Water Web Quest Directions:
You are to use the links below to complete the questions on this document. Your
answers are to be presented in your notebooks. The assignment may be written or typed. It can be in the form
of notes, a concept map, a foldable, or any combination. You must include the questions. Good luck and have
fun!
http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/aquatic.php
1. Streams/Rivers:
a. Where do streams & rivers get their start?
b. How does a river or a stream change during the journey from the source to
the mouth?
2. Wetlands:
a. What are wetlands?
b. Name some characteristics of wetland plants.
3. Estuaries:
a. What is an estuary?
b. What is the significance of estuaries?
4. Intertidal: Also known as the _________ zone.
5. Coastal: Why are coastal areas important for humans?
6. Coral reefs: Describe two characteristics of coral reefs.
7. Oceanic pelagic (open ocean) Word Bank: salty, rivers, basins, not,
dense, evaporation, reached equilibrium
Oceans formed when rainwater filled _________ 3.8 billion years ago.
________ run into the ocean dissolving minerals like salt as they go.
__________ leaves salt in the ocean, which is why the ocean is _________.
Salinity has _______________, so the ocean is _______getting any more or
less salty. Salinity makes water ____________ and contributes to currents.
8. Abyssal (deep ocean)
a. What are adaptations of deep sea animals?
b. Give an example.
c. The autotrophic bacteria in the vents at the bottom of the ocean are converting
hydrogen sulfide into energy through a process similar to photosynthesis called
____________________.
9.Find out what “the dead zone” is. Here’s a few great sites on the topic:
http://www.smm.org/deadzone/top.html Listen to the 1-minute podcast at Scientific
American:http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=gulf-ofmexico-dead-zone-shrinks-09-07-27
a. What is the dead zone?
b. How do you think it affects fish?
c. What causes the dead zone?
Extra Credit: 1. Create a collage of images that show how humans affect aquatic ecosystems. 2. Find three images
representing an aquatic ecosystem. At least one should show the interactions between organisms living there OR 3.
Illustrate the life of a water drop. You may want to start with a dinosaur drinking water!