Chapter 3 Test

Roughly what portion of Earth is covered by ocean water?

• 50%
• 33%
• 12%
• 70%

____ causes major ocean gyres in the Northern Hemisphere to flow in a clockwise direction and the gyres in the Southern Hemisphere to flow in a counterclockwise direction.

• Earth’s magnetic field
• The effect of Earth’s rotation (the Coriolis effect)
• The gravitational pull of the Moon
• The effect of Earth’s axial tilt

Surface temperatures are warmer at Earth’s equator than at the poles because of

• Earth’s rotation.
• patterns of circulation in the atmosphere.
• Earth’s spherical shape, which affects the angle that the Sun’s energy strikes the surface.
• Earth’s axial tilt.

What is the primary driving force behind surface currents?

• prevailing winds
• uneven sloping of the oceanic crust
• the Coriolis effect
• density differences due to variations in temperature and salinity

What is the primary driving force behind deep water currents?

• prevailing winds
• uneven sloping of the oceanic crust
• the Coriolis effect
• density differences due to variations in temperature and salinity

Which of the following factor(s) affect(s) the flow of currents?

• the position of continents
• gravity
• topographic features on the ocean floor
• all of the above

Which of the following set of properties represents water with the highest density?

• cold, low salinity
• cold, high salinity
• warm, low salinity
• warm, high salinity

Especially dense water forms in deep water formation areas because of

• atmospheric cooling of the water
• the freezing of water
• winds, which cause evaporation
• all of the above

Deep water formation areas drive the global conveyor belt, which

• circulates water primarily within the Atlantic Ocean.
• flows beneath the continents.
• connects the water of all Earth’s oceans.
• stops circulating during El Niño years.

Under normal conditions, the prevailing winds along the coast of Peru push the water away from the land, causing

• an upwelling.
• a downwelling.
• a significant sea level rise along the coast.
• a significant drop in sea level along the coast.