Ocean Vocabulary

Question 1

Pacific Ocean

Answer 1

largest ocean on Earth

Question 2

Atlantic Ocean

Answer 2

separates North America and Europe

Question 3

Indian Ocean

Answer 3

third largest ocean; named after it’s location by the Indian peninsula

Question 4

Arctic Ocean

Answer 4

smallest ocean and the northernmost ocean

Question 5

Southern Ocean

Answer 5

it is the “youngest” ocean being made when south america and Antarctica split apart

Question 6

Salinity

Answer 6

a measure of the amount of dissolved salts in a given amount of liquid

Question 7

Surface Zone

Answer 7

the warm top layer of ocean water

Question 8

Thermocline

Answer 8

second layer of ocean water; the temperature drops faster than in any other zone

Question 9

Deep Zone

Answer 9

bottom layer that extends from the bottom of the thermocline to the sea floor

Question 10

Water Cycle

Answer 10

the continuous movement of water from the ocean to the atmosphere to the land and back to the ocean

Question 11

Evaporation

Answer 11

sun heats the water and turns it into vapor which rises in the air

Question 12

Condensation

Answer 12

as the vapor rises it cool and changes back into liquid in the form of a cloud

Question 13

Precipitation

Answer 13

when the liquid gets heavy enough, it releases and it rains/snows

Question 14

Continental Shelf

Answer 14

the gently sloping section of the continental margin located between the shoreline and the continental slope

Question 15

Continental Slope

Answer 15

the steeply inclined section of the continental margin located between the shoreline and the continental slope

Question 16

Continental Rise

Answer 16

the gently sloping section of the continental margin located between the continental slope and the abyssal plain

Question 17

Abyssal Plain

Answer 17

a large, flat, almost level of area of the deep-ocean basin

Question 18

Mid-Ocean Ridge

Answer 18

a long, undersea mountain that forms along the floor of the major oceans

Question 19

Rift Valley

Answer 19

a long, narrow valley that forms as tectonic plates separates

Question 20

Seamount

Answer 20

a submerged mountain on the ocean floor that is at least 1,000 m high and that has a volcanic origin

Question 21

Ocean Trench

Answer 21

a steep, long depression in the deep-sea floor that runs parallel to a chain of volcanic islands or a continental margin

Question 22

Plankton

Answer 22

the mass of mostly microscopic organisms that float or drift freely in freshwater and marine environments

Question 23

Nekton

Answer 23

all organisms that swim actively in open water, independent of currents

Question 24

Benthos

Answer 24

the organisms that live at the bottom of the sea or ocean

Question 25

Benthic Environment

Answer 25

the region near the bottom of a pond, lake, or ocean

Question 26

Desalination

Answer 26

a process of removing salt from ocean water