vocab

Question 1

abyss

Answer 1

a deep space, gulf, or cavity that extends from more than 4000-6000 meters

Question 2

abyssal plain

Answer 2

the flat part of the ocean floor (3500-6000 meters deep)

Question 3

continental rise

Answer 3

pile of sand and sediments at the base of the continental slope; curves down from slope to ocean floor (4000-5000 meters deep)

Question 3

continental shelf

Answer 3

the land around the edge of the continent that is under the shallowest water (150-200 meters deep)

Question 4

continental slope

Answer 4

the steep drop off in the sea floor that extends from the shelf down to the rise (200-4000 meters deep)

Question 5

crest

Answer 5

the top of the wave before it breaks

Question 6

currents

Answer 6

streams of water within the ocean; can be caused by wind or water temperature and salinity deeper in the ocean

Question 7

depth

Answer 7

the distance below the oceans surface

Question 8

Gulf Stream

Answer 8

a major ocean current on the east coast of the United States

Question 9

Midnight Zone

Answer 9

the area that extends from 1000-4000 meters; pitch black due to no sunlight at all; extreme pressure due to depth

Question 10

ocean ridges

Answer 10

mountains found in the ocean floor where plates of the Earth come together

Question 11

ocean trenches

Answer 11

deep cracks in the flat bottom of the ocean floor (up to 11,000 meters deep)

Question 12

phytoplankton

Answer 12

plant-like organisms that produce most of the Earth’s oxygen and serves as the base of the ocean ecosystem

Question 13

plankton/zooplankton

Answer 13

small floating organisms that eat the phytoplankton

Question 14

salinity

Answer 14

a measurement of the amount of salt dissolved in water

Question 15

seamount

aka ocean ridge

Answer 15

an underwater mountain that lies completely below the sea

Question 16

Sunlight Zone

Answer 16

the area that extends to a depth of 200 meters; well lit by sunlight and most of the oceanic food is produced and found there

Question 17

tides

Answer 17

the rise and fall of the oceans due to the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun (lesser degree)

Question 18

trench

Answer 18

deep valley on the bottom of the ocean

Question 19

trough

Answer 19

bottom portion of a wave

Question 20

Twilight Zone

Answer 20

an area that extends from 200-1000 meters; some light found here (most organisms here consumers and go up to Sunlight Zone to feed)

Question 21

wave

Answer 21

a disturbance seen in the surface of the water caused by winds