U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of ...Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G....

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U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam

Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage

Q114 Navigation General – Oceans

(Sample Examination)

of 18 Q114 Navigation General – Oceans

8/29/2019

Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2

Choose the best answer to the following Multiple Choice questions.

1. Which publication contains information on Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping (NCAGS) in time of emergency or war?

• (A) Pub. 117, Radio Navigational Aids o (B) Light List o (C) Appropriate volume of the Sailing Directions o (D) Pub. 102, International Code of Signals

If choice A is selected set score to 1.

2. During one synodic rotation, a body makes one complete turn relative to the __________.

o (A) Earth • (B) Sun o (C) vernal equinox o (D) stars

If choice B is selected set score to 1.

3. When does a Doppler speed log indicate speed over ground?

o (A) The unit can only speed over ground when there is no current o (B) When the unit is in the volume reverberation mode • (C) When senseing the bottom in depths of less than 600 feet o (D) At all times

If choice C is selected set score to 1.

4. While navigating in fog off a coastline of steep cliffs, you hear the echo of the ships fog horn 3 1/2 seconds after the signal was sounded. What is the distance to the shore?

o (A) 480 yards o (B) 143 yards o (C) 315 yards • (D) 640 yards

If choice D is selected set score to 1.

5. What is the function of a red triangular daymark?

o (A) To mark a prominent object of navigational interest • (B) To indicate the starboard side of a channel o (C) To mark an area of a channel where passing is permitted o (D) To mark the centerline of a navigable channel



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Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2 6. You are underway on course 328°T when you sight a buoy broad on your port bow. Which would

indicate that you are in the best navigable water?

o (A) The buoy is painted yellow on the top half and black on the bottom o (B) The buoy is a western quadrant buoy • (C) The buoy exhibits a light with the characteristic of VQ(3)5s o (D) The buoy has a topmark of two cones with points down


7. Your ship is proceeding on course 320°T at a speed of 25 knots. The apparent wind is from 30° off the starboard bow, speed 32 knots. What is the relative direction, true direction and speed of the true wind?

o (A) Relative 40°, true 080°T, 16.4 knots o (B) Relative 60°, true 040°T, 18.6 knots o (C) Relative 80°, true 060°T, 15.2 knots • (D) Relative 80°, true 040°T, 16.2 knots


8. Safe water buoys may show ONLY which type of light?

o (A) flashing red lights o (B) yellow lights o (C) flashing green lights • (D) white lights


9. The four standard light colors used for lighted aids to navigation are red, green, white, and __________.

o (A) purple o (B) blue • (C) yellow o (D) orange



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Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2 10. Which term is used to describe the time interval between successive wave crests?

• (A) Period o (B) Frequency o (C) Epoch o (D) Trough


11. A body can only be observed at lower transit when __________.

o (A) the algebraic sum of the colatitude and declination exceeds 90° • (B) the body is circumpolar o (C) the observer is in high latitudes above either polar circle o (D) the declination is the opposite name to the latitude


12. Where would you expect to find channels marked with the IALA-A Buoyage System?

• (A) India o (B) Argentina o (C) Japan o (D) Canada


13. In most cases, the direction of the apparent wind lies between the bow and which reference point?

o (A) The beam on the windward side • (B) The direction of the true wind o (C) The beam on the lee side o (D) The true north


14. Which is a nonadjustable error of the sextant?

o (A) Side error • (B) Centering error o (C) Error of collimation o (D) Error of perpendicularity



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Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2 15. The survey information upon which a chart is based is found at which location?

o (A) At the lower left corner o (B) At any convenient location • (C) Near the chart title o (D) At the top center of the next line


16. Which position includes the effects of wind and current?

o (A) Leeway position • (B) Estimated position o (C) Set position o (D) Dead reckoning position


17. You are underway on course 050°T and your maximum speed is 11 knots. The eye of a hurricane bears 070°T, 80 miles from your position. The hurricane is moving towards 270°T at 19 knots. If you maneuver at 11 knots to avoid the hurricane, what could be the maximum CPA?

o (A) 74 miles o (B) 79 miles o (C) 84 miles • (D) 66 miles


18. What is the name of the region of high pressure extending around the Earth at about 35°N latitude?

o (A) The doldrums o (B) The troposphere o (C) The prevailing westerlies • (D) The horse latitudes


19. What is the characteristic of a quick light?

• (A) Shows not less than 60 flashes per minute o (B) Shows groups of 2 or more flashes at regular intervals o (C) Shows quick flashes for about 5 seconds followed by a 1 second dark period o (D) Durations of light and darkness are equal



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Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2 20. What is the primary source of the earth's weather?

o (A) The solar system • (B) The sun o (C) The moon o (D) The oceans


21. How are clouds formed?

o (A) As winds blow across bodies of water, the sun causes the moisture to be absorbed and move upward forming clouds

• (B) As a mass of warm, humid air rises into the atmosphere and cools, condensing moisture into small droplets

o (C) Only when the relative humidity of the atmosphere is low o (D) Dry air compresses moisture from the atmosphere into clouds


22. The owner or Master of a towing vessel shall ensure that each person that directs and controls the movement of the vessel can accomplish all of the following EXCEPT _________.

o (A) enter all required test and inspection results in the vessel's log or other record carried on board

• (B) reduce speed only where local speed limits are posted o (C) evaluate the danger of each closing visual or radar contact o (D) adjust speed with due regard for the weather and visibility


23. You are steering 173°T, and a light is picked up dead ahead at a distance of 13.9 miles at 0054. You change course to pass the light 4.5 miles off abeam to port. If you are making 21 knots, what is your ETA at the position 4.5 miles off the light?

o (A) 0122 o (B) 0134 • (C) 0131 o (D) 0125


24. The compass rose on a nautical chart indicates both variation and which other information?

• (A) Annual rate of variation change o (B) Compass error o (C) Annual rate of precession change o (D) Deviation



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Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2 25. Which two channels does an automatic identification system (AIS) transponder use to transmit and

receive information broadcasts?

• (A) 161.975 Mhz and 162.025 Mhz o (B) 3000 Mhz and 9200 Mhz o (C) 2182 Khz and 2187.5 Khz o (D) 1575.42 Mhz and 1227.6 Mhz


26. Which location is a source for an air mass labeled mTw?

o (A) The equator • (B) The Gulf of Mexico o (C) Alaska o (D) Canada


27. When within 300 miles of a named tropical storm or hurricane, it is standard practice to send weather reports at which time interval?

o (A) Every 6 hours • (B) Every 3 hours o (C) Every hour o (D) Every 8 hours


28. In a microbarograph, when should the pen be checked and the inkwell filled?

• (A) Each time the chart is changed o (B) Daily o (C) Once per week o (D) Once per month


29. Your vessel is on course 180°T speed 22 knots. The apparent wind is from 70° off the port bow, speed 20 knots. What are the true direction and speed of the wind?

o (A) 45°T, 21.0 knots • (B) 51°T, 24.0 knots o (C) 58°T, 21.2 knots o (D) 64°T, 26.0 knots



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Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2 30. Which term is given to a tornado moves over the water from land?

o (A) A cyclone • (B) A waterspout o (C) A hurricane o (D) A tornado


31. Under the U.S. Aids to Navigation System, a special mark possesses which of the following characteristics?

o (A) Must be lighted with a fixed or flashing white light o (B) May show a light with the Morse code "A" rhythm • (C) May show a yellow light with a flashing rhythm o (D) Must be lighted with a yellow isophase light


32. Civil twilight occurs at 0558 zone time on 30 December. Your DR position at that time is LAT 15°02'N, LONG 46°02'W. Which statement concerning the planets available for morning sights is TRUE?

• (A) At 0558, Mars can be used for an ex-meridian observation. o (B) Venus, Jupiter, and Mars sights will yield a good three line fix. o (C) Saturn will be near the prime vertical. o (D) Venus will be visible low in the western sky.


33. The Humboldt Current flows in which direction?

o (A) East o (B) South o (C) West • (D) North


34. What is the distance from the bottom of a wave trough to the top of a wave crest?

o (A) Wave depth o (B) Wave length • (C) Wave height o (D) Wave breadth



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Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2 35. Your vessel is participating in the Voluntary Observing Ship Program, you are preparing WS Form B-

80 as seen in illustration D041NG below. The dry bulb thermometer reads 34°F and the wet bulb thermometer reads 31°F. How would you encode the air temperature groups in the report?

o (A) 10111, 2104/ o (B) 10340, 2031/ o (C) 10340, 2127/ • (D) 10011, 2104/


36. Under the IALA cardinal system, a mark with a quick light showing 9 flashes every 15 seconds indicates that the safest water is on which side of the mark?

o (A) The north side of the mark o (B) The east side of the mark • (C) The west side of the mark o (D) The south side of the mark


37. What is the length of a nautical mile?

o (A) 5,280 feet o (B) 1,800 meters • (C) 6,076 feet o (D) 2,000 yards


38. How can the accuracy of an azimuth circle be checked?

o (A) sighting a terrestrial range in line and comparing the observed bearing against the charted bearing

o (B) ensuring that the alignment marks on the inner face of the circle are in line with those on the repeater on relative bearings of 000° and 090°

o (C) aligning the relative bearing markings so that 000° is on the lubber's line and the line of sight passes over the center of the compass

• (D) comparing observed azimuths at different altitudes with computed values at the times of observation to see if the difference is constant



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Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2 39. You are inbound in a channel marked by a range. The range line is 133° T. You are steering 129° T

and have the range in sight as shown in illustration D048NG below. Which action should you take?

o (A) Immediately alter course to 133° T if the range is closing. o (B) Continue on the present heading until the range is in line then alter course to the right. o (C) Immediately alter course to the left to bring the range in line. • (D) Immediately alter course to the right to bring the range in line.


40. The daily path of a celestial body that is parallel to the celestial equator is the __________.

o (A) altitude circle • (B) diurnal circle o (C) hour circle o (D) vertical circle


41. Which towing vessel(s) is/are exempt from carrying radar?

o (A) A vessel exempted, in writing, by the Captain of the Port. o (B) A vessel used solely in a limited area, such as a barge fleeting area. o (C) A vessel used solely for pollution response or assistance towing. • (D) All of the above


42. The chart indicates the variation was 3°45'W in 1988, and the annual change is decreasing 6'. If you use the chart in 1991 how much variation should you apply?

• (A) 3°27'W o (B) 3°27'E o (C) 4°03'W o (D) 4°03'E


43. A single line of position combined with a dead-reckoning position results in a(n) __________.

o (A) running fix o (B) fix o (C) assumed position • (D) estimated position



8/29/2019

Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2 44. Which condition(s) is(are) necessary for the formation of dew?

• (A) Clear skies o (B) Moderate wind o (C) A surface warmer than the dew point of the air o (D) Available nuclei in the air


45. You are in a buoyed channel at night and pass a lighted buoy with an irregular characteristic. Who should you report this to?

• (A) The Coast Guard o (B) The Corps of Engineers o (C) The harbor master o (D) The National Ocean Service


46. To avoid error, how should you read the scale of an aneroid barometer?

• (A) With your eye directly in front of the pointer o (B) With your eye slightly above the meniscus o (C) With your eye to the left of the pointer o (D) With your eye to the right of the pointer


47. What is the MOST important feature of the material used for making the binnacle of a standard magnetic compass?

• (A) It must be nonmagnetic o (B) It must be corrosion resistant o (C) It must be permanently affixed to the vessel o (D) It must be weatherproof


48. A Doppler log in the volume reverberation mode indicates __________.

o (A) the depth of the water o (B) the set of the current • (C) speed through the water o (D) speed being made good



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Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2 49. A millibar is a unit of measure for which of the following?

o (A) Humidity o (B) Temperature o (C) Precipitation • (D) Pressure


50. What does the expression "the air is saturated" mean?

• (A) The relative humidity is 100% o (B) The precipitation has commenced o (C) The cloud cover is 100% o (D) The vapor pressure is at its minimum for the prevailing temperature


51. Your vessel is proceeding up a channel, and you see a pair of range lights that are in line ahead. The chart indicates that the direction of this pair of lights is 311°T, and the variation is 8°E. If the heading of your vessel at the time of the sighting is 305° per standard magnetic compass, what is the correct deviation?

o (A) 2°E • (B) 2°W o (C) 6°E o (D) 6°W


52. The summer solstice is the point where the Sun is at __________.

o (A) 0° declination going to southerly declinations • (B) maximum declination north o (C) 0° declination going to northerly declinations o (D) maximum declination south


53. What results when warm moist air blows over a colder surface and is cooled below its dew point?

o (A) Frost smoke • (B) Advection fog o (C) Ice fog o (D) Radiation fog



8/29/2019

Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2 54. A weather forecast states that the wind will commence backing. What does this indicate if you are in

the Northern Hemisphere?

• (A) The wind will shift in a counterclockwise manner o (B) The wind will shift in a clockwise manner o (C) The wind will decrease in velocity o (D) The wind will continue blowing from the same direction


55. In a tropical cyclone in the Northern Hemisphere, a vessel hove to with the wind shifting counterclockwise would be in which location?

o (A) Ahead of the storm o (B) Directly in the path of the center o (C) In the dangerous semicircle • (D) In the navigable semicircle


56. Where can complete information on weather broadcasts throughout the world be found?

o (A) The Amver worldwide voluntary reporting system o (B) The Coast Pilot Volume 2 • (C) The Selected Worldwide Marine Weather Broadcasts o (D) The Notice to Mariners


57. Which frontal system occurs when a cold air mass and a warm air mass meet, and there is no horizontal motion of either air mass?

• (A) A stationary front o (B) A cold front o (C) A warm front o (D) An occluded front


58. Which of the following describes gyrocompass repeaters which reproduce the indications of the master gyrocompass?

o (A) They are hand operated o (B) They are accurate only in the Polar regions o (C) They are accurate only if the vessel is underway • (D) They are accurate electronic servomechanisms



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Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2 59. On 25 December you observe the Sun's lower limb. The sextant altitude (hs) is 4°06.9'. The height

of eye is 47 feet and the index error is 1.6' on the arc. The temperature is 19°F and the barometer reads 1030.8 millibars. What is the observed altitude (Ho)?

o (A) 3°57.4' • (B) 4°01.9' o (C) 4°02.5' o (D) 4°03.4'


60. When a dual purpose marking is used, how should the mariner following the Intracoastal Waterway be guided?

o (A) By the color of the top band • (B) By the shape of the yellow mark o (C) By the color of the aid o (D) By the shape of the aid


61. On navigational aids, what does the light characteristic "Fl(2+1)" mean?

• (A) Light flashes combined in groups, with a different number of flashes in each group o (B) A light showing groups of two or more flashes at regular intervals o (C) A flashing light combined with a fixed light of greater brightness o (D) A fixed light varied at regular intervals by groups of two or more flashes of greater brightness


62. What is the standard time meridian for zone description -1?

o (A) 0° o (B) 7 1/2°W o (C) 7 1/2°E • (D) 15°E


63. Yesterday your chronometer read 03h 01m 56s at the 1500 GMT time tick. Today your chronometer read 03h 01m 54s at the 1500 GMT time tick. What is the chronometer rate?

o (A) 1m 54s fast o (B) +2s o (C) 2s fast • (D) -2s



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Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2 64. If an observer in the Northern Hemisphere faces the surface wind, where is the center of low

pressure located?

• (A) To the right, and slightly behind o (B) To the left, and slightly behind o (C) To the right, and slightly in front o (D) To the left, and slightly in front


65. Under the IALA Buoyage Systems, which is TRUE of safe water marks?

• (A) They may show a white Morse (A) light o (B) They may show a composite group-flashing, Fl(2 + 1), red light o (C) They must show a composite group-flashing, Fl(2 + 1), green light o (D) They may show a quick-flashing, Q(9)15s, white light


66. Where can the annual change in variation for an area be found?

o (A) The handbook for Magnetic Compass Adjustment, Pub 226 o (B) The compass deviation table o (C) Variation does not change. • (D) The center of the compass rose on a chart of the area


67. What should you apply to a fathometer reading to determine the depth of water?

• (A) Add the draft of the vessel. o (B) Add the sea water correction. o (C) Subtract the draft of the vessel. o (D) Subtract the sea water correction.


68. In Region A of the IALA Buoyage System, when entering from seaward, the port side of a channel would be marked by which buoy?

o (A) A black conical buoy • (B) A red can buoy o (C) A black can buoy o (D) A red conical buoy



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Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of Unlimited Tonnage Illustrations: 2

69. Which is another name for Universal time (UTI)?

o (A) Sidereal time• (B) Greenwich mean timeo (C) Atomic timeo (D) Ephemeris time


70. Which time meridian is used when computing the velocity of the current for Pensacola Bay, Florida?

o (A) 75°00'Wo (B) 97°30'W• (C) 90°00'Wo (D) 82°30'W



8/29/2019

National Maritime Center

Serving Our Nation's Mariners

9/6/2018

D041NG

Adapted for testing purposes only from U.S. Department of Commerce

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Weather Service

Further reproduction prohibited without permission of 18 Q114 Navigation General – Oceans

National Maritime Center

Serving Our Nation's Mariners

9/10/2018

D048NG

Adapted for testing purposes only from BOWDITCH, The American Practical Navigator,

An Epitome of Navigation, 2002 Bicentennial Edition

Copyright © 2002 by The National Imagery and Mapping Agency, U. S. Government

Further reproduction prohibited without permission of 18 Q114 Navigation General – Oceans

U.S.C.G. Merchant Marine Exam Second/Third Mate of ...Q114 Navigation General-Oceans U.S.C.G....

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