. Abyssal plain
89. Abyssal hill
90. Seamount
88. ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 55
89. ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 55
90. ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 55
Match the words with the most closely associated term.
a. deep crevices in the ocean floor
b. continuous series of large, underwater, volcanic mountains
c. associated with trenches
91. Ridges
92. Trenches
93. Island arcs
40 Chapter 3—Geology of the Ocean
91. ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 55
92. ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 55
93. ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 55
Match the type of sediment with its most closely associated source.
a. seawater chemical processes
b. land erosion processes
c. from living organisms
d. from outer space
94. Hydrogenous
95. Biogenous
96. Terrigenous
97. Cosmogenous
94. ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: 57–59
95. ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: 57–59
96. ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: 57–59
97. ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: 57–59
ESSAY
98. Describe the process that recycles oceanic crust.
ANS:
During the processes of subduction, old oceanic crust subducts beneath newer oceanic crust or
continental crust. As it sinks it melts and then moves laterally and up to appear again at seafloor
spreading centers where it forms new oceanic crust.
PTS: 1 DIF: Synthesis REF: 46–48
99. What makes rift communities unique?
ANS:
Rift communities are unique because they seemingly do not rely on energy from the sun as the primary
source of energy powering the synthesis of high energy organic compounds. These communities rely
on the chemosynthetic primary production of chemosynthetic bacteria.
PTS: 1 DIF: Synthesis REF: 51
100. What two opposing roles do turbidity currents play in shaping the continental shelf?
ANS:
Turbidity currents play a major role in carving and deepening submarine canyons that were formed
during the last ice age. These currents are also responsible for deposition of massive amounts of
sediments on the bottom of the continental slope in the region of the continental rise.
PTS: 1 DIF: Synthesis REF: 54
41 Chapter 3—Geology of the Ocean
101. Why is continental crust much older than oceanic crust? Explain in terms of continental drift.
ANS:
Continents do not sink in subduction zones. Rather, when two continents collide, they cause uplifting
of the Earth to form mountain ranges. As a result, continents are much older.
PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 45–46
102. What was the source of the water that gave rise to the oceans?
ANS:
Water was locked up in the Earth in chemical associations with the minerals of the planet. With
gradual heating and cooling, the water vapor escaped, forming clouds, which eventually gave rise to
condensation and rain that accumulated in the ocean’s basins.
PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 43
103. Why was Earth’s early atmosphere devoid of oxygen?
ANS:
Because oxygen is a strong oxidizer of other elements, it tends to form oxides with them, which binds
any free oxygen.
PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 44
104. Describe the processes that account for the drifting of continents away from one another or toward one
another.
ANS:
Continents are like large floating islands resting on top of the asthenosphere. As molten magma rises
within the asthenosphere, some of it strikes the lithosphere and moves laterally. As this molten
material moves sideways it drags the overlying lithosphere with it as well as the associated oceanic
and continental crusts.
PTS: 1 DIF: Synthesis REF: 46–49
105. Describe at least 3 lines of evidence that support the theory of seafloor spreading and continental drift.
ANS:
The most obvious evidence in support of seafloor spreading and continental drift is the shape of
present-day continents, which implies that they once fit together like pieces of a puzzle. In addition, if
new seafloor were being created from solidified magma at seafloor spreading centers, then one would
expect this new seafloor to have unique characteristics compared to older seafloor away from seafloor
spreading centers. Some of these unique characteristics include warmer temperatures than seafloor that
is farther away from spreading centers, younger rocks near seafloor spreading centers, and rocks that
are covered by less sediment closer to seafloor spreading centers.
PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 49–51
42 Chapter 3—Geology of the Ocean
106. Using your knowledge of the age of lithospheric crusts and biogenous sediment accumulation, explain
why it would be fruitless, not to mention expensive, to excavate for oil far off the coast, beyond the
continental shelf.
ANS:
Because biogenous sediments have had less time to accumulate over the much younger oceanic crust
found far offshore, it is not likely that the processes that convert deposited organic material to oil have
had enough time to operate. Therefore, no oil is likely to be found in regions far away from continental
shelves, where sedimentation rate and sediment thickness are both much greater.
PTS: 1 DIF: Synthesis / Application REF: 54 | 57
107. Describe the two processes that form and maintain submarine canyons.
ANS:
Submarine canyons could have been formed during the last ice age when sea levels were low and most
continental shelves and slopes were not covered by seawater. During this time rivers carved canyons in
the continental slope. These canyons eventually were covered by rising seawater following glacial
melting. Alternatively, turbidity currents on steep continental slopes may carve out submarine
canyons.
PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 54
108. Briefly define a biogenous ooze and describe two types.
ANS:
If more than 30% of an area’s sediment is made up of biogenous particles, then it is considered an
ooze. Siliceous ooze comes primarily from the siliceous deposits from diatoms and radiolarians.
Calcareous ooze is from a mixture of foraminiferans, coccolithophores, and molluscs.
PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 57–58
109. Define a nautical mile, the unit of distance used in oceanic navigation.
ANS:
A nautical mile is equal to one minute of latitude (1.85 km or 1.15 land miles).
PTS: 1 DIF: Recall REF: 61
110. A sailor listening to a shortwave radio heard that the Greenwich mean time (the time at Greenwich,
England) was 12:00 p.m. The sailor looked at her watch, which was set according to the time at a
nearby location, and found it to be 3:00 p.m. What is the longitude of the sailor?
ANS:
If the earth rotates 15o
every hour, then the sailor would be 15o H ï‚´ 3 hr = 45o
to the west.
PTS: 1 DIF: Application REF: 61–62
