Water Unit Vocabulary
Properties of Water
Absorbency – the ability to take in a material
Adhesion – the tendency of water to stick to other substances
Buoyancy – the ability of a fluid to exert an upward force on an object
Capillary Action – the process that moves water through a narrow porous
space
Cohesion – the attractive force between water molecules
Density – the measure of mass of a substance per unit volume
Insoluble – not soluble; does not dissolve in a solvent
Polarity – uneven distribution of charges across a molecule
Soluble – having the ability to be dissolved in another substance
Specific Heat – the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of a
substance by one degree Celsius
Surface Tension – the force that acts on the surface of water
Universal Solvent – the quality of water that makes it able to dissolve
more substances that any other substance
Solvent- the substance that does the dissolving
Solute- the substance the is being dissolved
Distribution of Water/Water Cycle
Condensation – the process of warm air cooling as it rises and releasing
moisture in the form of a liquid
Evaporation – the process by which a liquid is changed into a vapor
Fresh water – water on Earth that is used for human consumption
Groundwater – water located below Earth’s surface
Human Consumption – the ability for humans to eat
Hydrosphere – the portion of the Earth that contains water
Impermeable – does not allow water to move through
Infiltration – water that seeps into rocks and between particles of soil
Percolation – the downward movement of water through pores and other
spaces in soil due to gravity
Permeable – having pores or openings that allow water (or other liquids) to
flow through them
Precipitation – the rain, snow, sleet or hail that falls from clouds onto the
Earth’s land and oceans
Runoff – is precipitation that flows over land into streams and rivers. This
water later enters oceans.
Surface Water – water found on the surface of the Earth
Transpiration – water vapor given off by plant photosynthesis
Water Cycle – the continuous movement of water from the ocean to the
atmosphere to the land and back to the ocean
Structure of the hydrosphere
Aquifer – an underground layer of rock or soil that holds water
Artesian Well – a well in which water rises because of pressure within
aquifer
Drought – a long period of scarce rainfall
Ecological Address –
Glaciers – a large mass of moving ice and snow on land
Hydrology – the study of water
Hydrosphere – the portion of Earth that contains water
Icecaps – a glacier forming on an extensive area of relatively level land and
flowing outward from its center
Icebergs – a large floating mass of ice detached from a glacier
Reservoir – a lake that stores water for human use
River Basin – the region of land drained by a river and its tributaries
Watershed – the land area that supplies water to a river system
Wetland – a land area that is covered with a shallow layer of water during
some or all of the year
Ocean Vocabulary
Oceanography - The study and exploration of the world's ocean.
ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) - Unmanned submersible tethered to a
mother ship and operated by pilots using a joy stick.
Scuba - Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus - device that
allows divers to breathe underwater for long periods of time
SONAR - SOund NAvigation Ranging - used to measure ocean depth by
sending sound to bounce off the ocean floor.
Submersible – A small submarine used to explore the ocean depths;
equipped with windows, lights, mechanical arms, cameras and other
scientific instruments capable of seeing and recording data.
Abyssal Plain - mostly flat portion of ocean floor which provides a home to
a variety of unique organisms that are adapted to the extreme conditions
of this habitat.
Benthos - organisms that live on or in the ocean floor
Chemosynthesis - the production of organic material by energy from
chemical reactions rather than light.
Consumer - feed on other organisms (plant or animal) because they cannot
make their own food.
Continental Shelf - extends from the edge of the continent outward to
where the bottom sharply drops off into a steep slope.
Continental Slope - The steep incline between the continental shelf and the
abyssal plain
Ecosystem - A community of different but interdependent species and
their non-living environment.
Estuary – body of water where a river meets the ocean
Food Chain - A hierarchy of food relationships from the simplest to most
complex.
Habitat - The immediate space where an animal or plant lives and has food,
water and protection.
Hydrothermal Vent - An opening in the sea floor where super-heated water
and other material are discharged into the surrounding seawater
Intertidal Zone - the area that lies between the low-tide and the high-tide
line.
Mid-Ocean Ridge - A chain of undersea mountains that circles the earth
through every ocean.
Nekton - free-swimming organisms whose movements are independent of
the tides, currents, and waves
Neritic Zone - the first 200 meters (656 feet) of ocean water, which
includes the seashore and most of the continental shelf.
Oceanic Zone - Extends from 200 meters (656 feet) deep all the way down
to the bottom of the ocean.
Ocean trench - the deepest parts of the ocean. The deepest one is the
Marianas Trench (located in the South Pacific Ocean - almost 5 miles (8.05
kilometers) deep.
Photosynthesis - A chemical process where plants and algae use a sun's
energy to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water.
Producer - a living thing that produces its own food within itself, usually by
using sunlight energy in photosynthesis
Salinity – the amount of dissolved solids in seawater
Seamount - A volcanic peak that rises at least 3280 feet (1000 m) from
the seafloor.
Upwelling - the upward movement to the ocean surface of deeper, cold and
usually nutrient-rich waters, especially along some shores, due to the
offshore movement of surface waters
Protecting Our Waters
Bio indicator – organisms or components of organisms that are used to
assess the health of a water system; an organism or community associated
with particular environmental condition a change to the number of
organisms or the proportions of the community indicate a change in the
environment.
Dissolved Oxygen – Measure of water quality indicating free oxygen
dissolved in water.
Indicator – A chemical material or solution which can be used to show
(usually by a change in color) the endpoint of a chemical reaction or
chemical concentration. Examples
Nitrate – nitrogen compounds used for growth by plants and algae; a
compound that can be used by photosynthetic life forms to obtain the
nitrogen needed for survival
pH – the measure of how acidic or basic a substance.
pH scale – rating of how acidic or basic a substance is the scale goes from
0 to 14 with 7 being neutral values less than 7 being acidic and values
greater than 7 being
Turbidity – a measure of the clarity of the water (how clear is it?)
Water quality – used to describe the health of a water system
Contaminates – Any foreign components in a substance, for example in
water.
Non-point source pollution – pollution that comes from many places or
sources that is not easily identified; pollution that results from water flow
picking up trash, toxic chemicals, and other types of waste
Point Source pollution – pollution that can be traced to a specific source
such as oil that spills from a pipeline
Pollutant – any substance or form of energy that can cause harm to the
environment and make it unfit for use by organisms; any substance that can
negatively affect an ecosystem
Stewardship – responsibility for conserving and restoring the Earth’s
resources for future generations
Wastewater – water that runs into drains that may contain sewage and
chemicals from homes and businesses or pollutants from industry
Food Chain and Food Webs
Omnivore- an organism that eats both plants and animals
Herbivore- an organism that eats only plants
Carnivore- an organism that eats only meat
Food web – two or more food chains that are interconnected
Food chain- a model that shows the flow of energy from one organism to
another
Predator- an animal that hunts for food
Prey- an animal that is hunted for food
Producer – a plant that make its own food
Consumer- an organism that cannot make its own food and must eat to get
energy
Sea- part of the ocean surrounded by mostly land
Salinity- the concentration of salt in the ocean
Wave –rhythmic movement of energy in the water caused by high winds
Tide- the rise and fall of the sea level
Upwelling- the upward movement of cold water from the ocean floor
El Nino- abnormal climate event that occurs every 2-7 years
Continental Shelf - the gradually sloping end of a continent that extends
under the ocean
Continental Slope- the part of the ocean that extends from the outer
edge of the continental shelf down to the ocean floor
Abyssal Plains -large, flat areas on the ocean floor
Seamounts -underwater volcanic mountains that rise more than 100 meters
above the ocean floor
Guyots – flat topped seamounts
Trenches -the deepest parts of the ocean found along the edge of the
ocean floor
Mid-ocean Ridge- the area in an ocean basin where new ocean floor is
formed