4.5 The Water Table Flashcards
What are the two forces that affect water?
Gravity and Attraction.
What does gravity do to water?
Pulls the water downward.
What does attraction do to water?
Make the water move to or stay in a certain area of attraction (stick).
What is water made up of and water is the chemical formula?
Water is made up of two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen. The chemical formula is h2o.
What are the affects of the positive and negative charge of the molecule?
The charge causes the molecule and others to act like tiny magnets, towards each other and other molecules.
Explain what happens to a molecule when rain falls?
Gravity is the first force that affects the molecule by pulling it down. The attraction of the water molecule along with the soil molecule, cause the water to spread outwards and moisten the area.
What is percolation?
When gravity causes water to sink into the ground and it dissolves all salts and minerals as it moves through the spaces between the soil.
What is the aquitard?
A layer of clay, silt or rock that will not allow the water to pass through fast enough to be used as a water supply.
What is the saturated zone?
A zone, made of soil that becomes saturated with water and completely fills the the layers above the aquitar.
What is the water table?
The upper layer of the saturated zone.
What are aquifers?
Large accumulations of underground water in soil or rock. They can be depleted just like oil deposits.
True or False: The depth of the water table is directly related to the local water cycle happenings.
True
What is Capillary Action?
The upward movement of water through soil due to the attraction of water molecules to soil particles.
True or False: When a well runs dry, the water table has sunk lower than the depth of the well.
True
How do humans affect the water table?
Some wells provide water to entire towns, so when too much water is pumped, the water table can drop. Surrounding farms may also lose their water supply.
