chapter 11

Question 1

surface water

Answer 1

water that collects on the surface of the ground

Question 2

river system

Answer 2

the network that includes all the waters feeding into a main river and all the waters branching out from it

Question 3

watershed

Answer 3

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

is a measure of the void spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume or between 0 and 1

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

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

Question 10

pathogen

Answer 10

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

Question 11

dam

Answer 11

a barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its level

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

it is the contamination of water bodies, usually as a result of human activities

Question 15

point-source pollution

Answer 15

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

mean any source of water pollution that does not meet the legal

Question 17

wastewater

Answer 17

any water that has been contaminated by human use

Question 18

artificial eutrophication

Answer 18

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

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