Understanding Groundwater

Groundwater

Understanding the water below Earth's surface

Review - The Hydrosphere

• Scientists classify Earth's water to make it easier to study.

• Oceans are liquid saltwater, and compose 97% of Earth's water.

• Glaciers are frozen freshwater and compose 2% of Earth's water.

• Accessible Water is the water humans use to meet their needs. It is liquid freshwater, and composes 1% of Earth's water.

Multiple Choice

Why do scientists classify Earth's water?

• To make it easier to study

• To make it harder to study

• The government forces them to

Multiple Choice

Earth's water can be classified into:

• Convergent

  Divergent

  Transform

• Carnivores

  Herbivores

  Omnivores

• Accessible

  Glaciers

  Oceans

• Helpful

  Harmful

  Neutral

Match

Match the classification to its composition.

• Accessible Water

• Glaciers

• Oceans

Liquid Freshwater

Solid Freshwater

Liquid Saltwater

• Liquid Freshwater

• Solid Freshwater

• Liquid Saltwater

Match

Match the classification to its availability in the hydrosphere.

• Accessible Water

• Glaciers

• Oceans

1%

2%

97%

• 1%

• 2%

• 97%

Open Ended

If there is so much water on Earth,

why is it important for humans to conserve water?

"People need to conserve water because ___."

What is Groundwater?

• Scientists classify Earth's liquid freshwater into "Surface Water" like Lakes, Rivers, and Ponds or "Groundwater," which is the water underground.

• Groundwater is not like a river or lake underground.

• Instead, it is water settled into spaces between rocks and dirt.

Dropdown

Scientists divide Earth's liquid freshwater into

​ ​

Select answer

, like Lakes, Rivers, and Ponds,

and ​

Select answer

, which is underground.

Multiple Choice

Which diagram best represents Earth's groundwater?

Measuring Groundwater

• Scientists measure the amount of groundwater by tracking the location of the "Water Table."

• Under the water table, the rock layer is full of water.

• Above the water table, there is much less water.

• A high water table means lots of water is accessible for humans.

• A low water table means less water is accessible.

Multiple Choice

The imaginary line separating the rock layers full of water from those with less water is called "___."

• The Water Couch

• The Water Table

• The Water Chair

• The Water Board

Dropdown

When the Water Table is ​

Select answer

, there is lots of water for people to use.

When the Water Table is ​

Select answer

, there is less water for people to use.

Hotspot

Where is the Water Table?

Accessing Groundwater

• To access groundwater in the humans need to dig a hole.

• This hole is called a "Well."

• If the water table is above the well, humans can access the water.

• If the water table is below the well, the well will run dry.

• When the water table is too low for people to meet their needs, the area is said to have a "drought."

Multiple Choice

A hole in the ground used to access the groundwater is called a ___.

• Well

• Illness

• Mine

Open Ended

Will this well produce water?

"I predict this well ___ produce water because ___."

Open Ended

Will this well produce water?

"I predict this well ___ produce water because ___."

Multiple Choice

When the water table is too low for people to meet their needs,

Scientists say there is a "___."

• Famine

• Drought

• Flood

Refilling Groundwater

• Refilling Groundwater is part of the water cycle.

• Most groundwater started as precipitation.

• Groundwater is pulled down toward's Earth's center by gravity.

• It is stopped by rocks that are too dense to pass through.

• This dense rock is called "Bedrock."

Multiple Choice

Most groundwater ___.

• Rises up from the mantle

• Sinks down from Earth's surface

Multiple Choice

___ is the force pulling water down towards Earth's center.

• Pressure

• Gravity

• Drag

• Friction

Labeling

Label this diagram.

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

Dry Soil

Groundwater

Well

Bedrock

Water Table

Multiple Choice

Water doesn't reach the mantle because ___.

• There is a dense layer of bedrock that it cannot pass through.

• Gravity is not strong enough to pull it all the way down.

• Some force is pulling it back towards Earth's surface.

• Water actually does reach the mantle.

Protecting Our Groundwater

• We need our groundwater to drink and to irrigate crops, so it is important for our groundwater to stay clean.

• Any pollution in Earth's surface water will also be pulled by gravity into our groundwater.

• This includes garbage from landfills, fertilizers from farms, and human waste from septic tanks.

• Restrictions on pollution can keep our groundwater safe for people to use.

Open Ended

"Our groundwater can be polluted by ___.

Polluting our groundwater is dangerous because ___.

Polluting our groundwater is dangerous so ___."