Science

reservoir

A natural or artificial lake used as a source of water supply.

evaporation

The process by which liquid water heats up and turns into water vapor (gas).

watershed

An area of land where all the water drains into a common body of water, like a river or lake.

condensation

The process where water vapor cools down and turns back into liquid water, forming clouds.

precipitation

Water that falls from clouds to the Earth's surface as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

transpiration

The process by which plants absorb water through their roots and release it as vapor through their leaves.

runoff

Water from precipitation that flows over the ground surface into streams, rivers, and lakes instead of soaking into the soil.

groundwater

Water that is stored underground in the spaces between soil particles and rock formations.

infiltration

The process by which water on the ground surface enters and soaks into the soil.

Why does Earth's huge amount of water not mean an unlimited supply of usable freshwater?

About 97% of Earth's water is saltwater in the oceans. Only 3% is freshwater, and most of that is trapped in glaciers, ice caps, or deep underground, leaving only a tiny fraction accessible for human use.Which of these are water reservoirs: ocean, cloud, evaporation, aquifer, glacier, precipitation, lake?

Which of these are water reservoirs: ocean, cloud, evaporation, aquifer, glacier, precipitation, lake?

Ocean, cloud, aquifer, glacier, and lake. (Note: Evaporation and precipitation are processes, not storage locations/reservoirs).What makes the circled items reservoirs?

Why does Earth's huge amount of water not mean an unlimited supply of usable freshwater?

About 97% of Earth's water is saltwater in the oceans. Only 3% is freshwater and most of that is trapped in glaciers ice caps or deep underground leaving only a tiny fraction accessible for human use.

Which of these are water reservoirs: ocean cloud evaporation aquifer glacier precipitation lake?

Ocean cloud aquifer glacier and lake. (Note: Evaporation and precipitation are processes not storage locations/reservoirs).

What makes the circled items reservoirs?

They are places where water is stored or collected for a period of time.

Complete the change of state: Liquid water → ? → water vapor

Gas / Evaporation (or boiling/vaporization).

Complete the change of state: Water vapor → ? → liquid water

Condensation.

During evaporation do individual H2O molecules become a different substance? Explain.

No. The molecules change physical state from liquid to gas but their chemical structure (H2O) stays exactly the same.

Complete the energy statement for evaporation: During evaporation water ________ energy.

absorbs

Complete the energy statement for condensation: During condensation water ________ energy.

releases

Complete the statement: ________ provides energy that helps drive evaporation.

Solar energy (the Sun)

Complete the statement: ________ pulls water toward Earth and causes water to move downhill.

Gravity

Give two different places a water molecule could go after precipitation reaches Earth's surface.

Soak into the ground to become groundwater/part of an aquifer. 2. Run off into a river lake or ocean

Put these materials in order from most permeable (left) to least permeable (right) based on what you observed in our investigation: gravel, clay, sand

gravel→sand→clay

What does permeability tell us about a material?

How easily things can pass through a material.