This is an interactive test. Read each question and select the proper answer by clicking on the appropriate answer. If a "Y" appears, your choice is correct. If a "N" appears, more study may be in order.
4: Gyrocompass repeaters reproduce the indications of the master gyrocompass. They are __________.
N a. accurate only in the Polar regions Y b. accurate electronic servomechanisms N c. hand operated N d. accurate only if the vessel is underway 23: If Loran-C signals become unsynchronized, the receiver operator is warned because __________.
Y a. signals begin to blink N b. signals begin to shift N c. stations discontinue transmission N d. stations transmit grass 44: The speed of sound through ocean water is nearly always __________.
Y a. faster than the speed of calibration for the fathometer N b. the same speed as the speed of calibration for the fathometer N c. slower than the speed of calibration for the fathometer N d. faster than the speed of calibration for the fathometer, unless the water is very warm 101: A lighted preferred-channel buoy may show a __________.
N a. fixed red light N b. Morse (A) white light Y c. composite group-flashing light N d. yellow light 133: The line connecting the Loran-C master station with a secondary station is called the __________.
N a. focus line Y b. base line N c. side line N d. center line 152: A chart with a natural scale of 1:160,000 is classified as a __________.
N a. sailing chart Y b. general chart N c. coast chart N d. harbor chart 157: Tropic tides are caused by the __________.
Y a. Moon being at its maximum declination N b. Moon crossing the equator N c. Sun and Moon both being near 0° declination N d. Moon being at perigee 166: On the pole side of the high pressure belt in each hemisphere, the pressure diminishes. The winds along these gradients are diverted by the Earth's rotation toward the east and are known as the __________.
N a. geostrophic winds N b. doldrums N c. horse latitudes Y d. prevailing westerlies 186: In the doldrums you will NOT have __________.
N a. high relative humidity N b. frequent showers and thunderstorms Y c. steep pressure gradients N d. frequent calms 242: The difference between the heights of low and high tide is the __________.
Y a. range N b. period N c. depth N d. distance 286: On the pole side of the trade wind belt, there is an area of high pressure with weak pressure gradients and light, variable winds. This area is called the __________.
N a. prevailing westerlies N b. geostrophic winds N c. doldrums Y d. horse latitudes 380: Prevailing winds between 30°N and 60°N latitude are from the __________.
N a. east Y b. west N c. north N d. south 514: What instrument measures wind velocity?
N a. Hydrometer N b. Barometer N c. Psychrometer Y d. Anemometer 520: On charts of U.S. waters, a magenta marking is NOT used for marking a __________.
Y a. 5-fathom curve N b. prohibited area N c. lighted buoy N d. radio beacon 562: You wish to measure the distance on a Mercator chart between a point in latitude 42°30'N and a point in latitude 40°30'N. To measure 30 miles at a time you should set the points of the dividers at __________.
Y a. 41°15' and 41°45' N b. 41°45' and 42°15' N c. 42°15' and 42°45' N d. 42°00' and 42°30' 725: The First Point of Aries is the position of the Sun on the celestial sphere on or about __________.
Y a. March 21 N b. June 21 N c. September 21 N d. December 21 799: In Region A of the IALA Buoyage System, when entering from seaward, the starboard side of a channel would be marked by a __________.
N a. green can buoy N b. red can buoy Y c. green conical buoy N d. red conical buoy 870: Vessels should maintain a sharp lookout, especially during December through March, when navigating the right whale's only known calving grounds which lie off the coasts of __________.
N a. Nova Scotia N b. Maine and Massachusetts Y c. Georgia and NE Florida N d. California and Mexico 940: What is the length of a nautical mile?
Y a. 6,076 feet N b. 5,280 feet N c. 2,000 yards N d. 1,850 meters 952: What is TRUE concerning new editions of Light Lists?
N a. Supplements to new editions are issued monthly by the U.S. Coast Guard. N b. New editions are published by the National Ocean Service. Y c. New editions are corrected through the date shown on the title page. N d. None of the above 1019: You are preparing a weather report form, WS Form B-80. The dry bulb thermometer reads 30°F (-1°), and the wet bulb thermometer reads 28°F (-2°C). Using the Ships Code Card, how would you encode the air temperature groups in the report? (D041NG )
N a. 10011, 2003/ N b. 11300, 2124/ N c. 11011, 2124/ Y d. 11011, 2104/ 1020: The Light List shows that a navigational light has a nominal range of 6 miles and a height above water of 18 feet (5.5 meters). Your height of eye is 40 feet (12.2 meters) and the visibility is 27.0 miles. At which approximate range will you first sight the light?
N a. 5.6 miles N b. 6.4 miles Y c. 9.8 miles N d. 12.1 miles 1055: The radius of a circle of equal altitude for a body equals the body's __________.
N a. declination N b. polar distance N c. altitude Y d. zenith distance 1142: Which weather conditions would you expect to find 100 miles East of position "B"? (D049NG )
N a. Winds NW at 20.5 knots, steady warm temperature, high seas N b. Winds calm, falling temperature, clear skies, high seas Y c. Winds WSW, steady temperature, scattered clouds, moderate seas N d. None of the above 1151: Buoys are marked with reflective material to assist in their detection by searchlight. Which statement is TRUE?
N a. A safe-water buoy will display red and white vertical stripes of reflective material. N b. All reflective material is white because it is the most visible at night. N c. A special-purpose mark will display either red or green reflective material to agree with its shape. Y d. A preferred-channel buoy displays either red or green reflective material to agree with the top band of color. 1155: Which aid is NOT marked on a chart with a magenta circle?
N a. Radar station Y b. Aero light N c. Radio beacon N d. Radar transponder beacon 1364: The Sailing Directions are published in the Enroute format and the __________.
N a. Coastal editions N b. World Port Index N c. Pilot format Y d. Planning Guide 1391: When a light is first seen on the horizon it will disappear again if the height of eye is immediately lowered several feet. When the eye is raised to its former height the light will again be visible. This process is called __________.
N a. checking a light N b. raising a light N c. obscuring a light Y d. bobbing a light 1417: Determine the first time after 1200 EST (ZD +5) when the velocity of the current will be 0.5 knot on 18 November 1983, at Marcus Hook, PA.
N a. 1221 N b. 1226 Y c. 1239 N d. 1312 1427: Determine the duration of the first PM slack water on 3 March 1983, east of the Statue of Liberty, when the current is less than 0.1 knot?
N a. 10 minutes Y b. 13 minutes N c. 16 minutes N d. 19 minutes 1438: In the Northern Hemisphere you are caught in the dangerous semicircle of a storm with plenty of sea room available. The best course of action is to bring the wind on the __________.
N a. port quarter and make as much headway as possible N b. starboard quarter and make as much headway as possible Y c. starboard bow and make as much headway as possible N d. port bow and make as much headway as possible 1570: The navigational triangle uses parts of two systems of coordinates, one of which is the horizon system and the other is the __________.
N a. terrestrial system N b. astronautical system Y c. celestial equator system N d. ecliptic system 1572: Generally speaking, in the Northern Hemisphere, when winds are blowing from between SE and SW the barometric reading __________.
N a. makes no change at all Y b. is somewhat lower than it would be for winds from a northern quadrant N c. is uncertain and may fluctuate by increasing and decreasing N d. is somewhat higher than it would be for winds from the northern quadrant 1593: Apparent altitude is sextant altitude corrected for __________.
N a. parallax and personal error Y b. inaccuracies in the reading and reference level N c. visibility and magnitude N d. All of the above are correct 1666: The process by which the temperature and/or moisture characteristics of an air mass changes is called __________.
N a. sublimation or condensation Y b. modification N c. consolidation N d. association 1690: In regions near the poles, the winds are generally described as __________.
N a. westerlies Y b. easterlies N c. northerlies N d. southerlies 1713: When a tornado moves over the water from land it is called a __________.
N a. tornado Y b. waterspout N c. hurricane N d. cyclone 1793: Which weather element cannot be measured accurately while on board a moving vessel?
N a. relative humidity N b. temperature Y c. true wind speed N d. atmospheric pressure 1925: Above-normal tides near the center of a hurricane may be caused by the __________.
N a. high barometric pressure N b. jet stream Y c. storm surge N d. torrential rains 1954: In the horizon system of coordinates what is equivalent to the poles on the Earth?
N a. Celestial poles Y b. Zenith, nadir N c. Ecliptic poles N d. Nodes 1964: The great circle on the celestial sphere that passes through the zenith and the north and south poles is the __________.
N a. hour circle N b. prime vertical Y c. principal vertical N d. ecliptic 2091: The velocity of the current in large coastal harbors is __________.
N a. unpredictable N b. generally constant N c. generally too weak to be of concern Y d. predicted in Tidal Current Tables 2258: The primary use of apparent time in marine navigation is to __________.
N a. calculate sunrise or sunset N b. determine zone time N c. enter an almanac Y d. determine the time of meridian transit 2312: Mars is only seen at two phases, one of which __________.
Y a. is the full phase N b. is conjunction N c. occurs only at sunset or sunrise N d. occurs at or near 0° elongation 2358: Altair is found in what constellation?
N a. Hercules N b. Cygnus Y c. Aquila N d. Capricorn 2360: What U.S. agency is responsible for NAVAREA warnings?
N a. Coast Guard N b. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration N c. National Ocean Service Y d. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency 2370: In the United States, short-range radio navigational warnings are broadcast by the __________.
Y a. Coast Guard N b. Corps of Engineers N c. NOAA N d. harbor master of the nearest port 2400: You are in a channel in U.S. waters near an industrial plant with a load/discharge facility for barges. You see an emergency rotating flashing light on the facility light up. What does this indicate?
N a. A barge at the facility has commenced transferring a hazardous cargo. N b. A barge carrying a hazardous cargo is mooring or unmooring at the facility. N c. The facility is warning a barge to shut down transfer operations due to weather conditions (electrical storm, tornado, hurricane, etc.). Y d. There is danger at the facility due to a fire or cargo release. 2482: When a vessel changes course from one cardinal heading to another cardinal heading while adjusting the compass, which action should be taken?
N a. The course change should be made rapidly to prevent transient induced magnetism while passing the intercardinal headings. Y b. After the new heading is reached, the vessel should steam on that course for at least two minutes before the adjustment. N c. During the course change, you should gently tap the compass to remove any error caused by friction on the pivot bearing. N d. After steadying on the new heading, the compass card should be slewed by a magnet and allowed to oscillate freely to remove any gaussin error. 2567: When outbound from a U.S. port, a buoy displaying a flashing red light indicates __________.
N a. a sharp turn in the channel to the right N b. a wreck to be left on the vessel's starboard side N c. a junction with the preferred channel to the left Y d. the port side of the channel 2650: In the celestial equator system of coordinates what is equivalent to the colatitude of the Earth system of coordinates?
N a. Coaltitude N b. Zenith distance Y c. Polar distance N d. Declination 2668: You are approaching a drawbridge and have sounded the request-for-opening signal. The bridge has responded with five short blasts. What reply should you sound?
N a. None; No reply is required Y b. Five short blasts N c. Two prolonged blasts N d. One prolonged, one short blast 2698: You must draw a plotting sheet covering latitudes 38°N to 41°N and longitudes 179°E to 178°W. If the distance between each degree of longitude is 4 inches, what is the distance between latitude 38°N and latitude 41°N?
N a. 15.00 inches Y b. 15.49 inches N c. 15.75 inches N d. 16.25 inches 2801: Mean high water is used __________.
N a. as the reference for soundings on the Gulf coast of the U.S. Y b. to indicate the shoreline where there is a large tidal fluctuation N c. as the reference plane for bottom contour lines N d. as the sounding datum for rivers, lakes, etc. regulated by locks 2851: You determine your vessel's position by taking a range and bearing to a buoy. Your position will be plotted as a(n) __________.
N a. dead-reckoning position Y b. estimated position N c. running fix N d. fix 2891: Twenty-three meters equals __________.
N a. 17.50 feet Y b. 75.46 feet N c. 96.00 feet N d. 104.99 feet 3012: The draw span of a floating drawbridge may be marked with __________.
Y a. a yellow light showing Morse Code (B) N b. a yellow and white diamond N c. flashing blue lights N d. three red lights on each side of the draw 3032: The direction in which a vessel is steered is the course. The path actually followed is the __________.
N a. route N b. track N c. heading Y d. course over the ground 3091: Which of the following must an ECDIS system be able to perform?
N a. Conversion of "graphical coordinates" to "display coordinates" N b. Transformation of local datum to WGS-'84 datum N c. Calculation of true azimuth and distance between two geographical points Y d. All of the above 3117: With respect to automatic identification systems (AIS), which information is required to be broadcast every 1 to 10 seconds?
Y a. Time stamp N b. IMO number N c. Type of vessel N d. Vessel's maximum displacement