Marine Science quiz 1

Polar

Water has slightly positive and negative sides.

Temperature

The average kinetic energy, or movement, of particles.

Heat

The total kinetic energy of all the particles.

Calorie

Energy needed to raise 1 gram of water by 1°C.

Evaporation

Liquid water changing into water vapor.

Density

How much mass is packed into a certain volume.

Specific heat

Energy needed to raise a substance's temperature by 1°C.

Heat capacity

How much heat a substance can absorb before its temperature changes.

Evaporative cooling

Fast water molecules evaporate, leaving the remaining water cooler.

Cohesion

Water sticking to water.

Surface tension

The elastic-like surface of water caused by cohesion.

Adhesion

Water sticking to other substances.

Viscosity

A liquid's resistance to flow.

Salt

A substance made of positively and negatively charged ions.

Ion

An electrically charged particle.

Dissociation

When salt dissolves and separates into ions.

Independent variable

The variable the scientist changes.

Dependent variable

The variable the scientist measures.

Controlled variables

Things kept the same during an experiment.

Control group

The baseline group used for comparison.

Hypothesis

A testable prediction or explanation.

Light in the ocean

Different colors reach different depths; BLUE penetrates deepest.

Pressure

Pressure increases with depth; every 10 meters adds about 1 atmosphere.

Sound

Sound travels about 4.5× faster in water than air because water is denser.

Salinity

The amount of dissolved salts/ions in seawater; measured in PSU or parts per thousand.

Rule of constant proportions

The proportions of major ions usually stay the same even when total salinity changes.

Temperature with ocean depth

Water generally gets colder as depth increases.

Thermocline

A layer where temperature changes rapidly with depth.

Temperature and density

Cold water is denser than warm water.

Salinity and density

Salt water is denser than fresh water.

Most vs. least dense water

Cold + salty = most dense; warm + fresh = least dense.

Early Pacific Islanders

Early ocean explorers and navigators.

Phoenicians

Early Mediterranean sailors and explorers.

Aristotle

Early Greek thinker who studied and described marine life.

Australian & Polynesian voyagers

Indigenous ocean explorers known for sailing and wayfinding.

Chumash & Tongva

Indigenous California groups who traveled by canoe around the Santa Barbara Channel and islands.

Inuit & Yupik

Indigenous Arctic groups who used kayaks for travel and hunting.

Captain James Cook

Explored and mapped large areas of the world's oceans.

Charles Darwin

Sailed on the HMS Beagle and made observations that contributed to natural selection.

Charles Wilkes

Mapped Antarctica and the South Pacific.

Edward Forbes

Studied the seafloor and deep-sea organisms.

Where do ions in seawater come from?

Weathering of rocks on land, Earth's interior, and volcanic material.

What usually affects seawater density more: temperature or salinity?

Temperature.

Pressure at sea level

1 atmosphere.