Ch. 11 Key Terms

Question 1

Surface water

Answer 1

all the bodies of fresh water, salt water, ice, and snow that are found above the ground

Question 2

river system

Answer 2

a flowing network of rivers and streams draining a river basin

Question 3

Watershed

Answer 3

the area of land that is drained by a water system

Question 4

groundwater

Answer 4

the water that is beneath the Earth’s surface

Question 5

aquifer

Answer 5

a body of rock or sediment that stores groundwater and allows the flow of groundwater

Question 6

porosity

Answer 6

the percentage of the total volume of a rock or sediment that consists of open spaces

Question 7

permeability

Answer 7

the ability of a rock or sediment to let fluids pass through its open spaces or pores

Question 8

recharge zone

Answer 8

an area in which water travels downward to become part of an aquifer

Question 9

potable

Answer 9

suitable for drinking

Question 10

pathogen

Answer 10

a microorganism, another organism, a virus, or a protein that causes disease; an infectious agent

Question 11

dam

Answer 11

a structure that is built across a river to control a river’s flow

Question 12

reservoir

Answer 12

an artificial body of water that usually forms behind a dam

Question 13

desalination

Answer 13

a process of removing salt from ocean water

Question 14

water pollution

Answer 14

contamination of water by waste matter or other material that is harmful to organisms that are exposed to the water

Question 15

point-source pollution

Answer 15

pollution that comes from a specific site

Question 16

nonpoint-source pollution

Answer 16

pollution that comes from many sources rather than from a single specific site; an example is pollution that reaches a body of water from streets and storm sewers

Question 17

wastewater

Answer 17

water that contains wastes from homes or industry

Question 18

artificial eutrophication

Answer 18

a process that increases the amount of nutrients in a body of water through human activities, such as waste disposal and land drainage

Question 19

thermal pollution

Answer 19

a temperature increase in a body of water that is caused by human activity and that has a harmful effect on water quality and on the ability of that body of water to support life

Question 20

biomagnification

Answer 20

the accumulation of pollutants at successive levels of the food chain