Geology 101 Quiz 13

Question 1

normal waves are generated by

Answer 1

wind

Question 2

are tsunamis normal waves? why?

Answer 2

no because they’re created when a large volume of water is suddenly displaced

Question 3

larger waves are produced from greater wind…

Answer 3

speed, duration (longer time), and fetch

Question 4

fetch

Answer 4

the distance over water that the wind is blowing

Question 5

wave description: h and λ

Answer 5

h = wave height
λ = wavelength

Question 6

the maximum depth a wave is felt is equal to

Answer 6

one half the wavelength

Question 7

wave action diminishes with ?

Answer 7

depth

Question 8

breakers: why do waves break near shore?

Answer 8

the bottom interferes with the circular motion, which results in the front edge of the wave slowing down; the back of the wave is in deeper water, so it moves faster and starts to catch up with the front edge; eventually, the wave gets too high and the top spills over the front edge

Question 9

the more gentle the slope of the ocean floor, the (closer/farther) offshore the waves will begin to build and break

Answer 9

farther

Question 10

wave terrace

Answer 10

flat surface eroded by wave action

Question 11

stack

Answer 11

resistant rock left behind on wave terrace

Question 12

swash

Answer 12

waves flowing up onto the beach

Question 13

backwash

Answer 13

water returning back to the ocean

Question 14

longshore current

Answer 14

current parallel to the coast caused by wave action

Question 15

longshore drift

Answer 15

lateral movement of beach sediment due to wave action

Question 16

gentle waves tend to bring sediment from ? to the beach

Answer 16

deeper water

Question 17

strong waves erode beaches and carry sediment into ? water

Answer 17

deeper water

Question 18

rip current

Answer 18

also known incorrectly as a “rip tide”, water pushed down the coast by longshore current builds up and suddenly rushes out to sea

Question 19

spit

Answer 19

sediment deposited beyond the coastline by longshore currents

Question 20

wave refraction

Answer 20

bending of waves caused by interaction with bottom

Question 21

are beaches stationary?

Answer 21

no

Question 22

sediment is added to a beach by ? and ? into the beach

Answer 22

gentle wave action and longshore drift

Question 23

sediment is removed from a beach by ? and ? at the opposite end of the beach

Answer 23

storm waves and longshore drift

Question 24

beaches need a continuous source of sediment: sources include (list 3)

Answer 24

eroding cliffs, broken shell and reef material, river discharge

Question 25

groin

Answer 25

barrier set perpendicular to beach to stop longshore drift

Question 26

breaker

Answer 26

barrier set parallel to beach to buffer wave energy

Question 27

cause of tides

Answer 27

gravitational pull of moon mounds water up along the earth-moon axis; on opposite side, a second bulge exists due to rotational inertia; this results in two high tides and two low tides per day as the earth rotates; the sun also has a gravitational pull, but it is further away so has a lesser influence

Question 28

is the height of a tide always the same? why?

Answer 28

no; different seasons lead it to be lower or higher due to the relative position of the sun and moon

Question 29

spring tide has the (smallest/largest) difference between high tide and low tide and why?

Answer 29

largest; the earth, moon, and sun align, so the ocean experiences the gravitational tug of the moon and sun in the same direction

Question 30

neap tide has the (smallest/largest) difference between high tide and low tide and why?

Answer 30

smallest; the earth, moon, and sun form a 90 degree angle - the sun tugs in the direction of the low tide, so the high tide is not so high and the low tide is not so low

Question 31

is the difference between high and low tides the same along every coast line?

Answer 31

no

Question 32

places like Hawaii tend to have (small/large) tides because ?

Answer 32

small because tides can swell and move around the islands

Question 33

tides along continents tend to be (smaller/larger) because ?

Answer 33

larger because water cannot travel around continents, so the swelling water runs up onto land

Question 34

in some bays, swelling tides enter the bay and are constricted, making them (lower/higher)

Answer 34

higher

Question 35

incoming tides on a gentle slope will come inland (much slower/much faster) than on a steep slope

Answer 35

much faster

Question 36

flood tide

Answer 36

incoming tide

Question 37

ebb tide

Answer 37

outgoing tide

Question 38

tidal flats

Answer 38

flat region between low and high tide

Question 39

offshore

Answer 39

open ocean to low tide mark

Question 40

foreshore

Answer 40

low tide mark to top of high-tide swash

Question 41

backshore

Answer 41

above swash zone

Question 42

continental shelf

Answer 42

close to shore, the shallow end

Question 43

continental slope

Answer 43

sudden drop-off

Question 44

continental rise

Answer 44

slope before drop-off coming in from the deep

Question 45

abyssal plain

Answer 45

deep end

Question 46

which zones have high relief coastlines, sea cliffs, volcanism, earthquakes, and on the ocean floor?

Answer 46

convergent and transform fault zones

Question 47

which zones have low relief coastlines with little volcanism or earthquakes and lower relief on the ocean floor?

Answer 47

divergent zones

Question 48

seamount

Answer 48

volcanic mountain on the ocean floor

Question 49

guyot

Answer 49

seamount with eroded, flat top

Question 50

atoll

Answer 50

eroded seamount ringed by reefs