Module #5

Question 1

Percolation

Answer 1

The process by which water moves downward in the soil, toward the water table

Question 2

What is the largest source of freshwater on the planet?

Answer 2

Glaciers and icebergs

Question 3

What kind of water makes up the majority of earth’s water supply?

Answer 3

Saltwater

Question 4

What is the largest source of liquid freshwater on the planet?

Answer 4

Groundwater

Question 5

In the hydrologic cycle, name the ways water can enter the atmosphere.

Answer 5

Evaporation and transpiration

Question 6

When a raindrop hits the ground, name three ways it can eventually end up in a river.

Answer 6

Surface runoff
Groundwater flow
Evaporated from plant, condense into clouds and precipitate into river
Evaporate before soaking into ground, condense into cloud, and precipitate into river

Question 7

What process in the hydrologic cycle puts soil moisture into the atmosphere?

Answer 7

Transpiration

Question 8

In which body of water would the residence time be shorter: a quickly moving river or a lake that has no river outlets

Answer 8

The residence time in the river is shorter

Question 9

What must a lake have in order for it to be a freshwater lake?

Answer 9

A lake must have a way to get rid of water other than just evaporation

Question 10

Why is the salinity of the ocean evidence that the earth is not billions of years old?

Answer 10

The oceans are not salty enough for the earth to be billions of years old

Question 11

Transpiration

Answer 11

Evaporation of water from plants

Question 12

If you tasted melted sea ice, would it taste like freshwater or saltwater?

Answer 12

Saltwater

Question 13

Where do icebergs come from?

Answer 13

Icebergs come from glaciers

Question 14

Where do glaciers come from?

Answer 14

Glaciers start on mountains as the result of snow that never completely melts in the summer

Question 15

Condensation

Answer 15

The process by which a gas turns into a liquid

Question 15

Adiabatic cooling

Answer 15

The cooling of a gas that happens when the gas expands with no way of getting more energy

Question 16

What is the term for the process by which a portion of a glacier breaks off and falls into the water?

Answer 16

Calving

Question 17

The captain of a ship sees an iceberg and steers clear of it. Why is the captain still worried about a collision?

Answer 17

The captain is worried because 90% of the glacier is underwater and therefore not visible

Question 18

Suppose you studied two areas of land close to one another. In the first, there are lots of trees. In the second, there are almost no trees at all. Other than that, the two areas seem identical. They have the same kind of grass and experience the same weather. Which one has the deeper water table?

Answer 18

They water table will be deeper in the area would lots of trees.

Question 19

If no energy is added to air, what happens to the temperature when the air expands?

Answer 19

The air will cool as it expands.

Question 20

Will fog be thicker and a smoky area or an area free of smoke?

Answer 20

The fog will be thicker in the smoky area.

Question 21

What kind of cooling is responsible for most cloud formation?

Answer 21

Adiabatic

Question 22

A bright student notes that with a few modifications, a refrigerator can become a “hotbox.” Keeping things warm instead of cold. Explain.

Answer 22

If you simply reversed the design so that the pipes carrying the gas after compression are on the inside of the refrigerator, the inside would heat up.

Question 23

What kind of water pollution is the hardest to track back to its source?

Answer 23

Groundwater pollution

Question 24

Residence time

Answer 24

The average time a given particle will stay in a given system