chapter 11

Question 1

surface water

Answer 1

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

Question 2

river system

Answer 2

a flowing network of rivers & 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

percentage of space in rock or soil occupied by voids, whether the voids are isolated or connected.

Question 7

permeability

Answer 7

property of rocks that indicates whether fluids (gas or liquid) can flow through rocks. affected by the pressure of a rock.

Question 8

recharge zone

Answer 8

the area where water enters an aquifer. surface water or precipitation filter percolate through relatively porous, unconsolidated, or fractured materials, such as sand, moraine deposits, or cracked basalt, that lie over a water bearing, or aquifer, formation.

Question 9

potable

Answer 9

water safe for humans to drink.

Question 10

pathogen

Answer 10

a bacteria, virus, or other microorganism that causes disease.

Question 11

dam

Answer 11

structure built across a stream, a river, or an estuary to retain water.

Question 12

reservoir

Answer 12

artificial lake where water is stored. can also be formed from a natural lake whose outlet has been dammed to control the water level.

Question 13

desalination

Answer 13

the process of removing salt from seawater.

Question 14

water pollution

Answer 14

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