Question | Answer |
What percent of the Earth is water? | 71% |
What percent of the Earth's water is salt? | 97% |
What percent of the Earth's water is fresh? | 3% |
Water that is not salty and has no or little taste, color, or smell? | Fresh Water |
Water that contains dissolved salts and other minerals | Salt Water |
How much fresh water is available to humans? | Less than 1% |
Continuous movement of water through the environment of Earth | Water Cycle |
Process in which water changes from liquid to water vapor | Evaportaion |
Process in which water vapor in the atmosphere become liquid; forms clouds | Condenstaion |
Water that falls from clouds | Precipitation |
The slow passage of liquid from the surface into the ground caused by gravity | Percolation or Infiltration |
Precipitation that flows over land into streams and rivers and eventually the oceans | Runoff |
Water moves downhill due to the force of ____________? | Gravity |
Ridge or continuous line of high land from which water flows in different directions | Divide |
Area into which all the water on one side of a divide flows. | Drainage Basin |
Weather cools in the fall and the upper layer of water in a pond sinks and the lower layer rises | Turnover |
Increase of nutrients in a lake or pond | Eutrophication |
Areas of land that water drains into when the ground is saturated or impermeable | Watershed |
The top of the region of the zone of saturation that is completely filled with water | Water Table |
An underground layer of permeable rock or sediment that contains water | Aquifer |
Water held underground | Groundwater |
A substance that liquids can flow through | Permeable |
A substance that liquids cannot flow through | Impermeable |
Hole in the ground that reaches the zone of saturation, area below the water table | Well |
A well in which water flows to the surface naturally due to pressure | Artesian Well |
A flow of water from the ground at a place where the surface of the land dips below the water table | Spring |
Small streams that connect and flow into a larger river | Tributary |
Water that is safe for humans | Potable Water |
Acid/base balance of water | pH |
Normal pH | 6.5-8.5 |
Oxygen dissolved in water | Dissolved Oxygen |
Normal Level of dissolved oxygen | 4 mg/L |
Cold water holds more _________ than warm water | Oxygen |
Natural compounds of nitrogen and oxygen | Nitrates |
If nitrates increase, dissolved oxygen _______ | Decreases |
Small amounts of nitrates are normal but if elevated they are ______ | Harmful |
Aquatic plants and animals used as indicators of water quality | Biological Indicators |
What type of organisms is often used as a biological indicator | Fish |
Measure of the concentration of particles suspended in water | Turbidity |
High turbidity reduces light and ___________ in water | Visibility |
High turbidity reduces light; low light reduces __________ | Photosynthesis |
Introduction of harmful substances into the environment | Pollution |
Pollution that comes from one specific site | Point-source pollution |
Pollution that comes from many sources | Nonpoint-source pollution |
What directly affects the amount of dissolved oxygen in water | Temperature |
As temperature increases the amount of dissolved oxygen _________ | Decreases |
Amount of a substance that is in another substance. | Concentration |
Set by a government agency called the Environmental Protection Agency | Water Quality Standards |
Removal of waste from water in order to make it drinkable | Sanitation |
EPA | Environmental Protection Agency |
Water is filtered and treated with chemicals to remove harmful substances to kill organisms. | Water Treatment Plant |
What are the two main steps in Water Treatment Plants? | 1. Chemical Disinfection
2. Removal of Dirt |
Water that runs down the drain and needs to be treated before being released back into the environment | Wastewater |
What type of system collects wastewater from a city or town. Pipes carry wastewater from homes and businesses to a water treatment plant | Sewage System |
A small wastewater system used by a home or a business | Septic System |
A long period of abnormally low rainfall | Drought |
What is it when humans pump or use the water faster than it can replenish itself | Overuse |
The act of good management; the act of protecting and conserving water resources | Stewardship |
What are some examples of stewardship | Conserve Water, Protect water, Don't pollute, share water, limit recreational uses |
Sends sound waves from a ship down into the ocean. The sound bounces off the ocean floor and returns to the ship. | Sonar (Eco-sound) |
Measures direction and speed of currents and changes in ocean height | Satellites |
Which form of technology provides us with larger scale maps of the ocean? | Satellites |
Form of technology that is used to study the ocean floor; can be piloted by humans or be robotic. | Vessels |
Describes water that has more salt than fresh water, but not as much as salt as the sea. | Brackish |
A measure of the amount of salt in a sample of water | Salinity |
What are some factors that could change the salinity level in an estuary? | Evaporation, Storms, Flooding |
Would the salinity level in an estuary increase or decrease right after a hurricane | Increase |
What are two types of dissolved gases found in water? | Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide |
Most of the oxygen in the ocean is found where? | At the top (plankton) |
Organisms that swim actively in the ocean | Nekton |
Organism that floats or drifts freely near the ocean surface - microscopic | Plankton |
Organisms that live on or in the ocean floor | Benthos |
Know a few examples of organisms in each group (Nekton and Benthos) | |
A diagram that shows how energy in food flows from one organism to another | Food chain |
A diagram that shows the feeding relationship and interconnections between several organisms in an ecosystem | Food Web |
Two main food webs on Earth | Aquatic and Terrestrial |
What does Aquatic mean? | Water |
What are two factors that affect ocean life? | Water depth and the amount of sunlight |
Floating rafts of algae | Sargassum |
Where the ocean meets the land | Intertidal Zone |
Area away from shore where water becomes deeper and the ocean floor starts to slope downward | Neritic Zone |
Were the seafloor drops sharply | Oceanic Zone |
Ocean floor | Benthic Zone |
What zone is the water warm because it receives a lot of sunlight? | Neritic Zone |
What zone can you find Coral Reefs | Neritic Zone |
What zone is very cold and receives no light | Benthic Zone |
What type of organisms gets their energy from the chemicals released by hydrothermal vents | Bacteria |
What ecosystem is known as the nursery of the sea | Estuary |
Area where fresh water spills into the ocean and is rich in nutrients | Estuary |
Ecosystem found on the coast of tropical areas and can absorb large amounts of storm surges | Mangrove Swamps |
Ecosystem found in the middle of the Atlantic ocean and has rafts of algae | Sargasso Sea |
Ecosystem found at in the Arctic Ocean and the ocean around the Antarctica | Polar Ice |
Rising of cold nutrient-rich water to the surface due to wind | Upwelling |
Warm water dumped into a river from a nuclear power plant | Thermal(heat) Pollution |
Fertilizers cause an increase in ____________. | Nitrates |
What are some effects of increased nitrates? | Decrease in oxygen levels and the growth of algae. |