Chapter 8: Water Resources Quiz

1. Much of Earth's water supply likely originated from

• icy comets and planetesimals debris.

• respiration of early organisms.

• gases expelled from the Sun, i.e., solar wind.

• photosynthesis.

Outgassing refers to

• changes in the total amount of water on Earth through evapotranspiration.

• a steady-state equilibrium in the water system caused by cycles of evaporation and condensation.

• the dynamic equilibrium between surface and ocean water.

• the process in which water and water vapor emerge from deep layers within and below the Earth's crust.

Water covers approximately ________ of Earth's surface.

• 50 percent

• 90 percent

• 25 percent

• 71 percent

Which of the following best describes the distribution of water on Earth?

• Water is evenly distributed across Earth.

• The Atlantic is the largest ocean basin on Earth.

• Most of the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean comprise the so-called "water hemisphere."

• Most of Earth's water is freshwater and is predominately stored in the many lakes around the world.

The largest portion of fresh water today is located in

• clouds.

• groundwater resources.

• ice caps and glaciers.

• the major rivers and lakes of the world.

The hydrologic cycle

• involves the continuous movement of water in all its states throughout the lower atmosphere, biosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere.

• is limited to freshwater circulation in the hydrosphere.

• refers to the highly localized transfer of water from plants and soils to the atmosphere and back.

• is the groundwater component of the global water cycle.

In the water budget, ________ is the major receipt and ________ is the major expenditure.

• insolation; radiative cooling

• outgassing; dissociation

• precipitation; evapotranspiration

• evapotranspiration; precipitation

Actual evapotranspiration refers to

• surplus subtracted from precipitation total.

• surplus subtracted from potential evapotranspiration.

• the amount of evapotranspiration that would occur if available water was not limited.

• the amount of water that returns to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration.

In the United States, most precipitation falls

• in the Northwest and Southeast.

• in the Central Plains.

• in the southwestern and north-central areas.

• along the Rocky Mountain Range.

Which of the following is true of evapotranspiration in North America?

• The lowest amounts occur in the Southwest and southern Texas.

• The lowest amounts occur in northern Canada.

• The highest amounts occur in the Midwest.

• The highest amounts occur in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.