Ch. 11 Key Terms

Question 1

surface water

Answer 1

water that collects on the surface of the ground.

Question 2

river water

Answer 2

A river is a natural flowing watercourse

Question 3

watershed

Answer 3

is an area of land that drains or “sheds” water into a specific waterbody

Question 4

groundwater

Answer 4

water held underground in the soil or in pores and crevices in rock.

Question 5

aquifer

Answer 5

a body of permeable rock which can contain or transmit groundwater.

Question 6

porosity

Answer 6

fraction is a measure of the void

Question 7

permeability

Answer 7

the state or quality of a material or membrane that causes it to allow liquids or gases to pass through it

Question 8

recharge zone

Answer 8

is the surface area surrounding an aquifer from which water in the form of precipitation or surface waters replenishes the groundwater stored in the aquifer

Question 9

potable

Answer 9

safe to drink; drinkable

Question 10

pathogens

Answer 10

a bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that can cause disease.

Question 11

dam

Answer 11

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a barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its level, forming a reservoir used to generate electricity or as a water supply.

Question 12

reservoir

Answer 12

a large natural or artificial lake used as a source of water supply.

Question 13

desalination

Answer 13

is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water

Question 14

water pollution

Answer 14

waste is in the water harming sea life

Question 15

point-source pollution

Answer 15

defines point source pollution as “any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged, such as a pipe, ditch, ship or factory smokestack

Question 16

nonpoint-source pollution

Answer 16

herbicides and insecticides from agricultural lands and residential areas

Question 17

wastewater

Answer 17

is any water that has been contaminated by human use

Question 18

artificial eutrophication

Answer 18

occurs when human activity introduces increased amounts of these nutrients, which speed up plant growth and eventually choke the lake of all of its animal life.

Question 19

thermal pollution

Answer 19

is defined as a sudden increase or decrease in temperature of a natural body of water, which may be ocean, lake, river or pond by human influence

Question 20

biomagnification

Answer 20

the concentration of toxins in an organism as a result of its ingesting other plants or animals in which the toxins are more widely disbursed.