Water, Water Everywhere (p. 20-22)
Part A: Brainstorm a list of places where water is naturally found on our planet.
Part B: Define new terms.
Term
Definition
Aquifer
An underground layer of rock or soil that holds water.
Groundwater Water that fills the cracks and pores in underground soil and rock
layers.
Glacier
A huge mass of ice and snow that moves slowly over land.
Reservoir
A natural or artificial lake that stores water for human use.
Part C: Complete the main idea graphic organizer below:
Earth’s water is distributed among oceans, ice, rivers and lakes, and groundwater.
Detail
Detail
Detail
Detail
Oceans in
the form of
saltwater, in
which 97%
of Earth’s
water is
found.
Ice in the
form of
icebergs and
glaciers near
the N. and S.
poles.
Rivers and
Lakes, which
contain the
smallest
amount of
freshwater
on Earth.
Groundwater
which fills
the cracks
and spaces in
underground
soil and rock
layers.
Part D: Use the graph on p. 20 in the textbook to answer the following questions in the space provided.
1. Which source of fresh water is the largest?
Ice 76%
2. Is this a source of freshwater commonly used by humans for drinking, watering the lawn, cleaning,
etc.? Explain.
No – frozen at N. and S. poles and not easily accessible!
3. Approximately what percentage of the Earth’s fresh water is ground water?
12% + 11% = 23% groundwater (both shallow and deep)
4. Where is most of Earth’s total water found?
In the oceans
5. What percentage of the Earth’s fresh water is usable by humans (ground and surface waters)? Explain.
12% + 11% + 0.34% = 23.34% (groundwater + lakes and rivers)
6. What percentage of the Total Water on Earth is usable by humans (ground and surface waters)? Show
your work and explain.
Freshwater = 3% of total water on Earth
*need to find 23.34% of this 3%
3 X 23.34% = 0.7% total water on Earth usable by humans.