Final Paper

After taking Marine Biology last year I thought it would be a good idea to take Oceanography. Many people told me how they were kind of similar. I really wanted to learn about the ocean because there were many things I did not understand. I hoped this class would answer some of those questions. I did end up learning many things about the ocean. I learned more than I thought I would. I learned about the physics, sand, salinity, temperature, currents, and history of the ocean. I learned about how there are people who set up underwater observatories to view the ocean for extended periods of time. I liked that we got to create our own observatory. I got to understand how much preparation goes into an operation like that. I also learned about different types of sand in this class. We examined sand under the microscopes and noticed unique colors, shapes, and sizes to each of them. I now know that you can identify where sand has been by its appearance. Another thing we studied was salinity. I know that salinity affects the way things float because we did a lab on it using hydrometers. I also know that the salinity of oceans affects the temperature. The temperature then can affect the weather. Warmer water temperatures promote wild weather like hurricanes. We also learned about ocean currents in this course. The thing that I remember most is the video we watched one day about plastic waste. The video showed how waste can travel thousands of miles across the ocean and land on other coasts. It is amazing how powerful and huge some currents are. Lastly, we all researched and and learned about the history of the ocean. I liked listening to peoples presentations on sailors who traveled the ocean finding new land and discovering parts of the ocean people never knew about. Overall, I really enjoyed taking Oceanography and I think I got a lot out of it.

Moon and Tides Connection

MOON & TIDES BLOG

The moon affects the currents with its gravitational pull. The 

water bulges together and this is called high tide. Everywhere 

else that does not have the water bulge is called low tide. the

reason why the sun has no effect on the tides is because it is 

so far away. if it was closer, it would have the same affects, 

but would also burn the water up. the tides depend on how

close the moon is to the earth so when the moon is full the 

tide is at its highest, and when it is a new moon it is at its 

lowest.

Hydrometer Blog

Lab Report

The other day in class we did a lab on the way things float in different types of water. Using a hydrometer which was a water dropper filled with metal balls, we could see the depth of the object floating. We noticed that the hydrometer was at different depths in each glass of water. The experiment was to show us how salinity in water affects the way things float. Glasses with more salt in them made the object float higher and glasses with lower salinity made the hydrometer float with more depth.

Questions

1. Define the term salinity.

Of, relating to, or containing salt; salty

 

2. If you add salt to a water solution, will a hydrometer float higher or lower in the water? Explain your choice.

If you add salt to the water the object will float higher because it will have less water %.

 

3. What effect does the addition of salt have on the properties of water?

Salt granules tend to absorb water. When there is more salt than water you will most likely have no water left after a while

 

4.Is it easier to float in the ocean than in a swimming pool? Explain why or why not.

Yes it is because there is more salt in the ocean. The greater the salinity, the more you float.

 

5. Define the term density.

Density is the amount of stuff in a mass. If two objects the size of a basketball are put on a balance scale, the one with the greater density will weigh more., even though it looks the same size.

 

 6. The salinity of seawater is also affected by the temperature of a body of water. Explain how temperature causes differences in the salinity of water.

The warmer water has more salt because they can dissolve more.