Science Starter
• Take the green paper at the
door.
• Supplies Needed:
– Clipboard
– Pen or Pencil
– Purple Vocabulary Sheet
Watershed stations and vocabulary review:
• Stations 1-9 will be answered on the
green paper.
• Station 10—Making a watershed
• Station 11—Vocabulary Review with
Flashcards
• Station 12—Succession Review
(at completion of all other stations)
• Rotate at your own pace
• Only 3 people per station maximum
• Green paper is due at the end of class!
Water Cycle- Fill in your diagram
Step 1- Sun heats water.
Water Cycle- Fill in your diagram
Step 2- Water evaporates as water vapor
into the atmosphere.
Water Cycle- Fill in your diagram
Step 3- Water condensates into clouds.
Water Cycle- Fill in your diagram
Step 4- Clouds release water as
precipitation- rain, snow, hail
Water Cycle- Fill in your diagram
Step 5- Water runs along the ground or soaks
into the soil
What is a watershed?
• All the water
underground and
above ground that
flows into the same
place (river, lake)
• Can be large, or small
What is a watershed?
• 2,110 watersheds in
the US
• Also called a
drainage basin
What is surface water?
• All surface water
drains into a major
body of water- lake
or river
• Eventually most
water flows into
the ocean
What is a runoff?
• Water enters the
watershed through
precipitation
• Most precipitation falls
on land and becomes
runoff
• Runoff is water that
does not soak into the
soil but “runs” into
lakes, river, etc
What is groundwater?
• Water that does
soak into the soil is
called ground water.
• As water soaks into
the ground it passes
through layers of
porous rock.
What is groundwater?
• Rock that is porous
allows water to flow
through it.
• Soil can have different
levels of porousness.
• This flow of water
through the soil is
called percolation.
What is percolation?
• Some soil allows a lot of
water to flow through
and some does not let
hardly any
• Water sinks down until it
reaches a layer of rock
or clay that it cannot
pass through
What is percolation?
• Water that collects on
top of that layer is
called groundwater.
• The layer of rock that
is saturated (filled)
with water is called an
aquifer.
What is the water table?
• The very top of an
aquifer is called the
water table.
• The water table can
be on the surface,
close to the surface
or hundreds of feet
down.
What is a watershed divide?
• Surface water is divided by
watershed divides.
• A watershed divide is a
high point on the land that
divides one watershed from
another.
• Rivers are divided into
tributaries- smaller
streams that connect off
the larger river.
Watershed- Fill in your diagram
• Step 1- Precipitation adds water
Watershed- Fill in your diagram
• Step 2- Water runs down the
watershed divide.
Watershed- Fill in your diagram
• Step 3- Water runs into tributaries.
Watershed- Fill in your diagram
• Step 4- Water soaks into the groundcalled percolation.
Watershed- Fill in your diagram
• Step 5- Water settles into as
groundwater in an aquifer.
Notes & Diagrams
- Tape or glue the notes
and diagrams to the
RIGHT side of your
notebook!
Watershed Worksheet
1- Read the information.
2- Answer the questions.
3- Label the diagram.
4- Draw the well.
5- Turn in completed work.
THIS IS DUE AT THE BELL!