OCE ch 8 Questions with Correct Answers (Grade A+)
Question 1: How does water move as waves pass?
Answer: Water moves in a circle in the same direction as wave movement.
Question 2: How does wave amplitude change with depth in water?
Answer: Wave amplitude decreases as depth increases.
Question 3: What is the wave base?
Answer: the lower limit of wave-induced motion in the water
Question 4: What is the relationship between wave base and wavelength?
Answer: The depth of the wave base is one-half the wavelength of the waves.
Question 5: Why does wave height increase as waves enter shallow water?
Answer: The energy of the wave must be contained within a smaller water column in shallow water.
Question 6: Why do ocean waves bend around headlands?
Answer: The waves are moving more slowly just in front of the headland, causing the waves to bend.
Question 7: What is refraction?
Answer: the bending of waves due to a change in wave velocity
Question 8: How does wave refraction at headlands affect deposition and erosion?
Answer: Wave refraction at the headland increases erosion at the headland and causes deposition in adjacent
bays.
Question 9: What is the crest of a wave?
Answer: the highest point
Question 10: What is the trough of a wave?
Answer: the lowest point
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, Question 11: What is the wave height?
Answer: the distance between the highest and lowest part of the wave
Question 12: What is the wavelength?
Answer: the distance between consecutive wave crests or troughs
Question 13: What is the wave period?
Answer: the time it takes for one wavelength of a wave to pass a particular point
Question 14: How are wave period and wavelength related?
Answer: Waves with shorter periods have shorter wavelengths.
Question 15: Which of the following statements about wave period is most accurate?
Answer: Wave period is the inverse of wave frequency.
Question 16: Wave refraction is __________.
Answer: the bending of waves
Question 17: What causes wave refraction?
Answer: The part of a wave in shallow water slows down, causing the wave to bend and line up nearly
parallel to the shore.
Question 18: Most of the year, and most of the time, the movement of sediment and water (longshore
current) along the California coast is from __________.
Answer: north to south
Question 19: What is an interference pattern?
Answer: The wave pattern produced when two or more waves interact.
Question 20: What results when two waves, in phase and with the same wavelength, interact?
Answer: A wave with an amplitude that is the sum of the amplitudes of the initial two waves.
Question 21: What does the term "in phase" refer to?
Answer: Waves in phase have identical wavelengths and are aligned peak-to-peak and trough-to-trough
Page 2
Question 1: How does water move as waves pass?
Answer: Water moves in a circle in the same direction as wave movement.
Question 2: How does wave amplitude change with depth in water?
Answer: Wave amplitude decreases as depth increases.
Question 3: What is the wave base?
Answer: the lower limit of wave-induced motion in the water
Question 4: What is the relationship between wave base and wavelength?
Answer: The depth of the wave base is one-half the wavelength of the waves.
Question 5: Why does wave height increase as waves enter shallow water?
Answer: The energy of the wave must be contained within a smaller water column in shallow water.
Question 6: Why do ocean waves bend around headlands?
Answer: The waves are moving more slowly just in front of the headland, causing the waves to bend.
Question 7: What is refraction?
Answer: the bending of waves due to a change in wave velocity
Question 8: How does wave refraction at headlands affect deposition and erosion?
Answer: Wave refraction at the headland increases erosion at the headland and causes deposition in adjacent
bays.
Question 9: What is the crest of a wave?
Answer: the highest point
Question 10: What is the trough of a wave?
Answer: the lowest point
Page 1
, Question 11: What is the wave height?
Answer: the distance between the highest and lowest part of the wave
Question 12: What is the wavelength?
Answer: the distance between consecutive wave crests or troughs
Question 13: What is the wave period?
Answer: the time it takes for one wavelength of a wave to pass a particular point
Question 14: How are wave period and wavelength related?
Answer: Waves with shorter periods have shorter wavelengths.
Question 15: Which of the following statements about wave period is most accurate?
Answer: Wave period is the inverse of wave frequency.
Question 16: Wave refraction is __________.
Answer: the bending of waves
Question 17: What causes wave refraction?
Answer: The part of a wave in shallow water slows down, causing the wave to bend and line up nearly
parallel to the shore.
Question 18: Most of the year, and most of the time, the movement of sediment and water (longshore
current) along the California coast is from __________.
Answer: north to south
Question 19: What is an interference pattern?
Answer: The wave pattern produced when two or more waves interact.
Question 20: What results when two waves, in phase and with the same wavelength, interact?
Answer: A wave with an amplitude that is the sum of the amplitudes of the initial two waves.
Question 21: What does the term "in phase" refer to?
Answer: Waves in phase have identical wavelengths and are aligned peak-to-peak and trough-to-trough
Page 2
