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Hydrology Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Hydrology Quizzes, Trivia

Hydrology Trivia

Hydrology Trivia Quizzes

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This category includes quizzes about the scientific aspects of the world's waters including the seas, rivers or other bodies like lakes. Water, water everywhere!
9 Hydrology quizzes and 105 Hydrology trivia questions.
1.
  Oceancetera, etc.   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 25 Qns
I have created another quiz on one of my favorite subjects, oceanography. Some questions may be harder than others. Enjoy!
Average, 25 Qns, leviathan2000, Sep 09 23
Average
leviathan2000
Sep 09 23
5776 plays
2.
  Oceancetera    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Most high schools generally do not dwell on oceanography. Hopefully, this will change as humans realize the importance of the oceans.
Average, 10 Qns, leviathan2000, Jan 09 24
Average
leviathan2000
Jan 09 24
5014 plays
3.
  There's Chemistry in our Rivers!    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz looks at the fascinating and diverse chemistry happening in our rivers. Just because the water may be clear, doesn't mean nothing is happening!
Tough, 10 Qns, MikeMaster99, Oct 25 20
Tough
MikeMaster99 gold member
Oct 25 20
928 plays
4.
  Changing of the Tides    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
A check on your understanding of the Earth's tides and tidal forces.
Average, 10 Qns, wjames, Aug 14 24
Average
wjames gold member
Aug 14 24
923 plays
5.
  Basic Theory of Longshore Drift    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Longshore drift is the movement of geological material along a coastline due to incoming and outgoing waves. This quiz takes a look at the fundamentals of the process and its impact on the shores of Great Britain.
Average, 10 Qns, jonnowales, Aug 13 24
Average
jonnowales gold member
Aug 13 24
939 plays
6.
  Groundwater    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
You might know a thing or two about rocks (geology) but how much do you know about the science of hydrogeology, that is, underground water or groundwater?
Tough, 10 Qns, GAMM, Oct 25 20
Tough
GAMM
Oct 25 20
1641 plays
7.
  Ocean Surface Waves    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The oceans cover about 70% of the Earth's surface. Waves cover the surface of the oceans and give us much joy as they approach the beach. This quiz covers the phenomenon of ocean surface waves.
Average, 10 Qns, MAK13, Jun 13 24
Average
MAK13
Jun 13 24
189 plays
8.
  When Good Lakes Go Bad    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Crater lakes are an extremely rare phenomenon. This is a quiz about them, which is aptly named, as many crater lakes have caused a lot of death and heartache over the years.
Very Difficult, 10 Qns, Flynn_17, Oct 25 20
Very Difficult
Flynn_17
Oct 25 20
2090 plays
9.
  The World's Currents    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The ocean and its currents play a major role in our weather. What do you know about some of them and how they may affect our world?
Tough, 10 Qns, umpolo, Oct 25 20
Tough
umpolo
Oct 25 20
995 plays
trivia question Quick Question
What is the name of the scientific device used to sample water?

From Quiz "Oceancetera, etc."





Hydrology Trivia Questions
1. What causes waves commonly seen on the surface of a lake, a sea or an ocean?

From Quiz Ocean Surface Waves

Answer: Wind blowing over the surface

The wind blowing over long unobstructed distances and over long periods of time leads to the formation of the ocean surface waves, also known as wind waves.

2. Different parts of the world experience a different number of tides each day. The most common cycle is two highs and two lows each day. What is this type of tide cycle called?

From Quiz Changing of the Tides

Answer: Semi-diurnal

Semi-diurnal is two lows and two highs per day, usually of equal height. If the like tides are of unequal height, that's known as a "mixed" tide.

3. Which dissolved gas is essential to most life in our rivers?

From Quiz There's Chemistry in our Rivers!

Answer: Oxygen (O2)

Oxygen is required by almost all organisms (e.g. mammals, fish, invertebrates) for respiration. Some bacteria actually thrive in oxygen-free conditions.

4. What compass direction are the waves coming from that affect the south coast of Britain?

From Quiz Basic Theory of Longshore Drift

Answer: South Westerly

On Britain's southern coast, waves come in at a 45 degree angle from a south westerly direction. It changes when it is the northern coastline.

5. Rock or sediment that contains groundwater is called an ...?

From Quiz Groundwater

Answer: Aquifer

There are a number of other acceptable answers, such as aquitard (rock that slows groundwater flow) and aquiclude (rock that contains water, but absorbs and transmits it slowly). An aquifuge does not transmit or absorb water.

6. What is the science that studies the ocean called?

From Quiz Oceancetera, etc.

Answer: Oceanography

This science includes marine animals, plants, weather, currents, and everything else related to the ocean.

7. What is the warmest ocean and the warmest sea?

From Quiz Oceancetera

Answer: Indian, Red

This sea is part of the Great Rift Valley.

8. What synonym for "get" is also the technical term for the unobstructed distance wind blows over the ocean?

From Quiz Ocean Surface Waves

Answer: Fetch

Fetch is the unobstructed distance wind blows over the ocean surface and determines the amount of energy transferred from the wind to the water surface to generate waves.

9. Earth's tides are caused by the influence of celestial bodies. Which body has the greatest influence on tides?

From Quiz Changing of the Tides

Answer: Moon

Although the Sun has a greater gravitational force on the Earth, it's also much farther away than the Moon, so the Moon is the dominant cause of Earth's tides. The Sun's effect on Earth's tides is less than half that of the Moon.

10. At what angle do swash waves come in on the British coastline?

From Quiz Basic Theory of Longshore Drift

Answer: 45 degrees

On any coastline of Britain the swash will come in at 45 degrees. The swash wave is the incoming wave which when at its peak can erode most substances.

11. There are seven major currents in the world. The currents in the Northern Hemisphere rotate clockwise, while the ones in the Southern Hemisphere rotate counter-clockwise. What is the term used to explain this phenomenon?

From Quiz The World's Currents

Answer: Coriolis Effect

The Coriolis Effect is named after a 19th Century scientist who described the inertial force that the earth's rotation caused on our oceans' currents as well as other moving objects.

12. What term describes the infiltration of water from the surface to the water table?

From Quiz Groundwater

Answer: Recharge

Recharge can occur from the infiltration of rainfall, river/pond leakage, or even artificially by injection wells or specially designed recharge pits.

13. The most abundant element in the universe makes up almost two-thirds of the atoms in the ocean. What is it?

From Quiz Oceancetera, etc.

Answer: hydrogen

Scientists believe that hydrogen was created with the Big Bang.

14. Scientists have found balls on the abyssal seafloor. What are they made of?

From Quiz Oceancetera

Answer: manganese

These balls are formed around organic material that has drifted to the seafloor, usually around a shark tooth, which are plentiful as sharks have a lifetime supply of teeth that rotate in as a tooth is lost. There is no way, currently, to harvest these balls for commercial use.

15. At which part of the wave is the speed of the particles in a wave the highest?

From Quiz Ocean Surface Waves

Answer: At the still water level

The particles under a wave are subjected to an up-and-down motion. At the highest point, the crest, the particles change the direction of motion. The speed here is then zero. The same is valid for the lowest point, the trough. At the still water level, the particles continue their motion in the direction they are travelling (either up or down) and have their highest speed.

16. Tides tend to have the greatest range (height between successive highs and lows) when the Moon is in certain phases. Which phases are these?

From Quiz Changing of the Tides

Answer: New and Full

When the Moon is full or new, it is in line with the Sun, so that both of those celestial bodies are pulling together on the Earth.

17. If the incoming wave is called a swash wave, what is the outgoing wave called?

From Quiz Basic Theory of Longshore Drift

Answer: Backwash

This catches high school students and adults alike, there is no 's', backwash, quite confusing!

18. One of the most photographed crater lake series in the world is 'Tiwo Nua Muri Koohi Fah', which is located atop the Keli Mutu volcano, in Flores, Indonesia. But what does the name of this series of crater lakes actually mean?

From Quiz When Good Lakes Go Bad

Answer: The lake of young men and maidens

This is a very interesting area, as there are three crater lakes all in a very small area, two of which are connected. All have a different colour and pH.

19. What is the name of the current that flows by the Gulf of Alaska and brings cold water down the western coast of the USA?

From Quiz The World's Currents

Answer: The California Current

The California Current brings cold water from the Gulf of Alaska, down the coast of California, which all eventually cycles back to the Gulf via the North Equatorial Current, to the Kuroshio Current, and returns to the North Pacific Current.

20. New communities have been found near hydrothermal vents located deep on the ocean floor. How do scientists believe life exists in these areas?

From Quiz Oceancetera, etc.

Answer: chemosynthesis

The life forms near the hydrothermal vents rely on the chemicals produced by volcanic action. Since these areas are devoid of light, most of the animals living in this environment rely on bioluminescence to find mates and food.

21. Some oceans are continually growing. This is due to?

From Quiz Oceancetera

Answer: seafloor spreading

Since the beginning of the planet, the ocean geography has changed radically.

22. What is the process in which waves approaching the coast increase in height called?

From Quiz Ocean Surface Waves

Answer: Shoaling

Shoaling is the process that results in the increase of the wave height near the coast. Waves in shallower water move slower than waves in deeper water. The energy from the faster waves "catch up" with the waves in the front and result in increased wave heights.

23. When the Moon is at first quarter and third quarter, tides tend to have the least range (height between successive high and low). What are these "lower" tides called?

From Quiz Changing of the Tides

Answer: Neap

At first and third quarter Moon, the Sun is approximately 90 degrees from the Moon. Thus, the force of the Sun tends to "flatten" the bulge of water caused by the Moon.

24. In a well-oxygenated water column, manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe) are most commonly found in which oxidation states?

From Quiz There's Chemistry in our Rivers!

Answer: IV and III

When O2 is present, metals are usually in their highest common oxidation states. For both metals, this results in solid substances - iron(III) oxide and manganese(IV) oxide.

25. At what angle does an outgoing wave enter the sea?

From Quiz Basic Theory of Longshore Drift

Answer: 90 degrees

The backwash re-enters the sea at 90 degrees, usually taking material such as sand with it.

26. Lake Taal is situated in the caldera of the Taal volcano in the Philippines. It almost fills the 18-mile diameter of the caldera, but there is something more unusual about Lake Taal. What is it?

From Quiz When Good Lakes Go Bad

Answer: Lake Taal contains a small island, which itself has a crater lake.

Lake Taal does, in fact, have a large island in the middle of it, which is called 'Volcano Island'. It does have a small crater lake in it, but nothing compared to the size of Lake Taal. The Taal volcano last erupted in 1965, causing large explosion craters to form around its base.

27. What is the pressure boundary layer between the oceans' surface layer and deep waters called?

From Quiz The World's Currents

Answer: Pycnocline

Pycnocline means rapid change in density. Its depth is determined by temperature and salinity but is usually only a few hundred meters deep.

28. What is the name for the lowering of the water table by pumping, to allow excavation of a mine?

From Quiz Groundwater

Answer: Dewatering

Dewatering is a vital consideration for any mine that must excavate below the water table, and can be quite costly to run 24/7.

29. In early marine history, what group of people made the longest voyages?

From Quiz Oceancetera, etc.

Answer: The Polynesians

The Polynesians started from the islands now called the Philippines, and inhabited islands as far north as Hawaii, and as far west as Easter Island. These voyages were taken without navigation aids, or any other scientific means.

30. What happens to the speed of the waves when they move from deep to shallow water?

From Quiz Ocean Surface Waves

Answer: Waves move more slowly

The waves feel the effect of the sea bed as they move from deep to shallow water. This results in the waves moving slower in shallow water compared to deep water.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:54 AM
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