Earth Science

Sample Test #4

1.  Mirror image patterns of magnetic anomaly of ocean floors on both sides of mid-ocean ridges:

a.  was used by A. Wegener to support his idea of continental drift

b.  result from flip-flop of magnetic poles and two plate moving away from each other

c.   is used to locate the lost and sunken ships on ocean floors

d.   was first discovered by A. Holmes as driving force behind plate movement

2.  Which of the following physiographic zones was partly above sea level during the last Ice Age?

a.   Mid-oceanic ridge

b.   Abyssal plain

c.   continental shelf

d.   continental slope

e.   continental rise

3. Earth’s oceans and atmosphere are huge “engine” powered by which of the following?

a.        global wind speed and duration

b.      thermal heat in the Mantle

c.       radioactive decay of  elements in the lithosphere

d.      solar energy

e.       ocean waves and pressure variation in the atmosphere

4.  Surface ocean currents are influenced by:

a.       thermohaline characteristics of ocean water

b.      salinity of ocean water

c.       longshore current

d.      Global wind circulation & Coriolis effect

e.       Tide

5.  Plate tectonics is the foundation used by geology to help explain:

a.       the origin of the solar system

b.      the origin of mountains and ocean trenches

c.       the occurrence of all 100-year floods during the last century

d.      the distribution of sedimentary rocks on Earth surface

e.       the evolution of climate

6.  The concept of continental drift was based on all of the following, except:

a. fit of the continents

b. similarities of rocks found on either sides of the Atlantic ocean

c. similarities in geologic structures found in different continents

d. the global distribution of fossils

e.  magnetic polarity of the ocean floor

7.    Which of the following are the two most important variables of seawater?

a.       salinity and pressure

b.      dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide

c.       density and water depth

d.      salinity and temperature

e.       chloride and sulfate

8.  Which of the following statements is TRUE of ocean water?

a.       density is constant throughout the world ocean

b.      temperature is constant throughout the world ocean

c.       although salinity varies from place to place, the ionic ratio of various dissolved salts remain constant

d.      because ocean circulation pattern, temperature and salinity are constant everywhere in world ocean

e.       the unit of salinity is expressed as parts per billion parts of water

9.  The deep-ocean (vertical) circulation is largely the result of differences in ocean water ---

a.       salinity

b.      temperature

c.       pressure

d.      depth

e.      density

10.   Which of the following is a list of most common ions found in ocean water?

a.       Sodium (Na) and Chloride (Cl)

b.       Sulfate (SO4) and Calcium (Ca)

c.       Magnesium (Mg) and Sodium (Na)

d.       Potassium (K) and Iron (Fe)

e.       Phosphate (PO4) and Nitreate (NO3)