Unique Nature of Pure Water (Section 1)
What type of bond holds water molecules together?
What is hydrogen bond.
What is salinity?
What is the amount of dissolved salts in water.
What are the two most abundant ions in seawater
What is sodium and chloride.
What causes ocean acidification?
What is absorption of excess CO₂ from the atmosphere.
What is the carbon cycle?
What is the movement of carbon through Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, and living things.
Why is water called a “polar molecule”?
What is it has a slightly positive side and a slightly negative side.
What is the average salinity of ocean water?
What is 35 parts per thousand.
What is meant by the “principle of constant proportions”?
What is the ratio of ions in seawater stays the same even if salinity changes.
How does ocean acidification affect marine organisms with shells?
What is it weakens or dissolves their calcium carbonate shells.
What form of carbon do plants and algae use during photosynthesis?
What is carbon dioxide.
What property of water allows insects to walk on its surface?
What is surface tension.
How does salinity affect water’s density?
What is higher salinity increases density.
What is pH a measure of?
What is the concentration of hydrogen ion.
What happens to ocean pH as more CO₂ is absorbed?
What is it decreases, becoming more acidic.
How does the ocean act as a “carbon sink”?
What is it absorbs and stores large amounts of CO₂ from the air.
Why does ice float on water?
What is solid water is less dense.
How does temperature affect the density of seawater?
What is colder water is denser than warmer water.
What is the typical pH of seawater?
8.1
Why is ocean acidification harmful to coral reefs?
What is it slows coral growth and damages reef structures.
What happens to carbon when marine organisms die?
What it sinks to the seafloor and can become part of sediment.
How does water’s high specific heat affect Earth’s climate?
What is it regulate temperature by absorbing and releasing heat.
Why do tropical oceans have lower surface salinity than expected?
What is high rainfall and river runoff dilute the salt concentration
Why is seawater considered a buffered solution?
What is the carbonate system resists changes in pH.
How does acidification disrupt the carbon cycle?
What is it reduces the ocean’s ability to store carbon effectively.
How does human activity affect the carbon cycle?
What is burning fossil fuels adds more CO₂, upsetting the natural balance.