The Oceans

Basics

3. Gases from phytoplankton

Worksheet 1

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Can you answer the following questions?

1) Phytoplankton are microscopic...

a) animals living in water
b) plants living in water
c) plants living in the air
d) animals living in the air

2) Dimethyl sulphide (DMS) is a...

a) gas emitted from seawater
b) saltwater fish
c) phytoplankton
d) jellyfish living in the oceans

3) DMS is formed through...

a) combustion of fossil fuels
b) breakdown of a salt present in seawater
c) depletion of the ozone layer
d) breakdown of a chemical produced by phytoplankton

4) Which statement about dimethyl sulphoniopropionate (DMSP) is correct?

a) DMSP is produced by the breakdown of DMS
b) DMSP is found in cells of fish fins
c) DMSP is found in the cells of many species of phytoplankton
d) DMSP is absorbed by seawater from the atmosphere

5) Which statement about dimethyl sulphide (DMS) is correct?

a) DMS cannot enter the atmosphere
b) DMS is found in cells of fish fins
c) DMS is absorbed by seawater from the atmosphere
d) DMS is produced by the breakdown of DMSP

6) Which statement about DMS in seawater is not correct?

a) DMS can escape from seawater and enter the air
b) DMS can be consumed by bacteria in seawater
c) DMS breaks down into DMSP
d) DMS can be converted to other chemical species in seawater

7) DMS is a natural source of sulphur to the air. Humans also emit sulphur-containing gases into the air by burning fossil fuels. The amount of sulphur emitted from oceans is...

a) about the same amount as people emit
b) about ten times the amount emitted by people
c) we do not know the amount of sulphur emitted from the oceans
d) only an tiny fraction of the total amount emitted by people

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About this page:

authors: Dr. Ellen K. Henriksen and Camilla Schreiner - University of Oslo, Norway
scientific reviewer: Dr. Lucinda Spokes - Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, U.K.
quiz programmer: Julia Heres - University of Nürnberg, Germany
Last update: 2004-03-27.