Water Quality Indicators Vocabulary

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Secchi disk

Back

An opaque disk, typically white, used to gauge the transparency of water by measuring the depth (Secchi depth) at which the disk ceases to be visible from the surface.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

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Temperature

Back

The degree or intensity of heat present in a substance or object, especially as expressed according to a comparative scale and shown by a thermometer or perceived by touch.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

NGSS.MS-PS3-4

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Phosphates

Back

A salt or ester of phosphoric acid, containing PO43− or a related anion or a group such as —OPO(OH)2.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-1

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Dissolved Oxygen

Back

The amount of gaseous oxygen (O2) dissolved in the water.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

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pH

Back

A logarithmic scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution.

Front

Nitrates

Back

A salt or ester of nitric acid, containing the anion NO3− or the group —NO3.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-5

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Turbidity

Back

A measure of the degree to which the water loses its transparency due to the presence of suspended particulates.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

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Bio-indicators

Back

Organisms whose status in an ecosystem is analyzed as an indication of the ecosystem's health.

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Eutrophication

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Excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

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Water Quality

Back

The chemical, physical, biological, and radiological characteristics of water, often used to determine its suitability for a particular purpose.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2