Running Water and Groundwater Lessons

Water Unit Lesson

Water Distribution

• 97% of earth's water is unfit for human consumption because it is salt water.

• Of the 3% left for fresh water, 2% is frozen. It is trapped in ice caps and glaciers.

• Only 1% is left for human consumption.

• Most of our drinking water is ground water found in aquifers.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following contains the largest percentage of Earth’s fresh water?

• lakes

• groundwater

• glaciers and ice caps

• ground ice and permafrost

Multiple Choice

Which of the following contains MOST of the water on Earth?

• the oceans

• watershed

• the atmosphere

• ice and aqufiers

Aquifers

Most of our drinking water is in the form of ground water and located in underground layers called aquifers.

Multiple Choice

Which is Earth’s largest source of drinkable water?

• lakes

• rivers

• oceans

• aquifers

The 6 factors used to measure water quality

• pH

• turbidity

• bio-indicators

• nitrates and phosphates

• dissolved oxygen

• bio-indicators

Dissolved oxygen and temperature

Cool water holds more dissolved oxygen. The max temperature that water can be and still be healthy is 35 degrees Celsius. As temperature increases, dissolved oxygen decreases.

Nitrates and phosphates

They are essential plant nutrients. They enter into water by run off containing fertilizers. They cause algal blooms. Algal blooms lead to less dissolved oxygen by blocking sunlight from penetrating the water.

Multiple Choice

After analyzing data collected from a pond, there is a significant decrease in dissolved oxygen. Which most likely caused the decline?

• an increase in minerals

• an increase in sediment

• an increase in algae growth

• an decrease in fish population

Other factors of water quality

• Bio-indicators are used to assess the health of a body of water. They cannot tolerate pollution.

• The dumping of chemicals can cause a change in pH. 1-6 is acidic, 7 neutral, and 8 is basic.

• Turbidity is a measure of how cloudy a body of water is. The higher the turbidity, the less dissolved oxygen.

Multiple Choice

Why do biologists use indicator species?

• to compare freshwater and ocean ecosystems

• to count the number of organisms present

• to monitor water quality and biodiversity

• to analyze the dominant species

Multiple Choice

How are indicator species like a warning system for bodies of water?

• They indicate when food sources are declining.

• Their illness or death indicates pollution in an aquatic ecosystem.

• They indicate when predators are reducing the numbers of a species.

• Their illness or death indicates the body of water is becoming more populated.

Open Ended

On the image is an upwelling. Describe an upwelling

Hydrothermal vents

• Hydrothermal vents are located in the abyssal zone/ deep ocean.

• They support life on the bottom of the ocean by proving the chemicals needed for chemosynthesis.

Multiple Choice

Scientists have found strange new life-forms called “tubeworms” on the deep ocean bottom. Which most likely provides energy for the tubeworms?

• algae

• small fish

• photosynthesis

• hydrothermal vents

Multiple Choice

In which zone of the ocean are you more likely to find clams borrowing in the sand?

• intertidal zone

• open ocean

Multiple Choice

Why is water from an aquifer more likely to be cleaner than water from other sources?

• because it forms where fresh and salt water meet

• because it receives water directly from precipitation

• because it rises to the surface near the ocean

• because pollutants are filtered by rock and soil deep within Earth

Multiple Choice

Which best describes the characteristics of a river basin?

• the land drained by a river and its tributaries

• the land formed when rivers create estuaries and marshes

• the land at the mouth of a river where water flows into the ocean

• the land formed as a result of a river flooding

Multiple Select

Check all of the ways in which water vapor enters earth's atmosphere

• transpiration

• evaporation

• condensation

• evapotranspiration

Multiple Choice

What is at the bottom of a marine food web?

• crab

• phytoplankton

• whale

• zoo plankton

Multiple Choice

Why is life greatest near the ocean’s surface?

• More predators live in the top layers of the ocean.

• Salinity at all layers of the open ocean is fairly consistent.

• Sunlight penetrates the top layers of the ocean, so photosynthesis occurs there.

• Nutrients, minerals, and gases are more available to marine life in the bottom layers of the ocean.