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Earth Science
Q:
In the movie The Poseidon Adventure, a cruise ship is overturned by a tsunami while at sea. This plot is not valid because
A) tsunamis do not have the energy to overturn a ship of that size.
B) tsunamis do not occur in the open ocean.
C) tsunamis do not form high waves while in the open ocean.
D) the tsunami in the movie didn't occur in a tectonically active area.
Q:
An earthquake, a submarine landslide, or an eruption of an undersea volcano is capable of producing a
A) tsunami.
B) tidal wave.
C) slow-moving giant swell.
D) wave in the open ocean of great height.
Q:
Particles of sand, gravels, and shells that move along the shore form the
A) breakers.
B) longshore current.
C) beach drift.
D) translation effects.
Q:
A longshore current involves all of the following except
A) effective wind direction.
B) effective wave direction.
C) waves of transition.
D) transportation of large amounts of sand and coastal materials.
Q:
Wave action works to straighten a coast as wave energy focuses around headlands and tends to disperse energy in coves and bays in a process called
A) longshore current.
B) breakers.
C) wave refraction.
D) tidal bore.
Q:
As a wave approaches the shoreline and enters shallower water, energy and water move forward causing the water to rise and cascade down from the wave crest as a breaker. These waves are called
A) waves of translation.
B) swells.
C) waves of transition.
D) tidal waves.
Q:
When the height of a wave exceeds its vertical stability, the wave is called a
A) rip current.
B) wave of transition.
C) breaker.
D) tidal wave.
Q:
In deep water, a wave is not really migrating but is transferring energy through the water in simple cyclic undulations. These are called
A) waves of translation.
B) swells.
C) waves of transition.
D) tidal waves.
Q:
Which of the following is correct regarding waves that travel in wave trains?
A) They are produced by storm centers and generating regions far distant from the shore where they may break.
B) They usually form relatively close to the affected coastline.
C) They experience refraction by the deep seafloor.
D) They are called breakers as they travel in the open sea.
Q:
When the Sun and Moon are neither in conjunction or opposition, the ________ occurs and results in the ________ tidal range between low and high tides.
A) spring tides; lowest
B) spring tides; greatest
C) neap tides; lowest
D) neap tides; greatest
Q:
When the Sun and Moon are on the same side Earth or on opposite sides of earth, the ________ occurs and results in the ________ tidal range between low and high tides.
A) spring tides; lowest
B) spring tides; greatest
C) neap tides; lowest
D) neap tides; greatest
Q:
High tides are known as ________ whereas low tides are kown as ________.
A) flood tides; ebb tides
B) ebb tides; flood tides
C) spring tides; neap tides
D) neap tides; spring tides
Q:
Which of the following occurs when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are in alignment (i.e., in opposition or conjunction)?
A) maximum tidal ranges occur
B) neap tides occur
C) a lower tidal range occurs
D) ebb tides occur
Q:
Which of the following is not correct regarding tides?
A) They are produced solely by the gravitational pull of the Sun.
B) They are complex twice daily oscillations in sea level.
C) They are influenced by the size, depth, and topography of ocean basins.
D) They are influenced by shoreline configuration and latitude.
Q:
Regular patterns of smooth, rounded waves are called
A) breakers.
B) wave ripples.
C) wave trains.
D) swells.
Q:
Which of the following is correct regarding mean sea level?
A) A consistent value has yet to be determined due to all the variables involved in producing the tides.
B) It is at the same level along the entire North American coast.
C) It is calculated based on average tidal levels recorded hourly at a given site over a period of many years.
D) It has very little variability across all ocean basins and, therefore, is treated as an absolute value.
Q:
The coast extends inland
A) to the foreshore dune.
B) to the backshore dune.
C) to the trough between the primary and secondary dune.
D) to the highest water line that occurs during a storm.
E) from the high tide level to the first major landform change.
Q:
Which of the following is incorrect regarding the littoral zone?
A) It spans both land and water.
B) Landward, it extends to the highest waterline reached on shore during a storm.
C) In general usage, it only includes the foreshore area of coastal environments.
D) Seaward it extends to where water is too deep for storm waves to move sediments.
Q:
A general term for the coastal area and shallow offshow environment is
A) shoreline.
B) coast.
C) coastline.
D) littoral zone.
Q:
Which of the following is true of the Earth's coastlines?
A) Most of the Earth's coastlines are relatively young and undergoing continuous change.
B) The Earth's coastlines are among the oldest landforms on the planet.
C) There are few inputs that directly affect the Earth's coastlines beyond tidal action.
D) The Earth's coastline show a remarkable degree of similarity across the planet.
Q:
On average, ocean water is
A) very acidic (low pH).
B) very basic (high pH).
C) neutral.
D) mildly acid (a pH slightly less than 7).
Q:
Within the deep cold zone, average temperature and salinity
A) decrease with depth.
B) increase with depth.
C) remain fairly constant with depth.
D) decrease within the mixing zone, but increase the thermocline.
Q:
Within the mixing zone and thermocline, average temperature and salinity
A) decrease with depth.
B) increase with depth.
C) remain fairly constant with depth.
D) decrease within the mixing zone, but increase the thermocline.
Q:
Brine water may results from
A) the influx of river water into the ocean.
B) stagnation of water in a floodplain swamp.
C) high evapotranspiration rates.
D) heavy rainfall and low temperatures.
Q:
Areas with heavy freshwater runoff and low evaporation will have ________ average salinity.
A) higher than
B) lower than
C) approximately the
Q:
Seawater that exceeds the 35"° average is termed
A) brackish.
B) brine.
C) mesohaline.
D) freshwater.
Q:
Seawater with less than 35"° is termed
A) brackish.
B) brine.
C) metahaline.
D) freshwater.
Q:
In which of the following region would you expect to have the highest levels of seawater sality?
A) equatorial oceans
B) subtropical oceans
C) polar oceans.
D) midlatitude oceans.
Q:
Worldwide salinty varies between ________ and ________.
A) 5"°; 10"°
B) 34"°; 37"°
C) 47"°; 51"°
D) 65"°; 67"°
Q:
The worldwide average salinity of seawater is
A) 5"°.
B) 35"°.
C) 55"°.
D) 75"°.
Q:
Which of the following is true of the chemical composition of seawater?
A) Eighteen elements account for 75% of the dissolved waters in seawater.
B) Seawater contains dissolved gases, suspended and dissolved organic matter, and many trace elements.
C) Seawater is very heterogeneous, varying across the vast oceans of the world.
D) Samples of ancient seawater suggest a great deal of chemical variation over the Earth's history.
Q:
Which of the following affect the chemical composition of seawater?
A) the atmosphere
B) sediments
C) marine organisms
D) minerals
E) the chemical composition of water is affected by the atmosphere, marine organisms, minerals, and ocean sediments.
Q:
Which of the following is true about seawater?
A) Seawater is pure water (H20).
B) Seawater is a solution.
C) The chemical composition of seawater has great spatial variability.
D) The salinity of seawater is negligible.
Q:
What is the difference between an ocean and a sea?
A) The term sea is used to describe the global, interconnected water body covering 70% of the Earth's surface, whereas oceans refer to the individual basins within this global sea.
B) An ocean is a vast body of water encompassing 70% of the Earth, whereas a sea refers specifically to a large, inland, saline body of water.
C) Seas are generally smaller than an ocean and tend to be associated with land masses, whether partially enclosed by land or large, inland, saline water bodies.
D) There is no difference, just a different term for the same physical feature.
Q:
Approximately what percentage of the United State's population live in coastal areas?
A) 10%
B) 25%
C) 50%
D) 65%
Q:
Approximately what percentage of the world's population lives near the ocean?
A) 33%
B) 25%
C) 40%
D) 70%
Q:
A perennial stream can go months and even years between flow events.
Q:
In most rivers in humid regions, discharge increases downstream.
Q:
The ultimate base level is sea level.
Q:
Base level refers to the average stream depth immediately following a normal precipitation event.
Q:
Drainage divides control into which basin surface runoff drains.
Q:
A drainage basin is defined by ridges that form drainage divides.
Q:
Variations in rock resistance, climate, and hydrology can influence drainage patterns.
Q:
Stream drainage always eventually reaches the ocean.
Q:
Drainage basins may cross into multiple countries, compounding the difficulties in proper watershed management.
Q:
Drainage basins are closed systems in terms of matter.
Q:
Only larger rivers and streams have their own drainage basins.
Q:
The meaning of the terms "river" and "stream" sometimes overlap although, in general, the term "river" is reserved for channels of water larger than a stream.
Q:
Because rivers constitute such a small percentage of Earth's total water supply, they play a small role in landform change.
Q:
Rivers have played a relatively minor role in the geography of human history.
Q:
Which of the following best describes the relationship of deforestation to sediment load?A) Trees provide dissolved sediments to the stream; as trees are removed, the dissolved loads are diminished.B) Trees roots help "anchor" soil; as the trees are removed, the soil more readily erodes into the river channels.C) Forestry waste is often dumped in streams, contributing to the suspended loads.D) The loss of trees along banks of streams increases stream velocity.
Q:
A 50-year flood has an annual exceedance probability of
A) 0.5%.
B) 5%.
C) 25%.
D) 50%.
Q:
If you live in an area that was flooded by the 100-year flood last year, you can conclude that
A) the next 100-year flood will occur in exactly 100 years.
B) the next 100-year flood will occur in exactly 99 years.
C) there is a 1% chance you could be flooded by the 100-year flood again this year.
D) you do not have to worry about another flood of that size during your lifetime.
Q:
The statistical rating of flood discharge is based on
A) historical records of discharge during precipitation events.
B) floodplain width.
C) average channel depth.
D) the rate of aggradation or degradation of a stream.
Q:
Which of the following tends to occur when an area experiences tectonic uplift in its headwater region?
A) The stream will begin to deposit more of its load.
B) The channel will begin to erode downward at a faster rate.
C) The stream will lose energy.
D) The amount of turbulence will decrease.
Q:
The construction of a dam across a river is likely to cause ________ upstream and ________ downstream.
A) erosion; aggradation
B) erosion; erosion
C) aggradation; erosion
D) aggradation; aggradation
Q:
The total possible load a stream can transport is its ________, whereas a stream's ability to move particles of specific size is its ________.
A) capacity; competence
B) competence; capacity
C) discharge; competence
D) bed load; sediment load
Q:
The process whereby streams lengthen their channels upstream is called
A) headwater erosion.
B) channel incision.
C) stream piracy.
D) saltation.
Q:
The process whereby streams deepen their channel is known as
A) headwater erosion.
B) channel incision.
C) stream piracy.
D) saltation.
Q:
Which of the following is incorrectly matched?
A) abrasion a hydraulic squeeze-and-release action
B) competence a stream's ability to move particles of a specific size
C) capacity the total possible load that a stream can transport
D) fine particles physically held aloft in a stream suspended load
E) particles rolled and bounced along a stream bed saltation
Q:
This graph, showing the effects of urbanization on streamflow over time, is an example of a
A) water budget.
B) hydrograph.
C) climograph.
D) hydrological cycle.
Q:
________ streams have some groundwater input, but only flow for certain periods during a year.
A) Perennial
B) Intermittent
C) Ephemeral
D) Temporary
Q:
________ streams are not connected to groundwater systems and only flow after precipitation events.
A) Perennial
B) Intermittent
C) Ephemeral
D) Temporary
Q:
________ streams flow year-round, fed by snowmelt, rainfall, groundwater, or a combination thereof.
A) Perennial
B) Intermittent
C) Ephemeral
D) Permanent
Q:
The downstream portion of a river
A) generally becomes more sluggish.
B) generally is of higher velocity, although it is masked by reduced turbulence.
C) features greater hydraulic action than do upstream portions.
D) has lower discharges than do upstream portions.
Q:
If a stream originates in a humid region, but subsequently flows through an arid region, discharge is likely highest
A) upstream.
B) downstream.
C) midstream.
D) at an estuary or confluence with another stream.
Q:
In most river basins in humid regions, discharge is highest
A) upstream.
B) downstream.
C) midstream.
D) at the headwaters.
Q:
As the discharge of a stream increases, which of the following also happens?
A) Stream channels narrow, become shallower, and lose velocity.
B) The rate of flow decreases.
C) Channel width increases but channel depth decreases.
D) Width, depth, and velocity all increase.
Q:
A stream's volume of flow per unit of time is its
A) speed.
B) velocity.
C) discharge.
D) flow rate.
Q:
Which of the following does not favor delta formation?
A) strong ocean currents
B) shallow ocean water along the coast
C) a lack of reservoirs upstream
D) a large sediment load
Q:
When a river reaches a base level, its forward velocity rapidly decelerates as it enters a larger body of standing water and ________ is formed.
A) an estuary
B) an alluvial terrace
C) a delta
D) a stream terrace
Q:
This landform results from when water exists a constricted channel and loses velocity.
A) meander scar
B) delta
C) alluvial terrace
D) alluvial fan
Q:
Alluvial fans are formed as flowing water ________ as it leaves a constricted channel.
A) gains velocity
B) changes direction
C) down cuts
D) loses velocity
Q:
Cone-shaped deposits of sediment often found at mouth of canyons in arid and semiarid climates are called
A) deposition.
B) deltas.
C) alluvial fans.
D) clastics.
Q:
The primary cause of terrace formation is
A) an increase in channel load.
B) a decrease in flood frequency.
C) an increase in a river's velocity.
D) flow through loose sediment.
Q:
Which of the following will favor stream terrace formation?
A) a large increase in sediment load
B) tectonic uplift of the headwaters
C) a rise in sea level
D) a decrease in rainfall
Q:
The entrenchment of a river into its own floodplain produces
A) backswamps.
B) alluvial terraces.
C) natural levees.
D) river deltas.
Q:
A yazoo tributary stream cannot join with the main river in an area because
A) the yazoo flows in a different valley.
B) a small structural ridge separates the rivers.
C) a natural levee on the main river prevents joining.
D) a man-made flow control structure keeps the rivers separate.
Q:
As a stream's velocity decreases, which of the following sizes of sediments will be deposited last?
A) gravel
B) sand
C) silt
D) clay
Q:
The average size of sediment in a natural levee is ________ that found in the surrounding floodplain.
A) larger than
B) smaller than
C) the same size as