Unit 1 Test Flashcards
What % of our Earth is covered in oceans
70.8%
Name 3 general characteristics of oceans.
- Composed of saltwater
- Largest and most prominent features on Earth
- All of the oceans are interconnected
Earth is the only planet in our solar system with liquid water on its surface. True or false?
True
Name FIVE reasons why oceans are important to our planet.
- Essential for all life forms
- Contain the greatest number of living organisms on the planet
- Influence climate and weather all over the world
- Are a source of food, minerals, and energy that remains nearly untapped
- Are the lungs of the planet (take CO2 gas out of the atmosphere and replace it with O2 gas)
List the four principal oceans. What is the “plus one” ocean?
- Pacific
- Atlantic
- Indian
- Arctic
- Southern/Antarctic (plus-one ocean)
List 3 characteristics of the Pacific Ocean
-Largest
-Deepest
-Contains many small tropical islands
List 3 characteristics of the Atlantic Ocean
- 2nd largest
- Separates Old World (Europe, Asia, and Africa) from New World (North and South America)
- Named after Atlas, one of the Titans in Greek mythology
List 3 characteristics of the Indian Ocean
- Slightly smaller than Atlantic
- Mostly in Southern Hemisphere
- Named for its proximity to India
List 3 characteristics of the Arctic Ocean
- Smallest
- Shallowest
- Has a permanent layer of sea ice at the surface
List 3 characteristics of the Southern/Antarctic Ocean
- Named for its location in the Southern Hemisphere
- Defined by the meeting of currents near Antarctica called the “Antarctic Convergence”
- Known as the “plus-one ocean”
Distinguish between an ocean and sea.
- Seas are smaller and shallower
- Both composed of saltwater
- Seas are somewhat enclosed by land
- Seas are directly connected to world’s oceans
Historically, what were the major seas?
Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Persian Gulf, Black Sea, Adriatic Sea, Caspian Sea, and Indian Ocean
Name five facts about the Maori people of New Zealand.
- Native language is called Te Reo
- Arrived in New Zealand around the 12th century
- Are the indigenous people of New Zealand
- Known to be expert hunters and fishermen
- Did not have a concept of absolute ownership of land
When did scientists start studying oceans using technology?
The 1930s
Name the islands of the South Pacific (Oceania). Name 2 theories of how scientists think that these chains of islands were discovered.
Micronesia, Melanesia, Polynesia
- Humans from New Guinea may have occupied Melanesia as early as 5000 BC
- Voyagers from South America may have reached the islands of the South Pacific before the coming of the Polynesians
In your opinion, what are two reasons why the Rapa Nui people of Easter Island diminished in population?
- Over-exploitation of natural resources
- Disease
What did the Vikings of Scandinavia discover?
-The islands of the Atlantic
Who was Ferdinand Magellan and what did he do?
An explorer for Portugal who was the first explorer to circumnavigate the world.
Who was James Cook and what did he do?
A scientist who was the first to explore the ocean for scientific purposes, studied water temperatures, winds, and currents, collected date on coral reefs, and discovered that a diet consisting of sauerkraut helped prevent scurvy.
How long ago was our sun and solar system formed?
5 billion years ago
Explain the Nebular Hypothesis.
The sun and the rest of our solar system formed about 5 billion years ago from a cloud of gas (composed mostly of H and He) and space dust called a nebula
How did the Sun form? How did Proto-Earth form? How did our moon form?
The Sun:
- As an accumulation of gas and dust revolved around an enormous cloud, it began to contract under its own gravity, becoming hotter and denser, eventually forming the Sun.
Proto-Earth + our Moon::
- Small amounts of the gas and dust were left behind, creating Proto-Earth and our moon
How was Proto-Earth different from present-day Earth?
- Proto-Earth was much larger, had no oceans or life, and had a uniform composition throughout
What is density-stratification?
Elements segregating according to their densities
What was Earth’s 1st atmosphere like?
Consisted of leftover gases from the nebula, but those particles were blown out to space by the Sun’s solar wind
What was Earth’s 2nd atmosphere like? (what is outgassing?)
Most likely expelled from inside Earth by a process called “outgassing”
- During density stratification, the lowest-density material contained within Earth was composed of various gases, these gases rose to the surface and were expelled to form the atmosphere.
How did the oceans form? What are some other possibilities for sources of water?
- Oceans formed by the outgassing releasing water vapor; earth cooled the water vapor released to atmosphere during outgassing condensed fell to earth and accumulated in low aras and formed oceans
Other sources: - Comets: (made of mostly water) space debris left over from the origin of solar system bombarded young planets
- Asteroids: (rocky bodies that contain ice and orbit the Sun between Mars and Jupiter) type of hydrogen as earth’s oceans
How did the oceans become salty?
- Relentless rainfall landing on earth surface dissolved elements and compounds caring them into oceans
- High carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide could have created very acidic rain dissolving minerals in crust
- Volcanic glasses like chlorine dissolved in atmosphere
Why was the presence of oceans critical for the development of life on Earth?
- It is critical for development of life on earth because this this is the most likely place for these basic materials to interact and produce life
What are 3 ideas of how the molecules that started life become available on Earth?
- Deep sea vents
- Comets
- Asteroids
