Ocean Vocabulary

CONTINENTAL SHELF (which statement is incorrect)

• Shallow area near the coast
• Sunlight goes all the way to the bottom
• Large food web because of all the plant life
• Flat, deep, and dark

CONTINENTAL SLOPE (which statement is incorrect)

• Steep drop-off to the deep ocean
• Steep slope creates underwater landslides
• Lies between the continental shelf and the abyssal plain
• Flat part of the ocean floor in the middle of the ocean

ABYSSAL PLAIN (which statement is incorrect)

• Flat and deep part of the ocean floor
• Not many living things in this part of the ocean floor
• It is very dark because it is so deep here
• Flat, shallow area near the shore

OCEAN TRENCHES (which statement is incorrect)

• The very deepest part of the ocean
• No light in this area
• The water pressure here is very high
• Home to many living things

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

SEDIMENT (which statement is incorrect)

• Covers much of the ocean floor
• Muddy, slimy covering created as dirt and dead organisms sink to the bottom
• Eventually becomes sedimentary rock
• Only found in the ocean trenches

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

SALT WATER (which statement is incorrect)

• The water in the oceans is very salty
• The salt comes from dissolved rock as rivers drain the land
• Sea water becomes saltier as water evaporates from the ocean, leaving the salt behind
• Also found in rivers and lakes everywhere

SALINITY (which statement is incorrect)

• Describes the saltiness of the water
• Some parts of the ocean have a higher salinity than others
• Fresh water has no salinity
• Describes how many living things are in the water

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS1-5

OCEAN CURRENTS (which statement is incorrect)

• They are river-like movements of water in the ocean
• Currents that start near the equator are warm water currents
• Currents that start near the north or south poles are cold water currents
• They are caused by the gravitational pull of the moon

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-6

THE GULF STREAM CURRENT (which statement is incorrect)

• It is a warm water current
• It starts near the Gulf of Mexico
• It flows across the Atlantic Ocean towards Europe
• It was the current from “Finding Nemo”

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-6

ALGAE & PLANKTON (which statement is incorrect)

• Single-celled plantlike organisms floating in the ocean
• They are the producers for the ocean food web
• They create most of earth’s oxygen
• They are at the bottom of ocean trenches

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-3