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Currents & Waves

Total questions: 40

Worksheet time: 21mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which type of ocean movement can be divided into 2 groups: surface and deep?

a)

Current

b)

Wave

c)

Tide

2.

What part of the wave is also known as the "peak?"

a)

Amplutide

b)

Crest

c)

Trough

d)

Wavelength

3.

Which type of ocean movement distributes heat throughout the oceans?

a)

Current

b)

Wave

c)

Tide

4.

A tsunami is a large __________ typically caused by a shallow seafloor earthquake.

a)

Current

b)

Wave

c)

Tide

5.

The distance between one crest and the next (or one trough and the next) is known as the ______________.

a)

Amplitude

b)

Wave Height

c)

Wavelength

6.
Surface ocean currents are generated mostly by
a)
the Coriolis effect
b)
water density
c)
tides
d)
wind
7.
The vertical distance between the highest and lowest points of a wave is called
a)
wavelength
b)
wave height
c)
crest
d)
trough
8.
What name is given to large, destructive waves caused by underwater earthquakes and volcanoes?
a)
Spring tide
b)
Longshore current
c)
Tsunami
d)
Swell
9.
When you are playing in the ocean, you must watch out for ____, a spot where the longshore current carries water back into the ocean.
a)
swell
b)
rip tide
c)
neap tide
d)
trough
10.
The height of a wave is MOST affected by the
a)
speed of the wind
b)
speed of the ocean
c)
salinity of the ocean
d)
amount of solar energy
11.
Why do waves increase in height as they approach the shore?
a)
waves are forced into inlets
b)
water particles speed up
c)
water density increases
d)
they interact with ocean floor
12.
Describe surface currents.
a)
Currents that occur on the surface of the water.
b)
Currents caused by prevailing winds.
c)
Currents caused by water molecules moving in a circular pattern.
d)
Both A & B
13.
What is the lowest point of a wave called?
a)
crest
b)
trough
c)
breaker
d)
peak
14.
Surface currents...
a)
occur below the surface of the water.
b)
occur above the surface of the water.
c)
occur on the surface of the water.
d)
All of the above.
15.
What is the distance from the crest of one wave to the crest of another?
a)
current
b)
peak
c)
wave height
d)
wave length
16.
What is the distance from the trough of the wave to the crest?
a)
peak
b)
wave length
c)
wave height
d)
trough
17.
Longshore currents flow...
a)
in a zig zag pattern.
b)
parallel to the shoreline.
c)
vertically to the shoreline.
18.
What happens to a current when it comes in contact with a continent or landmass?
a)
It continues over the continent
b)
It stops
c)
It changes direction
d)
It is absorbed by the land
19.
Constantly moving system of deep-ocean circulation driven by temperature and salinity. It moves water around the entire planet over periods of hundreds of years.
a)
California Current
b)
Global Conveyor Belt
c)
Surface Currents
d)
Gulf Stream
20.
The large, circular surface-current pattern found in each ocean; rotates like a tire.
a)
California Current
b)
Surface Current
c)
Gyre
d)
Global Conveyor Belt
21.
An "underwater river" of water that flows in the ocean, formed because of density differences in ocean water.
a)
deep ocean current
b)
storm surge
c)
tide
d)
wave
22.
Large stream of water that flows in the ocean that forms because of a steady wind blowing over the ocean surface.
a)
storm surge
b)
surface current
c)
tide
d)
water cycle
23.
Waves cause individual water particles to
a)
travel toward shore
b)
move in tiny circles
c)
sink to the bottom
d)
move in currents
24.
Which of the following factors has the greatest effect on surface currents?
a)
global winds
b)
Neptune God of the Sea
c)
differences in water salinity
d)
differences in water temperature
25.
The distance between consecutive crests of a wave is the _________________.
a)
crest
b)
wavelength
c)
wave height
d)
trough
26.
The lowest point of a wave is called the ____________.
a)
crest
b)
wavelength
c)
trough
d)
wave height
27.
_______________ are caused by earthquakes on the ocean floor, volcanic eruptions, or underwater landslides.
a)
tides
b)
waves
c)
tsunamis
d)
surface currents
28.

A circular ocean current is called _______.

a)

a gyre

b)

pollution

c)

dizzy

d)

convection

29.

True or false: Deep ocean currents are caused by the wind.

a)

true

b)

false

30.

True or false: Surface ocean currents are caused by the wind.

a)

true

b)

false

31.

What are the causes of Surface Currents?

a)

Wind

b)

Water Density

c)

Water Temperature

d)

Gravity

e)

All of the Above

32.

Gyres are ...

a)

Ocean Generators

b)

Wind Waves

c)

Deep Ocean Currents

33.

These move and control the Oceans as streams of water that circle the oceans.

a)

Currents

b)

Longshore Currents

c)

Rip Currents

d)

Upwelling

34.

What temporary current flows along the coast and moves you away from where your parents are sitting on the beach?

a)

Upwelling

b)

Rip Currents

c)

Longshore Currents

35.

What temporary current draws water out to sea and is dangerous to get caught in?

a)

Upwelling

b)

Longshore Current

c)

Rip Current

36.

What temporary current brings nutrients from the deep ocean towards shore in a circular motion?

a)

Upwelling

b)

Longshore Current

c)

Rip Current

37.
The tendency for objects to move to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and the to the left in the Southern Hemisphere is due to the:
a)
Eckman's spiral
b)
Coriolis effect
c)
Westerlies
d)
Gyres
38.
How many major ocean gyres are there?
a)
4
b)
5
c)
6
d)
12
39.
What are most tsunamis caused by?
a)
Tornados
b)
Divergent boundaries
c)
Meteors
d)
Earthquakes
40.
What would happen if the global conveyor belt shut down?
a)
Global warming
b)
Tsunamis
c)
Catastrophic global cooling
d)
Monsoons

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