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 pollution of successive levels of the food chain.