1. The Earth and its oceans - 1.3. Oceans and seas Flashcards
What percentage of the Earth surface is covered by oceans and seas?
71%
What percentage of the water on Earth is found in oceans and seas as salt water?
97%
True or false:
Oceans are generally much deeper than seas
True
True or false:
Seas can be as big as oceans
False
True or false:
Seas are sometimes found within oceans
True
True or false:
Oceans are often partially enclosed by land
False, that’s seas
Which is the largest ocean?
Pacific
What is the horizontal reference line around the middle of the Earth?
The Equator
As you move north or south from the equator, what increases?
The latitude
What are 90 degrees North and 90 degrees South?
The North and South Poles
What is the horizontal reference line around the middle of the Earth?
The Prime Meridian
What happens as you move east or west from the Prime Meridian?
The longitude increase
Where is 180 degrees of longitude?
On the opposite side of the globe from the Prime Meridian
At what latitude is the Artic Circle?
66.5 degrees North
At what latitude is the Antarctic Circle?
66.5 degrees South
Where are the coldest zones on Earth called?
Polar zones
What are the temperate zones?
The zones between the tropics and the Arctic (and Antarctic) circle
Which parts of the Earth experience the most variation in temperature?
The temperate zones
What is geomorphology?
The link between geological processes and the physical features of Earth’s surface
How are continental shelves formed?
Continental crust below sea level, where the sea is shallow due to sediments accumulating (because of coastal erosion)
How do continental slopes form?
Slope due to the difference in thickness between the oceanic crust (which is thin) and the continental crust (which is thicker)
How are mid-ocean ridges formed?
Tectonic plates move apart and magma rises to fill the gaps (new rock is formed when it cools)
