GEOSC 10 Final Exam Answers 100% Accurate
(Latest ) FALL-SPRING TERM
What is the "Goldilocks Principle" as applied to Earth and the Oceans? - ANSWER:
Earth had just the right position in the solar system to allow retention of liquid water
and habitability for life. It is neither too close to nor too far from the Sun. It also
suggested that when it was forming, Earth had just the right mass, large enough to
retain water.
Which is greater - the average depth of the ocean, or the average elevation of the
continents? - ANSWER: The average depth of the ocean.
Why do we say there is one world ocean? - ANSWER: We say there is one world
ocean because all of the oceans are "connected."
Over time, does water from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans mix with waters from the
Baltic and Mediterranean seas? - ANSWER: Yes, due to ocean currents.
Surface water on Earth most likely came from where? - ANSWER: From the deep
ocean, from rain, runoff, and other sources.
How is Ocean deep water different from shallow water? - ANSWER: It has different
salinity, temperature, chemical composition, and density. Deep water is colder,
saltier, and therefore, denser than surface water.
Why is water a polar molecule? - ANSWER: The angular shape of the water
molecules make it polar. Each molecule has a positive end and a negative end,
because protons are left partially exposed when the negatively charged electrons
bond more closely to oxygen. The polar water molecule acts something like a
magnet, each end attracting oppositely charged particles (positive attracts negative,
and vice versa.) When water comes into contact with the compounds the elements
of which are held together by attraction of opposite charges, the polar water
molecule will separate that compound's elements from each other (dissolving
compounds, such as salt.)
What properties of water derive from its polar nature? - ANSWER: Cohesion,
adhesion, the blue "tint" of water, very high heat capacity, liquid at room
temperature, and solid state (ice) less dense than in liquid form.
What did Rachel Carson suggest about how ocean chemistry may have changed over
geologic time (millions of years)? - ANSWER: She suggested that ocean chemistry
may have changed over geologic time due to rain and other factors which weather
the continents bring run-off and other sources of water back to the ocean. Also,
pollution has a factor in the chemistry of the oceans. With these factors, came new
chemicals changing the composition of the ocean.
, What did she think about the connections between river chemistry and ocean
chemistry? - ANSWER: She believed that rivers deliver dissolved rock (including
elements such as Na, Ca, and Cl) to the world ocean, which would cause changes in
ocean chemistry through time.
How did geosc040 get it's name "The Sea Around Us"? - ANSWER: From Rachel
Carson's book of the same title.
What affect does photosynthesis have on the concentrations of CO2 and O2 in
seawater? - ANSWER: Because plants and plantlike organisms require carbon dioxide
for photosynthesis and metabolism, surface CO2 concentrations tend to be low
while 02 concentrations are high. A decrease in oxygen below the sunlit upper layer
usually results from bacteria and marine animal respiration which leads to higher
carbon dioxide concentrations. Oxygen levels are slightly higher in deeper water
because fewer animals are present to take up oxygen reaching these depths because
oxygen-rich polar water that sinks from the surface is the greatest source of deep
water.
How do the concentrations of CO2 and O2 vary with depth in the oceans? - ANSWER:
Carbon dioxide concentrations increase with increasing depth, but oxygen
concentrations usually decrease through the mid-depths and then rise again towards
the bottom.
How is heat different than temperature? - ANSWER: Heat is energy produced by
random vibrations of atoms or molecules, a measure of how many molecules are
vibrating and how rapidly they are vibrating. Temperature is an object's response to
the input of removal of heat, records only how rapidly the molecules of a substance
are vibrating.
What is heat capacity? - ANSWER: Heat capacity is a measure of the heat required to
raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1 degree Celsius.
What is latent heat? - ANSWER: Latent heat is the heat needed to change phases or
state of a substance. Ex. water to ice. Latent heat of fusion - 80cal/1gram at 0
degrees Celsius. Latent heat of vaporization - 540cal/1gram at 20 degrees Celsius.
What's the difference between sensible heat and latent heat? - ANSWER: Sensible
heat describes temperature changes via heat capacity, is the detectable increase or
decrease in heat.
How does the addition of salt to water change the freezing (boiling) point of water? -
ANSWER: It will decrease it's freezing point, but will increase it's boiling point.
What is residence time of an element in seawater? - ANSWER: It is the average
length of tie an element spends in the ocean.
(Latest ) FALL-SPRING TERM
What is the "Goldilocks Principle" as applied to Earth and the Oceans? - ANSWER:
Earth had just the right position in the solar system to allow retention of liquid water
and habitability for life. It is neither too close to nor too far from the Sun. It also
suggested that when it was forming, Earth had just the right mass, large enough to
retain water.
Which is greater - the average depth of the ocean, or the average elevation of the
continents? - ANSWER: The average depth of the ocean.
Why do we say there is one world ocean? - ANSWER: We say there is one world
ocean because all of the oceans are "connected."
Over time, does water from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans mix with waters from the
Baltic and Mediterranean seas? - ANSWER: Yes, due to ocean currents.
Surface water on Earth most likely came from where? - ANSWER: From the deep
ocean, from rain, runoff, and other sources.
How is Ocean deep water different from shallow water? - ANSWER: It has different
salinity, temperature, chemical composition, and density. Deep water is colder,
saltier, and therefore, denser than surface water.
Why is water a polar molecule? - ANSWER: The angular shape of the water
molecules make it polar. Each molecule has a positive end and a negative end,
because protons are left partially exposed when the negatively charged electrons
bond more closely to oxygen. The polar water molecule acts something like a
magnet, each end attracting oppositely charged particles (positive attracts negative,
and vice versa.) When water comes into contact with the compounds the elements
of which are held together by attraction of opposite charges, the polar water
molecule will separate that compound's elements from each other (dissolving
compounds, such as salt.)
What properties of water derive from its polar nature? - ANSWER: Cohesion,
adhesion, the blue "tint" of water, very high heat capacity, liquid at room
temperature, and solid state (ice) less dense than in liquid form.
What did Rachel Carson suggest about how ocean chemistry may have changed over
geologic time (millions of years)? - ANSWER: She suggested that ocean chemistry
may have changed over geologic time due to rain and other factors which weather
the continents bring run-off and other sources of water back to the ocean. Also,
pollution has a factor in the chemistry of the oceans. With these factors, came new
chemicals changing the composition of the ocean.
, What did she think about the connections between river chemistry and ocean
chemistry? - ANSWER: She believed that rivers deliver dissolved rock (including
elements such as Na, Ca, and Cl) to the world ocean, which would cause changes in
ocean chemistry through time.
How did geosc040 get it's name "The Sea Around Us"? - ANSWER: From Rachel
Carson's book of the same title.
What affect does photosynthesis have on the concentrations of CO2 and O2 in
seawater? - ANSWER: Because plants and plantlike organisms require carbon dioxide
for photosynthesis and metabolism, surface CO2 concentrations tend to be low
while 02 concentrations are high. A decrease in oxygen below the sunlit upper layer
usually results from bacteria and marine animal respiration which leads to higher
carbon dioxide concentrations. Oxygen levels are slightly higher in deeper water
because fewer animals are present to take up oxygen reaching these depths because
oxygen-rich polar water that sinks from the surface is the greatest source of deep
water.
How do the concentrations of CO2 and O2 vary with depth in the oceans? - ANSWER:
Carbon dioxide concentrations increase with increasing depth, but oxygen
concentrations usually decrease through the mid-depths and then rise again towards
the bottom.
How is heat different than temperature? - ANSWER: Heat is energy produced by
random vibrations of atoms or molecules, a measure of how many molecules are
vibrating and how rapidly they are vibrating. Temperature is an object's response to
the input of removal of heat, records only how rapidly the molecules of a substance
are vibrating.
What is heat capacity? - ANSWER: Heat capacity is a measure of the heat required to
raise the temperature of 1 gram of a substance by 1 degree Celsius.
What is latent heat? - ANSWER: Latent heat is the heat needed to change phases or
state of a substance. Ex. water to ice. Latent heat of fusion - 80cal/1gram at 0
degrees Celsius. Latent heat of vaporization - 540cal/1gram at 20 degrees Celsius.
What's the difference between sensible heat and latent heat? - ANSWER: Sensible
heat describes temperature changes via heat capacity, is the detectable increase or
decrease in heat.
How does the addition of salt to water change the freezing (boiling) point of water? -
ANSWER: It will decrease it's freezing point, but will increase it's boiling point.
What is residence time of an element in seawater? - ANSWER: It is the average
length of tie an element spends in the ocean.
