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sci chapter 1 water
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| habitat | an environment that provides the things a specific organism needs to live, grow, and reproduce |
| groundwater | water that fills the cracks and spaces in underground soil and rock layers |
| water cycle | the continual movement of water among earths atmosphere, oceans, and land surface |
| evaporation | the process by which molecules at the surface of a liquid absorb enough energy to change to a gas. |
| transpiration | the process by which water is lost through a plants leaves |
| precipitation | any form of water that falls from clouds as rain snow sleet or hail |
| tributary | a stream or river that flows into a larger river |
| watershed | the land area that supplies water to a river |
| divide | a ridge of land that separates one watershed from another |
| reservoir | a lake that stores water for human use |
| eutrophication | the buildup over time of nutrients in freshwater lakes and ponds that leads to an increase in the growth of algae |
| permeable | characteristic of a material that contains connected air spaces, or pores that water can seep through easily |
| impermeable | a characteristic of materials such as clay and granite through water does not easily pass |
| unsaturated zone | the layer of rocks and soil above the water table in which the pores contain air as well as water |
| saturated zone | the area of permeable rock or soil in which the cracks and pores are totally filled with water |
| water table | the top of the saturated zone, or depth to the ground water under earths surface |
| aquifer | an underground layer of rock or sediment that holds up water |
| artesian well | a well in which water rises because of the pressure within the aquifer |
| wetland | a land area that is covered in a shallow layer of water during some or all of the year |