Trash Vortex Chapter 1

What did Captain Moore notice while standing on deck on August 8th?

• The ocean was completely calm.

• Odd bits and flakes were floating in the ocean.

• A school of fish was swimming nearby.

• The ocean was filled with seaweed.

What does the text suggest about the North Pacific Ocean's currents?

• They are very fast and unpredictable.

• They create a gyre that traps plastic debris.

• They only flow eastward across the ocean.

• They do not affect the ocean's wildlife.

Why was Captain Moore disturbed by the plastic he saw in the ocean?

• It was causing stormy weather.

• It was polluting the ocean and harming marine life.

• It was blocking his sailboat’s path.

• It was coming from nearby islands.

How did Oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer contribute to Moore's understanding of plastic pollution?

• He helped Moore build his sailboat.

• He studied how plastic moves through the ocean.

• He found a solution to clean up the plastic.

• He warned Moore about storms in the gyre.

What is the "toilet bowl effect" mentioned by Moore?

• A method of cleaning plastic trash.

• How the gyre traps debris in the center.

• A strategy to reduce plastic pollution.

• A type of current in the ocean.

How does the text describe the appearance of plastic debris in the ocean?

• It looks like bright yellow ducks.

• It appears in large, solid chunks.

• It floats like lost moths in the water.

• It forms large islands of plastic.

What was the significance of the plastic bath toys in the Pacific Ocean in 1992?

• They showed how plastic toys were made.

• They helped Ebbesmeyer map the ocean currents.

• They were a new form of pollution.

• They caused a disruption in the gyre.

What did Moore find when he used fine-meshed nets to collect ocean samples?

• The nets only collected water, no plastic.

• The samples contained no plastic debris.

• The samples were filled with plastic chips and plankton.

• The nets were unable to catch anything.

What does the text suggest about the public’s understanding of the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch"?

• They understood it was a massive floating island.

• They believed it was a small area of plastic waste.

• They were unaware of the plastic problem in the ocean.

• They thought it was a scientific experiment.

What did Moore hope his research would achieve?

• To win a sailing competition.

• To convince people to handle plastics more carefully.

• To make his boat faster.

• To find a cure for ocean pollution.