Study Guide for test on Unit 1 Water Terms & Watersheds
Vocabulary Words
Desalination—removing salt from water to make it drinkable/fresh
Watershed—an area of land the drains into a water system (like the Chesapeake Bay/Potomac River)
Aquifer—underground source of water surrounded by rock
Riparian Zone—vegetation surrounding water (river bank)
Name four things for which a riparian zone is helpful: erosion, flooding habitat, reduces
pollution
Saturated/Unsaturated: Saturated: water completely fills the ground. Unsaturated: the area
underground between the surface and an aquifer; water fills only part of the ground (top area).
Ground Water: water in the ground
Surface Water: water on the top of the ground/parking lot
Run-off-water not soaking in the ground, running towards a river
Renewable resource: something that can be used over and over (solar power, wind power)
Nonrenewable resource: something that can only be used once (i.e. oil, gasoline)
Impervious-things can not go through it. i.e window-impervious to bugs; countertop impervious to
liquids
Transect line-a line which divides an area to measure accurately
Sustainable-using available resources in such a way to allow them to be available for use by future
generations.
Eutrophication—more nutrients=lower O2leads to a dead zone
Non-point resource pollution: you cannot see where the pollution is coming from
Point source pollution: you can see where the pollution is coming from
Percolate: water dripping down through something i.e dirt (refills an aquifer)
Estuary—an area where salt water and fresh water mix (the Chesapeake Bay)
Tragedy of the Commons: When people use a resource that is reserved for ‘everyone’ thinking that
someone else is responsible for it. (remember the sheep—over grazing)
Rachel Carson: An environmental pioneer who wrote Silent Spring warning how the use of DDT is
effecting on animals especially birds.
Potable—drinkable (remember Dr. Peter’s story re: the dump and being sprayed by water)
Water table—the level of water below the surface
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Properties of Water
High heat of Vaporization—water doesn’t turn to steam until 212 degrees
High degree of insulation—water keeps animals warm because it takes a long time to change
temperature
Universal Solvent—water dissolves most things
Capillary Action—water is able to move against gravity (like in tree roots)
High specific heat—It takes a lot of heat to evaporate a little bit of water
Expansion on freezing—water is one of the few things that expands upon freezing (think of an ice cube
in a tray)
Scientific Process:
Inference—use of previous knowledge to come up with a conclusion or make a judgment
Independent Variable: The variable you change on purpose
Dependent Variable: The variable that changes as a result of what you changed.
Hypothesis: A prediction about how the independent variable will affect the dependent variable.
If…., then…
Constant: The thing(s) in an experiment that are kept the same.
Control: The standard for comparison in an experiment; often the group that receives no amount of the
independent variable, but can also be chosen to be the comparison group (or normal).
Repeated Trials: The number of experiment repetitions or objects/organisms tested.
Qualitative: descriptive terms used to describe an object or an event (Quality)
Quantitative: numerical description of an object or event (Quantity)
Observation: discovering a problem to solve
Research: an optional part of the scientific process
Record: writing the data down that you collected
Conclusion: Your decisions about your experiment. If your hypothesis was correct, then you can publish
your work. If your hypothesis was incorrect, you would need to reconstruct your experiment.
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Chesapeake Bay Facts
What states are part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed? Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West
Virginia, Delaware, New York
Which state has the highest% of its area in the watershed? Maryland
What cities did we map on the Chesapeake Bay watershed? Sterling, Richmond, Washington, D. C.,
Baltimore
What rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay? Susquehanna, Patapsco, Potomac, Rappahannock, James &
York
How wide is the Chesapeake Bay? 30 miles
How many square miles are in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed? 64,000 sq. miles
How long can a person live without water? 2-3 days
How much water does each person use in the average U.S. home in a day? 50 gallons
How many gallons does it take to flush the toilet or brush your teeth? 2 gallons
Where does the water we use (locally) come from? Potomac River
What % of the world’s water is salty or undrinkable? 97% How much is drinkable? 1%
What trees did we see in the woods? Beech, Oak, Maple, Tulip Poplar, Hickory, Paw Pawy
What do cattails do for the environment? They filter the water.
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