Science 8: Unit E

Potable water

Water that is safe to drink

Watershed

A watershed is like a big bowl, water falls into it. The watershed drains into a big river, lake, or ocean.

Water quality. What does it contain?

Metals, organic material, living organism, bacteria

Reservoir

An artificial way of storing water

Salinity

The total amount of salts found in water

Testing water quality (10)

turbidity, toxins, suspended solids, dissolved solids, pH, dissolved oxygen, odor, taste, mineral content, bacteria

Hard water

Water containing dissolved minerals that can cause plumbing issues

Distillation

Process of removing water from a solution by boiling and condensing the steam

Reverse Osmosis (requires energy)

Process of forcing water through a selectively permeable membrane. Salt water is forced through a selectively permeable membrane and out comes purified water

Erosion

Wearing away of the shoreline

chemical weathering

Erosion or the wearing away of rock due to chemicals in the water (acid rain/snow)

Deposition

Building up of material on the shoreline

Waves

Surface movements transferring energy by the water particles moving in a circular motion

Tides

Regular rising and falling of large bodies of water

Kettle lake

a round lake formed by chunks of ice left behind and melting

Moraines

deposits of rocks and gravel at the edges and ends of glaciers

Drumlins

a small tear-drop-shaped hills formed over moraines

Eskers

snake-like structures formed by the deposition of the rocks and gravel as the glacier melts and the water drains away in a tunnel

Adaptation

Physical or behavioral characteristic change an organism develops, increasing an organism's survival rate

Species

Individuals resembling each other and reproducing viable offspring

Population

Members of a species living in a particular area

Community

Different populations living in a common area

Algal blooms

Overgrowth of algae due to excess nutrients, affecting water quality

Diversity

Variety of life forms in an environment

Alkali lakes

Form from deposits of carbonates and bicarbonates, creating high alkaline water that limits organism survival.

Adaptation

Physical or behavioral changes that organisms develop to enhance survival rates.

Spring thaw

Period of snow and ice melting, potentially contaminated by animal waste, oil, and road salt.

Water quality impacts

Agricultural run-off, urban run-off, habitat destruction, and sewage affect water quality.

Monitoring

means to observe, check, or keep track of