💦 • Module 4 : Water & Its Management Flashcards
What percentage of Earth’s water is found in oceans?
About 97%.
Where is most of Earth’s freshwater stored?
In ice sheets and glaciers (about 69%).
What is groundwater?
Water stored beneath Earth’s surface in soil and rocks
Where is freshwater found besides ice and groundwater?
In lakes, rivers, and the atmosphere.
What is the water cycle?
The continuous movement of water through the atmosphere, land, and oceans.
What is precipitation?
Water falling to the ground as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
What are the main steps of the water cycle in order?
- Evaporation
- Transpiration
- Condensation
- Precipitation
- Interception
- Infiltration
- Through-flow
- Groundwater flow
- Surface run-off
What is surface run-off?
Water flowing over the ground into rivers and lakes.
What is interception in the water cycle?
When trees and plants catch precipitation before it reaches the ground.
What is infiltration?
The process of water soaking into the soil.
What is through-flow?
Water moving sideways through the soil towards rivers.
What is groundwater flow?
Water moving underground through rock layers.
What is transpiration in the water cycle?
Water loss from plants into the air.
What is evaporation?
Water changing from liquid to gas due to heat.
What is condensation in the water cycle?
Water vapor cooling and turning into liquid droplets, forming clouds.
What is an aquifer?
An underground layer of water-bearing rock that stores groundwater.
How do wells provide freshwater?
By tapping into groundwater from aquifers.
What is a reservoir?
A man-made lake used to store water for human use.
What is desalination?
The process of removing salt from seawater to produce freshwater.
What are the three main uses of freshwater?
Domestic, industrial, and agricultural.
Give examples of domestic water use.
Drinking, cooking, cleaning, bathing.
How is freshwater used in industry?
Cooling machines, generating power, and manufacturing products.
How is freshwater used in agriculture?
Irrigation for crops and providing water for livestock.
What is potable water?
Water that is safe for drinking and cooking.
Why do some rural areas lack access to safe drinking water?
Poor infrastructure, lack of sanitation, and reliance on polluted water sources.
What is a multipurpose dam?
A dam that provides water storage, electricity, flood control, and irrigation.
What factors influence the choice of a dam site?
River flow, rock type, population impact, and environmental concerns.
List an environmental impact of dams.
Habitat destruction and changes in river ecosystems.
List an economic impact of dams.
They create jobs but are expensive to build.
List a social impact of dams.
Can displace communities but provide water and electricity.
What are the three main sources of water pollution?
Domestic waste, industrial waste, and agricultural runoff.
How does domestic waste pollute water?
Sewage and household waste contaminate water supplies
How does industry pollute water?
Factories release chemicals and heavy metals into rivers and lakes.
How does agriculture pollute water?
Fertilizers, pesticides, and animal waste run off into water bodies.
How does polluted freshwater affect people?
It increases the risk of diseases like cholera and typhoid.
How does water pollution affect the environment?
It harms aquatic life, disrupts food chains, and causes habitat destruction.
What is bioaccumulation?
The build-up of toxic substances in organisms, increasing in concentration up the food chain.
How does acid rain affect freshwater ecosystems?
It lowers pH levels in lakes and rivers, harming fish and other aquatic organisms.
What is eutrophication?
Excess nutrients (from fertilizers and sewage) cause algal blooms, depleting oxygen and killing aquatic life.
What is sewage treatment?
A process that removes harmful substances from wastewater before releasing it into the environment.
What is the role of legislation in water protection?
Laws regulate pollution, enforce treatment standards, and protect water sources.
What is the life cycle of the malaria parasite?
- Infected mosquito bites a human, injecting parasites.
- Parasites travel to the liver and multiply
- They enter the bloodstream and infect red blood cells.
- Another mosquito bites the person, spreading the parasite.
How do antimalarial drugs help control malaria?
They kill the parasite in the human body before it multiplies.
What is vector control in malaria prevention?
Reducing mosquito populations using insecticides, bed nets, and draining stagnant water.
Why is malaria eradication difficult?
Mosquitoes develop resistance to insecticides, and parasites resist drugs.
What is cholera?
A bacterial disease causing severe diarrhea and dehydration, spread through contaminated water.
Why should water be boiled or chlorinated?
To kill bacteria and make it safe for drinking.
