Download Unit 1, Chapter 2 Reading Checks Lyndon Cobb Reading Checks

Unit 1, Chapter 2 Reading Checks
Lyndon Cobb
Reading Checks – Page 43
1. What is a basin?
A basin is a low spot in Earth’s surface that is completely or partially surrounded by higher land.
2. Where do scientists believe that water originated?
Scientists believe that the oceans have been on Earth for more than 3 billion years. When the planet
first formed about 4.5 billion years ago, it started as a hot ball of molten (melted) rock. The outside of Earth
gradually cooled down, but heat continued to be released from deep within the planet through volcanoes . water
trapped inside the volcanic materials was also released into the atmosphere in the form of water vapour—much
like steam escaping from a kettle. As the water vapour cooled and condensed, it fell to Earth’s surface as
precipitation. Because gravity causes water to flow downhill, the vast amounts of water that fell began
collecting in the lowest parts of Earth’s surface, the ocean basins. Some scientists speculate that much of the
original water on the planet came from ice in comets that hit the young Earth
3. Describe what is meant by plate tectonics.
Is a process when pieces of the land mass began to move over Earth’s surface
4. Define ocean ridge, trench, and abyssal plains. Explain how
these features are created.
abyssal plain [a-BIS-uhl] the wide open regions of the ocean floor between the continents and the mountain
ranges at the centre of the ocean (2.1)
trench the deep area that is formed when an ocean plate collides with a continental plate and is forced to bend
steeply down beneath the continental plate (2.1)
ocean ridges the undersea mountain chains that are formed when magma oozes up and solidifies between
tectonic plates that are moving apart (2.1)
Reading Checks – Page 47
1. What two features make up the continental margin?
These margins are made up of the continental shelf, and the continental slope
2. Describe the process of sonar mapping.
Sonar mapping uses sound waves to probe the seabed. The depth of water is found by sending sound
waves directly down from a ship and measuring the time it takes for the signals to hit the sea floor and bounce
back to the surface.
3. What is an advantage of satellite mapping?
A great advantage of satellites over ships is that satellites can survey very large areas of ocean in a
relatively short time. Satellites are also able to record and transmit data in all kinds of weather, and in both
day and night. Satellites can also receive information from buoys that are anchored to the ocean floor at fixed
points.
4. Describe two types of submersibles.
There are two types of submersibles: manned submersibles and remotely-operated vehicles. Manned
submersibles carry people inside and allow them to make their own observations of the deep sea. Remotelyoperated vehicles (ROVs) allow people to control the
vehicle from a ship that is safely on the surface.
Reading Checks – Page 56
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Unit 1, Chapter 2 Reading Checks
Lyndon Cobb
1. What is an ocean current?
An ocean current is a large amount of ocean water that moves in a particular and unchanging
direction.
2. What three factors produce ocean surface currents?
Three factors influence ocean surface currents: wind, rotation of Earth, and the shape of Earth’s
continents
3. Explain how wind influences ocean currents.
As wind moves over the ocean’s surface, its energy is transferred by friction to the water molecules,
causing the ocean water to move
4. How does the spin of Earth affect ocean currents?
As winds and currents move over this spinning body, their path gets redirected (deflected) depending
on what side of the equator they are on. This alteration of direction is called the Coriolis effect. In the
northern hemisphere, no matter which direction the winds begin to blow, they will be deflected to the right, or
in a clockwise direction. In the southern hemisphere, winds will be deflected to the left, or in a counterclockwise direction.
5. Explain how the shape of continents affects ocean currents.
moving currents are forced to turn when they meet a solid surface. Continents deflect east-west
currents either to the north or to the south
Reading Checks – Page 59
1. What is a density current?
density current a movement or flow of water along the sea floor caused by the sinking of dense water
(cold water has higher density than warm water, and highly salty water has higher density than water with low
salinity) (2.2)
2. Sketch and label the three layers of ocean water.
ocean surface-mixed layer
-thermocline
sea floor
deep water
3. Fresh water reduces the salinity of ocean water, making it less dense. Name two ways fresh water can be
added to the ocean.
a. Rivers,
b. where icebergs and glaciers melt,
c. and in regions with high levels of precipitation.
4. What is upwelling of ocean water?
Upwellings are the vertical movement of water from the sea floor to the ocean surface.
5. Why is upwelling important for marine life?
The upwelling water contains large amounts of nutrients from the sea floor, such as phosphates and
nitrates. Plants living in the surface waters use these nutrients to grow. The plants, in turn, attract fish to
these areas.
Reading Checks – Page 69
1. What is a swell?
swell a long smooth wave that moves steadily without breaking (2.3)
2. How is a breaker formed?
When a wave reaches shore, it changes shape (see Figure 2.23). As the trough of the wave touches
the beach, it is slowed down by friction. The crest of the wave, however, continues moving at the same speed.
The wavelength shortens, and the wave height increases. The crest of the wave eventually outruns the trough
and topples forward. The wave collapses onshore in a tumble of water called a breaker
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Unit 1, Chapter 2 Reading Checks
Lyndon Cobb
3. What causes a tsunami?
By earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or landslides on the ocean floor.
4. What types of erosion happen on a shoreline?
Waves shape shorelines by eroding and redepositing sediments.
5. How are headlands and bays created?
Waves erode the shore into headlands and bays
Reading Checks – Page 71
1. What is the difference between a spring tide and a neap tide?
The largest tidal movements, called spring tides, occur when Earth, the Moon, and the Sun are in a line
(see Figure 2.33A). At these times, the tides are extra high and extra low. The smallest tidal movements,
called neap tides, occur when the Sun and the Moon are at right angles to each other (see Figure 2.33B). On
these days, there is very little difference in depth between high and low tides.
2. What is a tidal range?
The difference in level between a high tide and a low tide is called the tidal range.
3. What causes a tide?
Tidal movements result mainly from the pull of the Moon’s gravity on the ocean.
4. How does the shape of a shoreline affect the size of a tidal range?
The shape of a shoreline can have a great influence on the size
of the tidal range. A rising tide that enters the mouth of narrow passage, or
mouth causes the tide to spread out around the bay, giving a small tidal range. (example, in the Gulf of Mexico).
Tides that enter a wide mouth, like a V, pile up and are funnelled down to the narrow end of the bay. (example
Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia)
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