Chapter 4: Water and its Management Flashcards
Q: What percentage of the Earth’s surface is covered by oceans?
A: 75%
Q: How much of the Earth’s water is contained in oceans and seas?
A: 97%
Q: What fraction of Earth’s water is fresh water?
A: 3%
Q: What percentage of Earth’s fresh water is found in ice sheets?
A: Nearly two-thirds (65%)
Q: What is precipitation?
A: Moisture that reaches the surface in the form of rain, sleet, snow, or hail.
Q: What is surface run-off?
A: Precipitation that flows over the ground surface into streams and rivers.
Q: What is the most common type of precipitation?
A: Rain
Q: What is interception in the context of the water cycle?
A: Precipitation that is obstructed by trees and plants and doesn’t reach the Earth’s surface.
Q: What is infiltration?
A: The process where precipitation soaks into sub-surface soils and moves into rocks.
Q: What is through-flow?
A: The downslope movement of water through the soil, roughly parallel to the ground surface.
Q: What is ground water flow?
A: The slow horizontal movement of water through rock.
Q: What is evaporation?
A: Water changing from droplets to water vapor due to heat.
Q: What is transpiration?
A: The evaporation or diffusion of water from plant leaves.
Q: What is a reservoir?
A: An artificial lake used as a source of water supply, created behind a dam or by the side of a river.
Q: What is condensation?
The process where water vapor is converted back into liquid or solid water due to a decrease in temperature.
Q: What is reverse osmosis?
A: Pumping water at high pressure through a fine membrane to remove salt.
Q: What is surface water?
A: Water found in lakes, rivers, and swamps.
Q: What is a well?
A: A hole bored or dug into rock to reach the water stored in it.
Q: What percentage of water is used domestically for drinking and cooking?
A: 3%
Q: What is ground water?
A: Water found in the soil and rocks beneath the surface of the ground.
Q: What is an artesian aquifer?
A: An aquifer where water is under pressure and rises to the surface without a pump.
Q: What is the role of a screening tank in sewage treatment?
A: To remove large objects from waste water.
Q: What are aquifers?
A: Water stored in porous rocks under the ground.
Q: What is potable water?
A: Water that is safe to drink.